Prince William & Kate Middleton - Royal Wedding Memorabilia

I decided to write a hub for Kate Middleton and Prince William because the Royal Wedding is on Friday the 29th of April, 2011 and there is a lot of hype surrounding this event so it is guaranteed to have a lot of searches online. Since I have been in England travelling around various cities across the north and south I have seen Royal Wedding memorabilia in all shapes and forms, in supermarkets, charity shops and gift shops around tourist attractions such as Windsor.

The question has to be asked whether the media, corporations and establishment are simply cashing in on this age old tradition, sure there is going to be a big ceremony in Westminister Abbey and millions of people will be watching worldwide because it is glamorous but are these people simply just new age celebrities?

According to the video below a lot of regular working class Britain's aren't concerned about the Royal family, we think of them as over paid, elitists who make a few appearances every now and again to publicise events and represent us overseas.

Photo courtesy of celesteh

The Kate Middleton Prince William wedding has probably become an excuse for many pubs and venue's to arrange special event's to allow customers to watch the live broadcast in a public area and it will be an excuse for many people to get drunk even if they are not particularly interested in the royals.

My question is what happens if they get divorced? so much hype and pressure has been put on this event but what makes their relationship different to any other couples love for each other?  We know the number of marriages that fail in the UK and U.S has risen over the last 50 years and even Charles and Diana divorced after being married 15 years.

Photos courtesy of bensutherland

Some of the tacky merchandising products that me and my friend saw when we were shopping in the local super market was incredible, baring in mind it was recently Saint George's day we didn't see any items with English flags on but only mobile phone cases with Union Jack's and disposable novelty party plates and hats.

Breweries have even brought out their own brand of ale called 'Kiss me Kate' in time for the Prince William and Kate Middleton royal wedding day, this again high-lights my point about it being an excuse for people to get drunk.

Photo courtesy of beglen

Even artists and graphic designers have been trying to cash in on the Kate Middleton royal wedding, as we can see above this one lady as far away as Spain even did a portrait and perhaps it has sold for a nice amount. However the real artistic marketing project has come in the form of modern day 'unofficial' Royal Wedding china sets.

The video below high-lights how Royal Wedding bone china sets have been produced to appeal to a younger generation of collectors because surveys have revealed that many people think the official designs are ugly. These pieces include 'cool' tag-lines such as 'Kate 4 William' and 'Thanks for the Day Off' since British people are granted a day off work for the wedding!

Photo Courtesy of Gwydionwilliams