The Londoner Annual: The Royal Wedding

Being in London, I thought it would be wise to go out and check out Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding. In my candid opinion, the celebrations are a bit over the top. I've heard some people exclaim, "This is the biggest event of the decade!" or "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity; the last time we've had a royal wedding was in 1981!" Now let's be realistic, a wedding shouldn't be that big of a deal...but it was.

Having heard that people have been camping out in Trafalgar Square for the past 48 hours and that people have been flying in from every corner of the world to join in these celebrations, I thought it would be wise to leave the dorm early. I thought 7am would be early enough, but apparently it wasn't. I had friends out since 5am.

When I got to Trafalgar Square, it was packed! It almost reminded me of my visit to Tahrir Square earlier this month, but I have to admit that the Brits were much more orderly. It was quite delightful seeing people from all over the world take part in these celebrations. I didn't quite understand what all the hype was about, but apparently this is a national celebration and a tradition that has been taking place since the founding of the British monarchy.

From what I gathered, about 2 billion people would be watching this wedding from all over the world, i.e. one in every three people alive would be tuned in. That must be quite a humbling experience for the bride and groom. The other significant fact about this wedding was that this was the first time a member of the British royal family would marry someone who wasn't of royal lineage since the 1600s. In my personal opinion, I don't buy into this whole royalty/nobility idea, but on a more humane level I wish the couple all the best in the future.

The real take away from the whole experience was that the Brits really cherish their traditions. Today, one could see the remanents of the British Empire in all its glory. Not only was the imperial guard and members of the royal family impecably dressed, but tourists from all the former British colonies flew in to celebrate. Its this grandeur of nations like Great Britain that really gives it its flavour, reputation, and soft power.