Prince William has paid a deeply personal tribute to colleagues in the Armed Forces who were killed or wounded in battle through the invitations to his wedding.
The guest list includes close relatives of two of the Prince's friends from his training at Sandhurst and a Household Cavalry comrade who suffered terrible burns after he was ambushed in Afghanistan.
L/Cpl Martyn Compton, 27, was so badly injured in the Taliban attack in 2006 that his heart stopped three times and he lost his ears and nose.
He suffered burns to 75 per cent of his body, and was in a coma for three months before he regained consciousness.
Prince William, who served alongside L/Cpl Compton in the Household Cavalry and knows him by his nickname of Compo, paid tribute to him in 2008, joking that he was "more famous" than the Prince.
He will attend the royal wedding with his wife of three years, Michelle, who nursed him back to health as he underwent more than 60 hours of operations.
Also among the 1,900 guests at Westminster Abbey will be Holly Dyer, 30, the sister of 2nd Lt Joanna Dyer, who was killed by a bomb in Iraq in 2007.
Lt Dyer, 24, was a close friend of the Prince during his training at Sandhurst, and he was said to be "absolutely devastated" when he heard of her death.
She and three colleagues were killed when an explosion tore through the armoured vehicle in which she was travelling in Basra. Her family's ordeal was worsened by the fact that Holly, an officer in the Army Intelligence Corps, had to return to Iraq to complete her own tour of duty after the funeral.
2nd Lt Dyer, an Oxford graduate, passed out in the same company as Prince William in December 2006.
After her death, the Prince described her as a "close friend" and said he was "deeply saddened to hear the tragic news".
The guests will also include Susie Roberts, the widow of the Prince's platoon commander at Sandhurst, Major Alexis Roberts. Major Roberts, 32, a father of two and known as Lex, was killed by a bomb in Afghanistan in 2007.
After his death, the Prince, who regarded him as "a good friend" as well as a mentor, said he remembered him with "great fondness and respect".
Major Roberts's mother-in-law, Carol Deans, said: "Susie feels so proud to be going to the wedding. She knows that Lex would be very proud, too, as he had a real bond with Prince William."
The Prince attended Major Roberts's funeral and has stayed in touch with Mrs Roberts.
At the time of his death, Major Roberts was the most senior Army officer to die in Afghanistan.
Other guests will include Bryn Parry, the former soldier who founded the charity Help for Heroes with his wife, Emma.
Both Princes William and Harry are supporters of the charity.
Prince William has also invited all 27 members of his RAF Search and Rescue flight to the wedding, all of whom have been given three days leave to travel to London from their base at RAF Valley on Anglesey.
Brig Ed Smyth-Osbourne, who was Prince William and Prince Harry's commanding officer in the Household Cavalry and acted as a military mentor, will also be at the wedding.
He was also Prince Harry's commanding officer when he completed a 10-week tour of duty in Afghanistan.
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