Romsey town centre will grind to a halt tomorrow for one of the biggest social highlights of the year.

This weekend Hon Alexandra Knatchbull, the daughter of Lord and Lady Brabourne, will be tying the knot with her fiancé Thomas Hooper at the wedding of the year.

Roads around Romsey Abbey will be shut and security tight as members of royal families from across the world descend on the town.

Speculation is rife as to who will be sat on the pews of Romsey Abbey as she looks forward to celebrating her “special day”.

Basingstoke Gazette: Lady Alexandra Knatchbull is a goddaughter of Princess Diana.

Royalty from some of the world's best known monarchies are expected to attend the wedding to the lady who is the third cousin to the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William.

Prince Philip, is a “close friend” of 33-year-old Alexandra’s mother, Penelope, while Lord Brabourne, Norton Knatchbull, the eighth Baron Brabourne is one of six godparents to Prince William and himself is the godson of the Duke of Edinburgh.

Although it is considered a private engagement, roads in the town centre will be closed when the VIPs pass through town.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said that neither the Queen nor Prince Philip had any public engagements on Saturday morning.

Members of royal houses from Spain, Greece, Norway and Saudi Arabia are among those who could be attending the service on Saturday.

Alexandra is a goddaughter of Princess Diana and a third cousin twice removed of the Queen.

She is also 47th in the line of succession to the throne.

Revd Canon Tim Sledge, who will be leading the service, said the bride and her family were looking forward to the big day.

“They’ve put in a huge amount of effort and thought and care into it. It’s got that personal touch. It’s very much what they wanted and what the bride wanted. I’m really looking forward to it,” he said.

“Every wedding is special. For me it’s all about the couple. There’s lots of speculation about who’s going to be there but the most important thing is that Alexandra and Thomas have the most memorable day that they possibly can,” Rev Sledge added.

She has taken over from her father as patron of The Mountbatten School and has started taking over some duties at her ancestral home, Broadlands.

Children from the Whitenap Lane School are set to be taking part in the ceremony at Romsey Abbey which starts at 11.30am.

She met her fiancé Thomas, through her work as a senior analyst at FTI Consulting, a global business advisory firm.

In 2012, she made history twice over when she became the first female president of Romsey and District Scouts and at the age of 29, the youngest person to hold the position.

She also became patron of Romsey Sea Cadets in 2012.

Alexandra studied theology at Regent’s Park College Oxford, and International Security at Georgetown University, in the USA.

A spokesman for broadlands refused to comment.

The following routes are closed through Romsey on Saturday:

From the western point of the A27 and Southampton Road from 10.30am to 2pm.

In the town the following roads will be closed from 10.30am to 1.30pm: Palmerston Street, Broadwater Road, Bell Street, Market Place, Church Street, Church Place, Church Lane, Church Road, part of Mill Lane between Church Road and Cherville Street, The Horsefair, and The Hundred between Market Place and Palmerston Street.

Diversions will be in place.

Parking is suspended on Broadwater Road, Bell Street, Church Place, Church Road and Market Place from 6pm on Friday to 1.30pm on Saturday.