Bets off on Prince William wedding

A British bookmaker has closed its books on William
and Kate Middleton getting hitched on that day after it received a
number of bets the couple will tie the knot then.

"We've
taken a number of large bets -- one punter wanted to place a 1,000
pound bet --that the couple will marry on July 19, so we're no longer
accepting wagers on that day," a William Hill spokesman told Reuters.

William
Hill stands to lose in excess of 50,000 pounds if the couple marry in
2007 and over 20,000 pounds if they wed on July 19.

Earlier
this week William and Kate were given an unusually high level of police
security when 10 officers provided the couple with a cordon as they
emerged from a London nightclub, fueling rumors of an imminent
engagement announcement.

William and Kate shared a house as students at St Andrews University in Scotland. From there, romance gradually blossomed.

Middleton,
who turns 25 next week, is the daughter of affluent parents who sent
her to private school and live in a five-bedroomed house in the heart
of the English countrysid