By Frances Black
The Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place on Friday 29th April 2011 in Westminster Abbey in London, and is seen by many as an event epitomizing traditional British culture.
However, the wedding itself has proved to create more interest overseas than in Britain itself, with continents such as Asia, Africa, and America, showing an overwhelming interest in the wedding, which seemed to dwarf the overall enthusiasm generally showed by the British public.
Even in Ghana, newspapers in Accra filled their front pages with articles and features about the wedding, and the wedding was broadcast live by Coastal TV, including documentaries before and afterwards giving details and background on the event. A significant amount of Ghanaians watched the ceremony, showing the surprisingly universal appeal of the Royal Wedding in the most unexpected places.
In Britain, the build-up to the wedding exposed a fair amount of cynicism and lack of interest from the British public, with many questioning the value and purpose of the royal family in modern Britain, and with many also criticizing the amount of money spent of the wedding, of which the security and transport would be paid with Britain’s taxes. Nevertheless, on the day of the wedding, thousands showed up in London to celebrate the union of the couple, with many camping for several nights in order to get the best spot for catching a glimpse of the two. The wedding was watched by thousands in Britain, and the passionate celebrations displayed by many on the day exposed a high level of passionate patriotism thought by many to be absent from modern Britain. The scenes on the streets of London were frequently heart-warming and joyously animated, with people of all ages, races and beliefs coming together to show their support for Britain’s royal couple.
Part of the appeal for many people in Britain and all around the world seems to be Kate Middleton’s background, which is not aristocratic or royal in any sense, but is instead a comfortable middle-class background. This is in stark contrast to the majority of royal weddings in British history, which mainly featured semi-arranged marriages in which brides were always of royal, aristocratic or extremely upper-class background. Many feel that Kate is a figure that they can relate to, and who represents the modern world merging with the ancient tradition of the British Royal Family. This is a credible, real couple that the world can take seriously, rather than a couple just put together for the cameras. For many women as well, Kate’s journey to becoming William’s wife symbolises the realization of a fairytale – as one tweet from an American woman said: ‘this is as close to a real fairytale as it gets’.
Street parties were held all over Britain, and Downing Street was decorated with flags, and held a brass band. Thousands of tourists flooded to the UK to witness the historic event, and British tourism is expected to experience a huge and significant rise in revenue for years to come due to the wedding, estimated 4 million tourists bringing in approximately 2 million pounds. The wedding was declared the sixth biggest event in internet history, with the Royal Wedding website receiving over 9 million hits. The wedding was screened all over the world in large public places, such as Times Square in New York, and in many destinations over Britain.
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