If you haven't heard, Prince William will marry Catherine Middleton on Friday (cue various "Friday" jokes) at 11 a.m. at Westminster Abbey in London, England.
Since their engagement, media has been all a-buzz with royal reports from Kate's wedding dress designer to famous and not so famous invitees.
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the royal wedding is not the event itself, but the world's infatuation with it. Prince Charles and Diana's wedding attracted an international audience of 750 million. Meanwhile, according to a "British official," the anticipated audience for Prince William and Kate's wedding is around 2 billion.
Numerous American reporters like Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira for The Today Show, Anderson Cooper for CNN, and Diane Sawyer and Barbara Walters for ABC will be in London covering the event live. According to The Globe and Mail, an estimated 7,000 journalists are in London covering the wedding.
So, is it the thought of a "fairytale" wedding, or the sheer magnitude of the event that makes it so fascinating? Obviously, something about this is alluring and resonates with Brits and non-Brits alike.
More interesting is the fact it will be televised like Charles and Diana's. Considering the constant comprise of their privacy, you would think they would want to retain it for something so personal. Why not keep it an elite, intimate event?
Televising the wedding seems contradictory to their regular requests for privacy. So, is it just a big publicity stunt, allowing businesses to make money? Or is it legitimately news worthy and deserving of foreign media? What do you think?
As far as making money goes, the wedding has made them a commodity. Businesses have developed merchandise centered around the wedding. QVC is selling rings imitating what was once Princess Diana's oval sapphire engagement ring. Plates with Prince William and Kate's faces plastered on them are being sold and advertised on the Internet and TV.
So, what are your thoughts? Will you be watching? Share!
2 comments:
I'll admit I was interested with the royal wedding. It truly is a modern day fairytale. While most brides aspire to look and feel like princesses on their wedding day, Kate Middleton, a "commoner," became a real life princess upon her marriage to William. I thought Kate looked beautiful and the whole concept of the monarchy in the modern world made for interesting conversation.
I'm interested in the wedding because of the culture differences, and the fact that this event has proven just how many people are absorbed in fantasy... People from many nations. I haven't actually watched the videos, but I read a few interesting articles. One was about an analyst who said the body language used by Will and Kate showed that their relationship was more likely to last than Diana and Charles' relationship did. I also thought the signs of international diplomacy were interesting. Having the Spanish royal family at the ceremony was just something I'd never personally considered.
Post a Comment