Thirty years ago, I appeared as a guest astrologer on Montreal’s CBC-Radio to field questions from listeners and offer some predictions about current events of the day, one of them the forthcoming marriage of Charles, Prince of Wales, to Lady Diana Spencer.

My prognosis was not good – the marriage would fall apart after about seven years. One listener expressed great outrage that I’d made such a prediction. But in due course, events proved me correct, with the fairytale romance coming apart at the seams after only five years, and by the late 80s Charles and Diana were living apart.

With my past record in hand, I approached the current Royal Wedding with some caution. Was I just a bad-news bear or did I see anything promising in this forthcoming union? What does Vedic astrology say?

William Windsor was born at 9:03 pm on June 21st, 1982, in Paddington, England. Using the sidereal zodiac of Vedic astrology, Will has a Sagittarius ascendant, with both Sun and Moon in Gemini in the 7th house of marriage, and a strong Venus in 6th house Taurus.

Kate Middleton was born January 9th, 1982, in Reading, England but her birth time remains unknown to the public. Lacking a birth time, common practice in Vedic astrology is to calculate the planets’ positions for noon and then rotate the chart to place the Moon in the first house. Alternatively, we can erect a chart for when the Moon rose at her birth locality, which is what I’ve done here, giving her a “hypothetical” birth time of 3:57 pm.

Therefore, since the Moon rose at 23 degrees Gemini on Kate’s birthday, this degree point also becomes her ascendant. She has a Sagittarius Sun in the 7th house of marriage, and a strong (retrograde) Venus in 8th house Capricorn.

What does astrology say about their compatibility? According to the Dashkoota system used by pundits throughout the Hindu world, Will and Kate score an acceptable 22.5 points on a 36-point scale. Although not a stellar score, anything over 21 points lays the foundation for a workable marriage without need of remedial intervention.

A more detailed look at compatibility involves creating a 4×4 matrix comparing the relative sign positions of ascendant, Moon, Sun and Venus between Will and Kate. The ascendant indicates personality, behaviors, likes and dislikes. The Moon denotes perceptions, emotions and communications. The Sun reflects life mission, vision and values. Last but not least, Venus implies physical affection and sexuality.

In this 16-point matrix, we have 10 points good, only six bad – a decided bias in favor of marital happiness. More importantly, the four key factors are mutually well-disposed between the couple. Will and Kate’s ascendants are opposites – Sagittarius and Gemini. Their Moon signs are the same – Gemini. Their Sun signs are opposites – Sagittarius and Gemini. And their Venus signs are both earthy – Taurus and Capricorn. This all points to compatibility in all four aspects of marital life.

Will is running Saturn dasa, Saturn bhukti. General principle says period lords deliver results of their nakshatra dispositors. Saturn is in Hasta, a nakshatra of the Moon who occupies his 7th house. Saturn also aspects the 7th house. This year, transiting Saturn is back in Hasta, again via its star-lord Moon triggering 7th house matters for Will. On the wedding day itself, there is a great cluster of transiting planets in Pisces, three of which are in Revati, a nakshatra of Mercury, which owns Will’s 7th house.

Based on her hypothetical birth time, Kate is running Saturn dasa, Jupiter bhukti. Saturn is in Chitra, a nakshatra of Mars who aspects Kate’s 7th house of marriage. Jupiter rules Kate’s 7th house and is in Swati, a nakshatra of Rahu. Rahu delivers results for several planets – Sun, Moon, Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn. Chief among these are Sun and Jupiter, the occupant and lord of the 7th house.

Thus marriage is seen in both their charts. But will it last?

Will’s chart, being the accurate one, provides the better springboard for predictions. In principle, if the 7th house is focal for indicating marriage, then the 6th house (being 12th from the 7th) is critical for seeing marital separation. To see this happen, we need dasa/bhukti lords in combination delivering results for Mercury and Venus who are the occupants and lord of the 6th. But by inspection of Will’s chart, we see none of his planets are in Mercury nakshatras and only Ketu is in a Venus nakshatra.

So the good news is, only in relatively brief Ketu bhuktis will there be friction in their marriage – during Saturn-Ketu, November 2015 to December 2016, and during Mercury-Ketu, July 2031 to July 2032. That makes for pretty clear sailing up to Ketu dasa in 2046-2053 when, rather than marital problems, there might instead be health problems for Kate (age 64+).

Until then, the western world’s media can continue to indulge in a modern fairytale romance. Per ardua ad astra – through adversity to the stars.