With the royal wedding fast approaching the excited bride and groom have announced they will be donating to a Richmond-based charity to mark the occasion.

Prince William and Kate Middleton will tie the knot on April 29 and when they do they will be asking members of the public who want to give them a gift to consider donating to a charitable fund instead.

The couple, who were university sweethearts, have chosen grief support charity Cruse Bereavement Care, whose head office is in Victoria Villas, Richmond, as the charity that will benefit from the fund.

Cruse's chief executive Debbie Kerslake said it was a great honour to be chosen as the couple's charity of choice.

She said: "To be selected by Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton is a great honour and a testament to the vital care that Cruse’s volunteers provide for those suffering from the impact of a bereavement.

"We hope that recognition from the royal wedding charitable fund will allow us to extend our specialist services for those in the armed services and ensure that all our brave service personnel, as well as their families, can access the highest quality support when the need arises.”

The prince and future princess selected the charity partly because of the important role they play in working with the armed services to support families who have been affected by military deaths.

To donate to the royal wedding gift fund go to royalweddingcharityfund.org.

For more information about Cruse visit crusebereavementcare.org.uk.

Will you be doing something special to mark the royal wedding? Contact the newsroom on 020 8744 4271.