Is anyone else SICK about the constant media blitz this wedding is getting? And why I ask, should I care? How will this affect the world or anyone really? I can see how it might affect some people in the UK since I believe those taxpayers are paying for the wedding (which is what, some $30 million) and for anything else associated with the royals.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/04/29/royal. … index.html

"Scores joined the viewing on televisions worldwide, with British Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt predicting the ceremony would be seen by an estimated 2 billion people.

In the United Kingdom, crowds held street parties amid tight security following threats by Muslim radicals, anarchists and anti-royalists.

However, the royal fever is not as widespread in Britain, with just under half saying they were planning to watch it on television, and 56% saying they were not interested."

I have to wonder what percentage of the population that is watching this wedding is female, and what percentage male? I read that many women still have this notion that they deserve to wed nothing less than a prince (get real). Of course, I'm not sure what a prince really is other than someone with money. As for the British, I suppose 46% of them are sick of hearing, listening, and supporting the royals. Not that I blame them, but of course these are just my opinions!

You do realize that being bothered by something amounts to caring about it?

I care that it's all you hear about these days in the news. That of course, does not mean I actually care about the wedding, which as noted, I don't care about

You cared enough to post here about how you don't care.  So in essence you care enough about not caring that you cared to post this thread about how you could not care less about something that you claim to not care about.

...

But yes I agree.  This whole royal wedding nonsense is a huge waste of time, money, and most of all, media attention.  These are just two regular people who will go home tonight, take a big shit from all that royal cuisine, f--- each other, then go to sleep.  Not so glamorous anymore, is it?

I thought the King and Queen were already married?

While I really don't care about the wedding at all myself, I certainly do not begrudge those who do this chance to have the news focusing on a HAPPY event.  It seems like there's been nothing but sadness and destruction and general malaise in the media lately; why not give people the chance to look at a pretty dress and all the pomp and circumstance as a brief distraction from all the wars and environmental disaster?

Good show, old bean.

If this topic were true, you wouldn't have started it.

I certainly don't begrudge them a happy life. Still, I don't care for royalty myself. I understand people want to watch fun, frivolous, events, and this is fine. But seriously, I think there's a limit to everything. I don't agree with everything Boyce Watkins says, but he summed up my feelings on the wedding fairly good.

http://boycewatkins.wordpress.com/2011/ … l-wedding/

Also, I found this from the NYT interesting:

"Women are paying much more attention to the wedding than are men, particularly older women. A third of women under 40 are following news of the wedding at least somewhat closely, as are more than 4 in 10 women who are 40 or older."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/23/world … &seid=auto

This is very interesting. It shows how people (apparently mostly women) are still affected by the old (hundreds of not thousands of years) notion of marrying into royalty. I love reading classic folk and fairy tales, and often they have stories about a beautiful woman who toils and is virtuous and in the end she marries the most beautiful prince and happily ever after...yadda yadda...
I guess many people still see it this way. Again, not that people don't deserve happiness, but it's interesting to me to note how people still view and envy royalty. Just my view of course!

The royal wedding seems to be getting even more hype in New Zealand than in the United Kingdom, at least from what I can tell. The hype here is really quite bizarre, even for a Commonwealth country.

I think the main driving forces are the same as the reason people buy OK magazines to learn about Posh and Becks or Hollywood marriages though, rather than a major concern for the royal succession. I guess it's quite a nice story -- a prince marries a 'common' girl -- but she is very rich nonetheless (new money!).

That said, I am probably in favour of the royal family overall. I'm a firm believer that those who have power, money, status, etc. should gain it through merit rather than inheritance. But it's nice to have a stable force to represent the country between the ever-lasting shifts from shit government to shitter government.

I hope Charles' eventual reign will be a short one. In fact, he has disgraced the family so much that he certainly shouldn't represent the country. But I imagine William would be a sensible mature king. He and his brother come across a bit more worldly than the others.

Anyway, I watched some of the highlights on BBC, but couldn't be bothered to watch a full three hours of formal proceedings.

But when you say 'represent the country', in real terms, what do they actually do beyond a few photo ops and commemorative plates to justify what they take in taxes? For me, to see the amount squandered like that in the times we're living in just seems wrong. The money could be used to feed the homeless.

Oh, hang on. They're making that illegal - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12594397

Figureheads, I guess, and also a symbol of British history (as mixed as it is). I don't think they are suitable to be more than that. It seems the majority of Britons mildly support a constitutional monarchy. I'm anything but passionate for them, though, and can certainly understand a republican stance.

I agree that spending money on royals is not fair, but there are far bigger inequities elsewhere, both in UK and, to a greater extent, other nations. Not just in terms of internal spending, but also international aid. I hope royal spending was also cut by 25%, given this is what David Cameron seems intent on cutting elsewhere. The UK is a craphole right now and I'm glad I got out.

I think this photo well encapsulates the various opinions regarding the royal wedding.
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Prince-Wi … 056e3c4e6/

Haha, cute. You can always count on kids to add to the moment.

That little girl really reminds me of Raphael's Putti.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sanzi … 2-1513.jpg

Hah that's the cover for Hisaishi's Chijou no Rakuen.  Awesome.

It's interesting how those 2 little angels which were never meant to be more than "supporting" characters, ended up stealing the show (or painting as the case may be)! To be honest though, much like Beethoven's Ode to Joy, they are a bit overused

In relation to a similar picture, although I can't verify the authenticity of this photo, I was extremely amused:

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos- … 0992_n.jpg