PRINCE WILLIAM - PRINCE WILLIAM 'WEDS' IN PARADISE

British royal PRINCE WILLIAM has 'wed' his on/off girlfriend KATE MIDDLETON after eloping to paradise, according to sensational U.S. press reports. American tabloid the Globe claims the 25-year-old heir to the U.K. throne set up a mock wedding ceremony as a surprise to Middleton during a vacation in the Seychelles. The semi-nuptials were so last minute, William didn't have time to buy his 'bride' a ring and instead used a red leather band bought from a local beach trader to seal his commitment. Unlike the lavish ceremony that brought England to a standstill when his mother and father Princess Diana and Prince Charles wed in London in 1980, William wore shorts and a T-shirt, while Middleton donned a sarong. Insiders claim the beach affair was more of a commitment ceremony than a full-blown marriage - and they doubt that William and Kate are officially man and wife, even though a local preacher oversaw the 'nuptials' before two witnesses. A source tells the Globe, "This was the moment that William committed himself to Kate - forever. He told her that he would love and protect her for the rest of his life." The couple, who became lovers while studying at Britain's St. Andrews University in 2003, split briefly in April (07) but reconciled during the Princess Diana tribute concert in London in July (07).