No stone unturned: The massive operation to protect Prince William and Kate along the royal wedding route

By RICHARD HARTLEY-PARKINSON
Last updated at 8:50 AM on 19th April 2011


Every nook and cranny along the route that Prince William and Kate Middleton will take on their wedding day is being searched by police.
As Union Jack bunting goes up on Regent Street and flags are raised across central London, elsewhere the focus is on more sinister stuff in the form of a huge anti-terrorism operation.
Police have launched one of the biggest security operations the country has ever seen - estimated to cost £20 million - to protect William and Kate and world leaders.
Drains have been lifted, the insides of lampposts scoured and even the fronts of the boxes on pedestrian crossing buttons have been removed as every inch of the wedding route is searched for explosives.


















All around Westminster Abbey, along Whitehall, across Horse Guards Parade and down the Mall specialist officers have taken apart street furniture looking for any suspicious items.
The operation will continue right up to the last minute when the focus of attention will then turn on the people that have turned out to cheer the newly weds.
With so many members of the Royal Family, senior members of the Government, A-list celebrities and 50 heads of state in attendance, the wedding is believed to be a prime target for terrorists.


Metropolitan Police officers have been looking under manhole covers and broke security seals on the Mall, looking for any suspicious items, as part of an operation that will continue until the big day.
With a worldwide television audience of up to two billion, senior officers will want to avoid an incident like the attack on the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall's Rolls-Royce during the tuition fees protests last year.
It is expected that there will be snipers on the lookout on roofs along the route, poised to react should the worst happen and someone tries to approach anyone in the wedding convoy.










Insp Ian Fairman, in charge of the search teams, said: 'Officers are trained to be vigilant and check areas where items may have been hidden.
'Officers will be checking vulnerable areas all along the route of the procession.'
William, accompanied by his brother Prince Harry, will leave for Westminster Abbey from Clarence House and Miss Middleton, with her father, Michael, will make the journey from the Goring Hotel.
The newly-married couple will travel in a procession to Buckingham Palace following the ceremony.
The royal family, best man, maid of honour, bridesmaids and the Middletons will all be part of the parade, and the Metropolitan Police expect the road to be lined with thousands of well-wishers.
Yesterday it was revealed that stalkers and royal fanatics would be monitored ahead of the wedding. Scotland Yard is working with mental health teams and detectives from the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre that was looking at the possibility of sectioning potential troublemakers.












Kate and her father will travel in the car in which Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall came under attack during the student demonstrations.
It is believed that Miss Middleton chose a car rather than horse and carriage because of an allergy to horses, although she will return from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace in such a carriage.
Police are also considering the use of stop-and-search powers to prevent troublemakers disrupting the Royal Wedding.
This will be done to prevent anarchists carrying out acts of violence or disorder such as those seen during the TUC's recent march in London and the November student protests.





Radicals want to bring forward anti-capitalist demonstrations which have become a feature of the May Day holiday in cities across Europe and North America.
The royals have not escaped attempts to breach security in the past. In 1999 the Queen was targeted by pro-Tibetan activist Guy Edwards who ran towards her carriage on the Mall but was stopped by an 18-year-old guardsman, Ian Pragnall.
The most serious breach came in March 1982 when Michael Fagan broke into the Queen's bedroom at Buckingham Palace. She woke to find him sitting on her bed. The pair allegedly chatted for half an hour. Fagan, who was 30 at the time, was later jailed.
Every year Buckingham Palace receives approximately 10,000 letters from people with mental health problems. A quarter of them are 'seeking intimacy' and half are resentful but most are thought to be harmless