Leader: No parade to rain on

THOSE hoping Scotland's capital city could revel in the prospect of a Royal wedding on 30 July as the Queen's granddaughter Zara Phillips marries rugby player Mike Tindall have been told by the police: "Forget it".

In a statement that can only dampen spirits, police warn the wedding is a "private, family occasion" and that there will be "minimum opportunity" to catch a glimpse of the bride and groom - and less, presumably the world's second most famous woman - Kate Middleton, Countess of Strathearn. The world's most famous woman, the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Zara's mother, Princess Anne, are also all expected.

If the couple had wanted a quiet wedding, a venue in the Western Isles might have been more appropriate. But the Canongate, however inconveniently narrow it may be for the police, cannot but attract thousands of hopeful members of the public. Keeping numbers down - especially after William and Kate's spectacular nuptials - is a major challenge. Perhaps Lothian and Borders Police could pray for a torrential downpour such as struck the city yesterday, but that wouldn't be very nice for the happy couple. Better, surely, had arrangements been made for the public to see them in nearby Holyrood Park than a miserable plea to stay away.