Royal Family Kills Rupert Murdoch's Hope for 3D Wedding

11:14 AM PST 2/8/2011 by Mimi Turner

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Mario Testion/Clarence House Press Office via Getty Images

A palace spokesman says Prince William and Kate Middleton's April 29 wedding in Westminster Abbey does not have the camera space.

LONDON - St. James Palace has ruled out advanced plans to broadcast Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding in 3D, saying the new medium is too new and could potentially prove a distraction from the main event.

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The technical demands of additional cameras within the small space available in Westminster Abbey and the limited audience who would be able to watch in 3D are thought to be behind the decision.

The news will come as a disappointment to broadcasters here, most notably Rupert Murdoch's Sky, which has launched its own 3D channel and had hoped the April 29 wedding would prove a major event attracting new subscribers.

In an email to the BBC, ITV and Sky News, Patrick Harrison, the press secretary to the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, said the decision was a regretful one, but had been made in consultation with the couple and with the officials at Westminster Abbey, where the ceremony will be held.

"I'm afraid I have to say that we have decided not to progress with 3D coverage of the service on this occasion," Harrison told the BBC, ITV news provider ITN and Sky News, in an email sent to the broadcasters, according to The Guardian newspaper.

"There are a number of reasons for this, most notably the additional camera footprint in the abbey, the relatively small (albeit growing) audience for 3D, and our desire to not be distracted away from negotiating and facilitating the optimal 2D, radio, photographic and online coverage of the day."

"I know you have all become increasingly enthusiastic about 3D and I'm sorry that this will come as a disappointment. I hope you feel the process we have gone through will be helpful for other live events and of course we do not rule out facilitating 3D at some point in the future," Harrison added.

The BBC, ITN and Sky News are working together on the wedding broadcast preparations and will now have to make do with standard and high definition broadcasts.