Kate Middleton will go to bed a commoner on Thursday night, without even any aristocratic pedigree or links behind her, unlike past commoners, and wake up a Princess of the Realm, at the highest level, taking precedence in rank over the rest of the Royal family except for the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall and William. That's one fantastic transformation in the history of our country. Unlike Princess Diana, who could claim all kinds of connection to royalty and who was the daughter of an earl in her own right, Kate Middleton is a commoner in every sense of the word as we know it, yet with the obvious bearing, sensitivity, charm and charisma to fall naturally into the role of a royal princess. As someone as educated and articulate as her fiance, and who shared the same student world for some years, she will bring a fresh perspective to her role as a new princess.
The nation certainly approves of William's bride. But there is something different in the air about this royal wedding which is unlike any other: a mixture of anticipation, resignation and clear apathy. The country is in an economic turmoil and while, on one hand, there is a lot of joy and goodwill for the couple, and some anticipation of being part of the big day and its pageantry (a kind of welcome distraction from our troubles), the excitement of the occasion is definitely lacking, the souvenirs are not selling as much, and the resignation to the event is almost palpable to feel. For example, in my home town in Berkshire, a natural conservative base with royal leanings, there isn't a single event marking the wedding on Friday. Yet, with Charles and Diana, there were street parties everywhere to involve the nation in a spirit of communal celebration. People are definitely happy for the couple, but the happiness is muted for a variety of reasons, four in particular.
1. These are hard economic times with many businesses complaining that they can hardly find the money to pay staff for being off work for yet another public holiday, and also that the wedding will rob them of attention and patronage from clients. With the wedding holiday being added to the Easter and May 1 bank holidays, it makes the next week particularly disruptive for businesses.
2. William and Kate have been almost living together since they met, so the ceremony is really just a rubber stamp on a de-facto situation. It doesn't carry the mystery and awe of past royal weddings when brides had to be virgins and not have cavorted with anyone else!
3. The changing status of the Royal Family does not carry the loyalty, attention and support from the British public that it once did. Most of the Family is seen as irrelevant to British life in these times. Many people are likely to be complaining about the potential cost of the wedding than wanting to see the wedding, especially if they are suffering economic hardship now too.
4. While many of the public would like to see the succession skip a generation and go straight to William on the Queen's death, they know that William will have to wait quite a while after his father, so that takes some excitement out of the wedding itself.
So, altogether, the national mood does not really welcome a royal wedding and there is no noticeable dancing in the streets because of it. Instead, there is fear and insecurity in the air, which has engendered a deeper kind of resignation that the event is going to happen anyway, so we might as well all make the most of it. Furthermore, the couple are likeable in their own right, they promise something different for the country's future, and so it would be a little churlish not to wish them well for their big day.
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