Charles & Queen pay for wedding...guess Kate's parents got lucky!

[BC]

It is tradition here for the parents of the Bride to foot the bill for a wedding, but I heard today that Charles & the Queen would be paying the $40 MILLION for William & Kate's wedding. I am not familiar with English weddings, but my first thought was Wow, no wonder Kate's parents are so happy! LOL! I also heard some "commoners" interviewed and they were complaining about it costing the taxpayers. I guess they mean the cost for additional police & such during all the hub bub of the day. That being said, I have to admit I am one of the ones that somehow get swept up into it all and will be watching for sure!

 

[BC]

Anyone else have an interest in the Royals?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I'll be honest--I thought the same thing for her parents.

But, their "middle" class setting (Translated into american, high upper middle class, I think)--doesn't allow for them to pay for the event required for royalty I don't think their estate is worth that much. And if it were, I hear the banks are cutting down on those HELOCs. I also heard--the $40 million...is for a "low key" affair by royal standards. It is not expected to be the hoopla of Charles and Di. It will still be HUGE of course with pomp and circumstance--just not as much as they would do maybe in better economic times.

Also--I think taxpayers there complain like taxpayers here. They won't like paying for it as it is not their event.

However--heads of state from world wide will be invited and will show up. Nancy Reagan attended Chuck and Di's wedding--not sure if that was a logistical issue or a safety issue that President Reagan did not attend.

But our president will be invited.

In any case--even if many decline, or send alternates, many will still show up and that is just too much leadership under one roof. Recall the tragic plane crash of the Polish (was it?) govt several months ago. So many people on one plane from one government, gone. It is the DUTY of England to make every effort to protect those who do show up--and since it is a public affair (relatively speaking) tantamount to a state dinner or something, it does make sense for the taxpayers to pay for it. I would expect nothing less.

I will definitely tivo the event. I am not sure I will have the stamina to stay up like my mom did. But since I prefer to watch "live", I may set an alarm or something. I will not buy the souvenirs or the dolls of their children when they have them....my mom had one. I'm not that into the royal family. She also had the "barbie" doll of Diana and her dress. Now that I did play with. I'm sure if she kept it in mint condition, it would have been worth something. But us kids--needed a princess in our fairy tale games. She had Charles too. We kind of ignored him.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I would not expect her parents to pay, it is an enormous undertaking.

 

[ugadog99]

Anyone else have an interest in the Royals?

ME!! I had just graduated high school when Charles and Diana married. I remember watching it ALL. I'll be watching this time, too, and with my daughters.

 

[mickeysgal]

Under the unusual circumstances of it being a royal wedding, I'm not sure that the tradition of the cost going to the bride's family would even be considered here.

Then again, there's always the Little White Wedding Chapel in Vegas. What a stir that would cause!

 

[NotUrsula]

I'll be honest--I thought the same thing for her parents.

But, their "middle" class setting (Translated into american, high upper middle class, I think)--doesn't allow for them to pay for the event required for royalty I don't think their estate is worth that much. And if it were, I hear the banks are cutting down on those HELOCs. I also heard--the $40 million...is for a "low key" affair by royal standards. It is not expected to be the hoopla of Charles and Di. It will still be HUGE of course with pomp and circumstance--just not as much as they would do maybe in better economic times.

Also--I think taxpayers there complain like taxpayers here. They won't like paying for it as it is not their event.

However--heads of state from world wide will be invited and will show up. Nancy Reagan attended Chuck and Di's wedding--not sure if that was a logistical issue or a safety issue that President Reagan did not attend.

But our president will be invited.

In any case--even if many decline, or send alternates, many will still show up and that is just too much leadership under one roof. Recall the tragic plane crash of the Polish (was it?) govt several months ago. So many people on one plane from one government, gone. It is the DUTY of England to make every effort to protect those who do show up--and since it is a public affair (relatively speaking) tantamount to a state dinner or something, it does make sense for the taxpayers to pay for it. I would expect nothing less.

Actually, heads of state probably will not be invited this time around, unless they are family members (such as Albert of Monaco, for example).
This is because as William is not the heir apparent yet, this does not qualify as a State Wedding. (Charles was already the Prince of Wales when he married, so he was heir apparent. William is only the heir presumptive at this time. Heirs presumptive do not rate state weddings.) The American representative in attendance will probably be either the Ambassador or Secretary Clinton; maybe the Bidens.

I suspect that most Americans (and probably a fair number of Britons, too) don't realize that there are two levels of wedding type, and will be expecting the same level of pomp that they saw in 1982. If you remember the wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, or Princess Anne and Mark Phillips in 1973, that is what you should be expecting this time around.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

My mom, my sister and I all got up early in the am to watch Charles and Diana wedding and I will watch this one too. I remember after Diana's wedding all of us that got married in the next few years had dresses with similar styling. I wonder if that will happen again with Kate's dress?

 

[lemondog]

What I find funny is that if they had the kind of wedding Kate's parents could afford, it would likely be a small, private ceremony, certainly no heads of state, parades, television, etc. And then the citizens would be screaming for more because after all, this is the future king and queen of England! In order for them to have the wedding deemed acceptable for royalty, the taxpayers are ultimately going to have to foot the bill.

 

[Buckalew11]

My mom, my sister and I all got up early in the am to watch Charles and Diana wedding and I will watch this one too. I remember after Diana's wedding all of us that got married in the next few years had dresses with similar styling. I wonder if that will happen again with Kate's dress?

You better belive it! Everything about her will be duplicated. Princess Diana's photo was brought into me every single week until she died as a style to be cut/done (even at its worst!) When Geraldine Ferraro ran for VP (? is that right?), people brought photos of her in. Last time, Sarah Palin's basic do was requested quite often. It is quite interesting to be aware of--watching how people take all these trends in and duplicate them.

I heard on the news that Obama would be invited. But maybe not, I guess we'll see.

They said Charles and Diana were married during a down economy also but still they chose to do the whole shabang. This time, 40 million will be low-key...can you imagine? 40 million dollars is low-key? Boggles your mind.

I'm sure I'll watch. DD is about the age I was when Diana married and she could not care less. She wondered why they kept talking about on the news. lol She is not interested in it at all. How can this be my DD?

Lisa Loves Pooh, I liked your comments about the dolls. Ignoring Charles was what most people did also and it made him mad. SHE got all the attention,

 

[UKdisneytwinmummy]

Kate Middleton's parents are millionaires, certainly not the same as the majority of the middle class in the UK.

Tradition here is for the bride's parents to pay but not many people keep that tradition now, think it's much more common for everyone (couple and both sets of parents) to contribute.

I had heard it reported over here that they will contribute but the royals will pay for most of it and the taxpayers the security bill. I think most people will accept that especially if we get a public holiday though that might not happen as it's not a state occasion.

 

[BC]

UKdisneytwinmummy....thanks for clearing that up, although I realize this is a Royal wedding, I wondered if it was tradition there also for the parents of the bride to pay for a wedding.

It seems it would take a while to plan this thing, but yesterday I heard speculation on Today show that it may be in March! That seems like a very short time for such an event. Makes me wonder if Kate hasn't been planning this for a while without anyone knowing.

 

[Green Tea]

I bet the bride's family can get the napkins and favors at cost

 

[PaulaSB12]

UKdisneytwinmummy....thanks for clearing that up, although I realize this is a Royal wedding, I wondered if it was tradition there also for the parents of the bride to pay for a wedding.

It seems it would take a while to plan this thing, but yesterday I heard speculation on Today show that it may be in March! That seems like a very short time for such an event. Makes me wonder if Kate hasn't been planning this for a while without anyone knowing.

Before any planning was done they had to get the Queen's permission to marry first. Anyone who is in line to the throne has to have the Queen's permission to marry if they do it without the marriage is not legal and any children are illigitmate.

 

[BC]

So they must have gotten her permission a while back, I guess.

 

[NotUrsula]

It's not at all difficult to pull off a major occasion like this quickly if you have sufficient money and power, and are not inclined to dither about details.

The most likely major issue is the dress and the security around having it made. Everything else is going to be pretty easy for them -- it's not like the Bishop of Canterbury is going to tell the Queen that, "Sorry, the Abbey is just booked solid that month." Whatever timing they want will happen, and since they always get married on a weekday morning in any case, it will be easy. If they wanted to have it Christmas Week it would probably be just as nice an occasion as if they had a year to plan.

 

[walden]

Not quite. The Queen is only a constitutional Monarch, so getting her "permission" is more of an etiquette and political question. I don't think the Queen's actual opinion means much -- Parliament's matters more. The Queen would have to "approve" the marriage if the PM told her to approve it.

William and Kate could, technically, completely ignore this archaic requirement and pop off to the nearest registry office, marry quite legally and have legitimate children -- as commoners. It would certainly cause problems with the Act of Succession if William and Kate had a civil marriage. As things stand, it would be labeled a morganic marriage. Attempts have been made to revise the Act for years. Technically, as the Act stands today, without revision since 1702, William and Kate would merely jeopardise the possibility of their potential children inheriting the throne. It would not make their civil marriage invalid or their children actually illegitimate.

I don't know. I pity the Royals who by birth are a tourist attraction. Granted, they are a wealthy and privileged tourist attraction, but their choices are so limited from birth. And by that I mean: in careers, choice of spouse, and desire for privacy (if any).

Part of me wants to see more of the younger royals kick over the traces and say that they don't want any claim to the throne or attendant publicity! It must be a thankless job to be a Royal.

 

[BC]

So you see all of this going away some day?

 

[bumbershoot]

I bet the bride's family can get the napkins and favors at cost

I can't have been the only one to check out their party planning website a few months ago when the news articles mentioned it...

Before any planning was done they had to get the Queen's permission to marry first.

Doesn't mean William and Kate couldn't have been planning in their heads!

It's not at all difficult to pull off a major occasion like this quickly if you have sufficient money and power, and are not inclined to dither about details.

I agree. And it's not like they are going to be bogged down in "are we doing xyz tradition?" Because the answer is almost certainly "yep, doing these important traditions."

It must be a thankless job to be a Royal.

I don't know, it seems they get thanks and get some joy from it. People do certainly admire them (perhaps those people aren't the most vocal, but they exist) and CARE about them. Heck, my ancestry is mainly Irish so I sometimes have NO clue what on earth I'm thinking, caring about British royalty, and yet...every time I think of them marrying, I get all teary-eyed (including right now).



I can't imagine that anyone *really* thought that the bride's parents would pay for this sort of wedding! I imagine if a current president of the USA had a son of marrying age, and the son were marrying while the president was in office, that that wedding would be on the higher end of weddings, and that the bride's parents wouldn't have as high a level of paying for it as they would otherwise.

Plus, SO many families don't follow that "tradition" anyway.

 

[eliza61]

Anyone else have an interest in the Royals?

It's not about "caring", it's simply fun. Why must we think about the recession, naked body scanners and murder even second of every day?

Every once in a while it is absolutely lovely to here about a famous individual that seems actually happy. Instead of Charlie sheen beating his wife and Lindsey lohan failing another drug test.