The royal wedding

Outside of the House of Windsor, it is hard to know exactly why anyone should care about the marriage of Prince William to his long-term girlfriend Kate Middleton. But care they did. A global audience of hundreds of millions tuned in to watch the son of the heir to the British throne take the first step to one day becoming king himself. In Pakistan, the event constituted a major news story, with all local television channels showing live wall-to-wall coverage. Several channels had shows devoted entirely to the event, and it seemed as if the marriage struck a chord with many Pakistanis, long accustomed to a dose of suicide bombings, target killings and long power outages. The British monarchy is an anachronism in this age of democracy and yet, despite the death of Princess Diana and numerous scandals, it retains its charm and relevance for many around the world.

For those who are not British, the charm in the royal wedding lay in its opulence and, perhaps, order. Kate Middleton’s wedding dress, with its veil, long trail and understated elegance proved a universal hit. The controversy over the guest list — the Syrian ambassador uninvited while the Bahraini representative was present — and with Labour prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown inexplicably left out, while Tories John Major and Margaret Thatcher were issued invitations, was soon forgotten as celebrities and royals poured into the abbey. For the British, it was a day to forget about the recession and the brutal spending cuts that have accompanied it. Yes, it may seem ironic that the British government is cutting public services while continuing to subsidise a purely symbolic royal family. But symbols and traditions matter.

When the British are facing a national crisis, as they did during the Second World War, they turn to the royal family for some good old-fashioned English stoicism. That gauntlet must now be taken up by Prince William, who has taken a new step forward in his career as a symbol of the United Kingdom. We wish him and his radiant new bride all the best as they try to navigate the minefield of British royalty.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 1^st, 2011.