Kate Middleton Engagement: Timing Was Crucial For Queen

LONDON (CBS) The timing of the wedding in early 2011 of Britain's Prince William and his longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton comes as no surprise to royal watchers in the U.K.

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It couldn't possibly be held in 2012 because that is the year of both the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 Olympics in London. So if not in 2011, the royal lovebirds would have had to wait until 2013.

The Diamond Jubilee, set for June of 2012, is only the second such celebration in British history. Only Queen Victoria celebrated one.

Plans are still sketchy but they call for two bank holidays, making a four-day government celebration of the queen's 60th anniversary on the throne. If the silver and gold jubilees are any indication, there will parades, garden parties, concerts and fireworks. A special medal will be struck and through the year, the queen will make special state visits to members of the commonwealth.

The 2012 Summer Olympics are scheduled for July 27 to Aug. 12 in a variety of venues in London and the surrounding area. These games and the Paralympic Games (Aug. 29 to Sept.9) are expected to bring millions of visitors into the city during the summer.

According to royal watcher and CBS entertainment contributor Neil Sean, the queen is hoping that the new government of Prime Minister David Cameron will now reconsider her request for money from the royal purse known as the "civil list."

The wedding and the jubilee underscore the need to "to update the royal palaces for her planned international guests."