Kate Middleton's Wedding Dress to Be Exhibited at Palace

There's no doubt that the most buzzed-about dress of the decade is Duchess Catherine's wedding gown, and now fans of the royal couple can see the historic garment with their very own eyes beginning July 23.

The dress was kept under lock-and-key along with its details and designer up until the Duchess's entrance at her April 29th wedding to the Duke of Cambridge, 28. The gown, designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, will be on display at Buckingham Palace during the annual Summer Opening, according to a release from the Royal Collection Press Office.

"The Duchess chose British brand Alexander McQueen for the beauty of its craftsmanship and its respect for traditional workmanship and the technical construction of clothing," the Royal Collection Press Office said. "Her Royal Highness worked closely with Sarah Burton in formulating the design of her dress."
Calling it "the experience of a lifetime," Burton explained that "Alexander McQueen's designs are all about bringing contrasts together to create startling and beautiful clothes and I hope that by marrying traditional fabrics and lacework, with a modern structure and design we have created a beautiful dress for Catherine on her wedding day. "The team at Alexander McQueen are very proud of what we have created."

The 29-year-old royal and her gown, made from ivory and white satin-gazar, received praise from some of the fashion world's most renowned designers:

"The dress is classic and goes very well in the Westminster decor," Karl Lagerfeld told Women's Wear Daily. "I love the modest veil with the Queen Mother's Thirties scroll tiara and balanced volume of the whole gown. She's radiant; She never was so beautiful."

"Kate's dress was beautiful," Donatella Versace said. "She looked very regal."

Her shoes, by Alexander McQueen, and her diamond earrings, by Robinson Pelham, will also be a part of the display. Joining the wedding ensemble will be the Duke and Duchess's multi-tiered wedding cake, created by Fiona Cairns, a Leicestershire-based cake designer. The exhibit will be on display through October 3, 2011.

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Priyanka Vs Rahul on World Environment Day

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Bollywood actors Priyanka Chopra and Rahul Bose are to compete on the World Environment Day June 5 to motivate people to do their bit to save the mother earth.
The Bollywood stars are facing off in a new video for the ultimate Environment Day Challenge - where they are calling individuals, groups, families and schools, even entire communities.
"And for Priyanka and Rahul, this is where the battle lines get drawn. When registering a green activity on the site, people will have the opportunity to pledge their activity to either one celebrity or the other," said a statement issued by UN here.

Priyanka has pledged to plant a tree for every green activity registered in her name while Rahul has pledged to plant two.
"Whether it's switching from plastic bags to cloth bags, car-pooling with colleagues or organising a tree-planting day, green activities can be big, small, local, international, noisy, quiet ... just as long as they're green," it said.
India for the first time is the global host of United Nations Environment Day this year.
UNEP ( United Nations Environment Programme) has given the theme "Forests: Nature at Your Service" in alignment with the UN International Year of Forests, 2011. The theme celebrates the multitude of services - providing clean air, housing rich biodiversity, supplying water - performed by the world's forests.
In the run-up to June 5, the environment ministry has also planned a group of activities, including "Green Walkathon", in partnership with the Delhi government at India Gate.
The other significant feature will be organisation of "Green Haat", involving about 52 partners to showcase initiatives, of forest dwellers, minor forest produce federations of various states, women self-help groups, NGO partners, highlighting the value added forest products at Dilli Haat between June 1-5.
Biodiversity film festival for disadvantaged children, general public, prisoners, and Air Force officials will be organised in partnership with Centre for Media Studies (CMS) in the capital from June 1-4 at National Science Centre, PVR's Cinemas, Tihar Jail and Subroto Park to raise awareness about environmental issues through films from eminent national and international filmmakers.

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