The royal family declines to confirm any speculation about who is designing the wedding dress Kate Middleton will wear on April 29, when she marries Prince William at Westminster Abbey. And the palace may remain mum about it right up until the church bells toll.

Still, royal watchers around the world have been waiting for a hint about the bride's choice.

As revealed exclusively in a Huffington Post report, the wedding gown designer isn't Bruce Oldfield or Sarah Burton. In fact, an inside source has identified 34-year-old Sophie Cranston as the lucky woman (and relatively unknown fashion pro) who received the royal assignment of a lifetime.

Cranston, of the Libélula label, has apparently been working for months in secrecy on the gown, now reportedly near completion. Why has her identity been protected so fiercely? Allegedly, insiders hoped to shield Cranston's family and associates from unwanted media scrutiny, and allow the designer a period of uninterrupted concentration on her task: perfecting Middleton's dream dress.