Madeleine was nearly four when she vanished from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz

KATE and Gerry McCann have delayed publication of their book about their daughter Madeleine's disappearance to avoid clashing with the royal wedding.

The couple's account of how Madeleine vanished on a family holiday to Portugal in 2007 was due to appear in shops on April 28, just before the fourth anniversary of her disappearance.

But publishers Transworld postponed the release date by a fortnight after it was announced that Prince William would marry Kate Middleton in Westminster Abbey in London on April 29.

The book, being written by the McCanns themselves and entitled Madeleine, will now be published on May 12, her eighth birthday.

All proceeds from sales of the book will go to the McCanns' official fund to search for Madeleine, which had been in danger of running out in 2011. Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: 'The publication date for Madeleine has now been moved on to May 12 2011 in the light of the royal wedding and the subsequent media coverage that will generate.

'Kate and Gerry are very happy with the new date, as are the publishers, and it will still be very much tied into the fourth anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance.'

Madeleine was nearly four when she vanished from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on the Algarve on May 3 2007 as her parents dined with friends nearby. A massive police investigation followed, and huge publicity worldwide.

The official Portuguese inquiry into Madeleine's disappearance was formally dropped in July 2008, although private detectives employed by the McCanns have continued the search.