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American Morning

Interview with Pete Norman

Aired June 11, 2002 - 07:56   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: As we have been telling you, in just a few hours, Sir Paul McCartney and his fiancee, Heather Mills, will exchange their love me do's in front of 300 guests at the Castle Leslie in Glaslough, Ireland. After weeks of speculation, the ex- Beatle and the model bride-to-be revealed the long and winding road to matrimony would end at the 17th century Irish estate.

Pete Norman of "People" magazine is there this morning. He joins us now -- good to see you, Pete.

PETE NORMAN, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Paula.

ZAHN: Who is going to show up to this wedding -- for this wedding?

NORMAN: Well, we've definitely got Ringo. There is an unconfirmed report at the moment about Sir Elton John. Eric Clapton is another unconfirmed. Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders will be here. Dave Gilmour from Pink Floyd, he will also definitely be here. One that is not coming is Yoko Ono -- Paula.

ZAHN: Pete, there was some speculation that former President Clinton was invited. Is he going to show up too?

NORMAN: Well, Bill has been in Ireland for quite a while. It seems like almost like a full week he has been here. There are rumors that Bill will be coming, but people will just have to wait and see if indeed he will. Bill, I know, is another one who is being rumored to come, but they are not sure, Paula.

ZAHN: OK, Pete, we are going to show some pictures now of some of the luxurious rooms inside this castle. As we do that, I'd love for you to describe to us just how tight the security is, given who is getting married here and who is attending the wedding.

NORMAN: OK. The security is being done by a firm called Rock Steady. They are based in Glasgow in Scotland. They were the firm responsible for Madonna's nuptials at Skibo Castle in December of 2000. They kept a very tight rein there. And reportedly there is at least 70 security staff that they have got in, and in fact, Sir Jack Leslie, the patriarch for the estate, he revealed the other day that there are at least eight security guards sleeping in the castle.

And the castle itself is only quite small. It only has 14 double rooms, although, as you say, it's a 17th century estate. The castle itself was built over four years, and it was finished in 1878. And it's more of a grand house rather than a castle with battlements and castellations.

ZAHN: Pete, I know there have been a bunch of false leads. People or reporters originally told the wedding was going to be there, and then they told it wasn't. And I understand in all of these muddied waters, the locals thought what was being hosted here was some big sales bonanza for Swatch Watch.

NORMAN: That's correct, Paula. And not only was it locals, but also suppliers for equipment, carpets, the fabrics, logistics, sound systems, all these sorts of things that are being brought in. And many of these suppliers were under the illusion as well that it was a product launch for Swatch. And it's only when word had started leaking out, and especially in the last few days in the press reports, that they themselves caught on and realized that it was in fact the wedding of Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills.

What people over here and in Britain did believe that it would have probably been in The Hamptons, which is where a lot of press reports have been indicating that it would have been, but as we now know, it's definitely here -- Paula.

ZAHN: Well, enjoy the festivities. We will be dipping back into the wedding scene a little bit later on this morning. Pete Norman, thank you for your time this morning.

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