Who doesn’t love a wedding?
According to The Royal Wedding Live website, an estimated 2 billion people will wake up early to tune into the nuptials of Prince William and Catherine Middleton this Friday at 6 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
That tops the other major British Royal Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana, which only drew in around 750 million viewers.
Why are people so interested in the Royal Wedding?
Chris Otter, an associate professor of history at Ohio State and England native, said the spectacle of the Royal Wedding and the popularity of William and Kate have drawn in viewers.
“In 1981, when Charles and Diana were married, it was a major event,” he said. “People threw street parties and watched the wedding. I’m sure there will be a lot of beer flowing on Friday (in England).”
Mia Wang, a third-year in international studies and French, said she will definitely be watching come Friday morning, even if it means she has to wake up at 4 a.m.
“I watched a video of Charles and Diana getting married and now I want to see William and Kate get married because they have eight years of love,” she said. “It’s a fairytale.”
While female students might be holding back tears of joy at the thought of true love between a prince and his bride, guys don’t seem as enthused.
“I’m not watching it because it’s not interesting,” said Andrew La Rosa, a first-year in chemistry.
He admitted his girlfriend would be watching.
The wedding will be heavily monitored by the television stations from around the world in attendance. From CBS to E! Entertainment News, American media has been focusing in on the wedding date of April 29 since the engagement announcement in November.
Otter said he was surprised at the level of American interest in this very British event.
“Americans like their pop culture and celebrity, and our (the British) royal family is the closest thing the Americans have to a royal family,” he said.
But the native Brit himself will not be watching the ceremony.
“If England gets to the World Cup, I’ll watch, but I have no interest in this,” he said.
At least one member of Ohio State will be attending the wedding. Chemistry professor Dr. Malcolm Chisholm was on his way to England Wednesday and unavailable for comment.
