Monarchs can do as they wish. What they lack in legislative power, they compensate for with the reality that they've seen plenty of prime ministers come and go.

So not inviting a PM or two is not likely to cause the queen to lose any sleep. When you've reigned for nearly 60 years, you can omit Cherie Blair and the moment she did not curtsey to you.

Then there's the matter of Tony Blair's biography, detailing how he finally brought the queen to her senses after Diana's death. It was he who tried to convince her that her response to the death of the People's Princess was insufficient. It appears he did, but as the host of the party, she will not be reminded of that "annus horribilis," as she referred to it -- the year that Diana died and the castle burned, both in the fire and the press.

Less clear is the snub of Gordon and Sarah Brown. The queen seems to think that "former" is not a very impressive title. It's not one she plans to ever have attached to her name.

If however you are a former PM and a member of The Most Noble Order of the Garter, as are Baroness Thatcher and John Major, then you are in for the big event.

It is her party, after all.

On a personal note, earlier this week I had a chance to visit the beautiful seaside town of St. Andrews, Scotland. It is the home of the 600-year-old university where Kate and William met. It is an idyllic place. The North Sea crashes and cradles around it and the ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral provide gothic windows and frames for the sky and ocean.

If you think you went to school in the quintessential college town, you have not seen St. Andrews, with students riding bikes and stopping for coffee and greeting each other. There was a buzz of spring in the air. The flowers and a barefoot girl in a cocktail dress at 5 p.m. signal that the term is almost over.

It is easy to see how William and Kate were free here to hang out and get to know each other, as college sweethearts do.

We passed the house on Hope Street where they were housemates. It looks just like all the others on the row. No doubt the future king could've lived better than this, but he wanted to live here.

It is a testament to William's independence that he insisted on going here and not the colleges of his father or grandfather. The atmosphere here is not Cambridge or Oxford.

St. Salvator's Hall welcomes frisbee players in the garden and an acapella singing group practices in the quad where William and Kate graduated. The group is singing their now YouTube hit "Royal Romance" -- a riff on Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" -- that has garnered them spots on the morning TV shows in America.

They are clearly proud to be the home of the happy couple here at St. Andrews. No doubt the couple, nervous ahead of the big day, will look back fondly on the quiet fun they had here before the crowns and the titles.