Social Event Essay

1009 Words5 Pages
The Royal Wedding England’s Prince William and Catherine Middleton were married in front of their families, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and — via TV and the Web — more than a billion new, utterly thrilled friends. It was the most-watched royal wedding in history. The excitement is almost unexplainable, with some even angered and questioning the benefit the wedding fuzz adds to the country. Royal Wedding took place between Prince William and Kate Middleton on Friday, April 29, 2011 at Westminster Abbey. The celebration was British to the core, from the freshly polished horse-drawn carriages to the sausages and lager served at street parties. Some pubs opened early in the morning, offering beer and English breakfasts sausages, beans, toast, fried eggs and bacon. Kate’s ivory-and-white satin dress with its plunging neckline, long lacy shoulders and sleeves and a train over 2 yards long was designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen. Middleton’s hair was half-up, half-down, decorated with dramatic veil and a tiara on loan from the queen. Her dramatic diamond earrings were a gift from her parents. A number of famous people were left off the guest list, including President Barack Obama and Britain’s last two prime ministers, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown of the Labour Party, which is not as strong a backer of the monarchy as the governing Conservatives. From a sociological perspective, public ceremonies like the Royal Wedding can play powerful roles as cultural symbols. The ritual, pageantry and ceremony aren’t just entertainment: they are also rituals in the Durkheimian sense of the term, serving to reinforce cultural values and standards. It’s significant that the media have repeatedly described the royal couple’s romance as a “fairytale”. They’re right. Like the stories we tell to children, the tale of “William and Kate” is a narrative: and cultures are shaped
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