Will and Kate: A royal wedding

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or in a tightly-fitted bubble) you’ve probably been bombarded by the media hype over the upcoming royal wedding. Prince William and Kate Middleton have dominated newspapers, television screens, and computer screens for the last few months, all leading up to the crescendo that will unfold on April 29 at Westminster Abbey in London. Preparations for the big day have been in the works for years but only recently have we seen such a frenzy of excitement about all things “Will & Kate”.

For many Canadians this wedding is akin to watching Sunday afternoon curling. For others, both monarchists and non-monarchists alike, this wedding is the event of the century! Over 10 million people are expected to witness the procession in the streets and over 2 billion (that’s right, 2 billion!) are expected to watch the ceremony live on television. The event is unprecedented in scale, dwarfed only by the funeral of Princess Diana in 1997 which garnered 2.5 billion spectators. The coveted guest list has nearly 1,900 names on it, filling up every available and unavailable seat in the cathedral. Not surprisingly, British Prime Minister David Cameron has declared the “happy and momentous occasion,” a national bank holiday for all UK citizens.

Economically, the wedding has been the spark needed to rekindle a dimming British financial system. The tourism sector is set to gain a modest benefit through visitor expenses at pubs, hotels, gift shops, parties leading up to the nuptials. Coming out in throngs, royal-watchers are expected to spend their fair share on domestic fare at the local restaurants and pubs; but, overall, the largest cash flow seems to coming in from outsiders buying souvenirs and knick-knack memorabilia of the royal wedding. Today, you can find just about any sort of product that has to do with the couple. Online sales have gone through the roof with dozens of products including commerative keychains, coffeemugs, postcards, movies, mousepads, and iPhone cases. Not all merchandise, of course, has been so standard. There have been successful attempts to market KaTEA tea bags, “Kiss Me Kate” beer, full-sized royal wedding fridges, brass knuckles, barf bags, trucker hats, and doggy vests.

As crazy as these oddities may seem, in Canada, we also have gone a little crazy for the couple. Canadians are third only to the British and the Irish in terms of interest in the royal wedding. Canadian IP addresses are topping the charts when it comes to googling the words “royal wedding” and “kate middleton”. We are second only to the U.S. for searches with the keywords “prince william”. In a country that is apparently losing its affinity for “the Sovereign,” we have shown an explosion of interest as of late. The question is, regionally, where is all this interest coming from? We know it’s not Quebec, but after that we’re a little puzzled. Surprisingly, the answer is right in our own back yards. Burlington and Hamilton have consistently come in at number one and two for internet searches involving all three of the terms above. After all, we do have a fan club called the “Loyal Royals” right? That must count for something.

Even our own Stephen Harper has gotten into the mix. Prime Minister Harper had been invited to the royal wedding, but decided to decline the offer in order to focus on his bid for re-election. Talk about a respectable reason to be a party-pooper, but a party-pooper nonetheless. Among other invitees on the list are Guy Ritchie, David Beckham, Elton John, Ben Fogle, Kanye West, and the legendary Mr. Bean (called Rowan Atkinson these days). Snoop Dog is also rumoured to have performing a song at Prince William’s bachelor party. He has dedicated his new song “Wet” to the prince and when asked about it said, “Wet is the perfect anthem for Prince William or any other playa to get the club smoking.” He then went on to say that he hopes the song gets him a knighthood, "I think I'm ready to be hit with the sword."

As comical and far-fetched as this whole thing sounds, it is a real wedding that will be performed by a real minister (the Archbishop of Canterbury will do the honours). The couple is taking important vows for the rest of their lives and are forced to do so under the watchful eye of nearly one-third of the globe. Like any other wedding, they’ve reserved a quiet closing reception for only close friends and family; yet, unlike other weddings, there will be thousands of armed forces on hand, fly-over jets, and millions of flags waved with patriotic cheer. Britons will once again receive a much needed boost of spirits, in a time that has seen economic recession and monarchical support decline. The mayor of the city of London, Boris Johnson, said it best “I think nearly everybody is pleased. In a weird way, a royal wedding cheers everyone up.”

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