Brits brace for ‘the other’ royal wedding
London, UK - Five months on from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s fairytale nuptials, the time has come for ‘the other’ royal wedding - the one no one seems to want to pay for or watch.
When Queen Elizabeth II’s granddaughter Princess Eugenie walks down the aisle on Friday in Windsor Castle to marry Jack Brooksbank, a ‘commoner’ with blue-blood friends, the critics will be out.
For Britain is still gaga over Meghan, the glamorous US actress who married the queen’s grandson in a Windsor wedding watched by the masses in Britain and around the world in May.
Some even reminisce about the sunny afternoon in 2011 when Prince William, second in line to the throne, married Kate, whose grace stirred memories of the late Princess Diana.
Princess Eugenie of York, along with her 30 year old sister Beatrice, are by contrast unhappily famous for wearing peculiar hats, with the flamboyant numbers they picked for Prince William’s wedding making a particularly lasting impression.
The 28 year old princess Eugenie, is the ninth in the long line of succession. One public petition protesting the wedding’s cost - the security bill is estimated at £2mn (US$2.6mn) - dismissed her as a ‘minor royal’.
The BBC, which takes its royal weddings seriously, reportedly caused a Buckingham Palace ruckus by refusing to broadcast this one live, fearing a ratings flop.
“No comment on whether we did or didn’t turn it down,” a BBC spokesman said.
The live feed was picked up by the smaller, commercial ITV - but only, according to The Times, after being badgered into it by Eugenie’s father, Prince Andrew.
Adding to the ignominy, a hotel directly opposite the castle that sold out long in advance for Prince Harry and Meghan was actually discounting rooms for Friday night.
The public is focused instead on who is paying for what and there is resentment over taxpayers getting stuck with the security bill. ‘A royal wedding is a private, personal event, dressed up as a national occasion’, sniffed one protest petition signed by nearly 40,000 people.
The palace will pay for the red velvet and chocolate cake - ‘traditional, (but) with a modern feel’ - and the post-ceremony brunch for 850 invited guests.