I'm back from London and let me tell you that these five days were absolutely amazing! The atmosphere in London, the old Victorian city, the heart of the British Empire, was incredibly electric, everyone was awaiting the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton and it was beyond all expectations.
If you didn't watched the Royal Wedding live on TV i strongly recommand you to jump at the Youtube Royal Channel HERE as you will not see something such incredibly perfect like this every day. Only the British can succeed such an event full of pageantry.
The whole city was prepared for the royal event whether it was near Westminster Abbey and Big Ben...
...or on Regent Street...
...and of course on the Mall, the large avenue leading to Buckingham Palace
Even the shops had their windows themed on the "wedding", like Harrods, London famous elegant store.
In front of Westminster Abbey or on the Mall, Prince William and Kate fans came and slept in their tents three days before the wedding...
In front Of Buckingham Palace or Westminster Abbey huge structures were built for TV channels from all around the world...
And then the big day arrived. There were so many people on the Mall that at 10am it was already impossible to access it as all the streets were blocked by the Police who asked everyone to go at Hyde Park where they could watch the wedding on giant screens. More than 100.000 people were at Hyde Park and the four panoramic pictures below will give you a better idea of how many were there. Click on each to enlarge the pictures.
Here is a short video filmed when William and Harry appeared on Buckingham Palace balcony and also when the WWII Lancaster and Spitfire planes fly over us after they fly over Buckingham Palace to celebrate the marriage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.
But what was extraordinary on that great day is this: it was a real fairy tale. Just like the one in the old Disney animated classics, but for real. A real fairy tale, in a real kingdom. The wedding of a real Prince with someone who was not coming from another royal family, but from an ordinary one and who, one day, will be Queen. Kate is for sure beautiful, but just like in Cinderella her and Wiliam also still have the innocence of the youth.
It's very rare, in the world we're living now to have the privilege to watch something like this, and i think that the reason why these hundred of thousands of people were there last friday was because everyone wanted to make sure that fairy tales still exist.
And it was a triumph.
Pictures: copyright Alain Littaye or Disney
This was a national act of reassurance dressed up as a fairy tale wedding. Impressive, though - but that is what it was meant to be... I doubt that there were military jets and a military parade in Cinderella...
ReplyDeleteDisney's depiction of weddings is strongly influenced by royal European customs - it is natural that there are theses parallels such as the coach, costumes and fanfares.
I liked watching it, but it was not a fairy tale. It was a serious constitutional affair.
Great pictures, great memories. The country was gripped with the marriage of two REAL lovers. Alain, did you say you were invited into Buckingham Palace? Or was it just to take pictures on the Mall, Hyde Park etc?
ReplyDelete^ Which made it even better, IMO. The best parts were all the military elements: The Household Cavalry escort, the Irish Guards lining The Mall... it doesn't get any cooler and makes me sort of wish the British Empire still ruled the world.
ReplyDeleteIn America, we rarely get to experience as impressive displays of patriotic power, despite our enormous armed forces. British Military Tradition is without equal. At least France has Bastille Day. Our 4th of July doesn't really have any concentrated parade of flashy armies (to my knowledge).
No, Andrew, i was not invited at Buckingham Palace, it was just a joke as i was leaving for London the week-end of the Royal wedding (i wish i would have been invited, but it will be for another life!)
ReplyDeleteTo Will: I agree with you on "the national act of reassurance dressed up as a fairy tale wedding" but, still, as Andrew said, it was two people who really love each other, and one was not coming from a royal but an ordinary family.
That's where the fairy tale part is. And, as it happened for real, it meant that it is really possible, even if there is one chance on 40 million to be the one who will get married with the Prince. And the pageantry was incredible!
Wish the British Empire still ruled the world... You must be joking!!!
ReplyDeleteThe British Empire committed many atrocities when it ruled the world, like the opium wars, the Boer wars, in which they pioneered concentration camps that were later improved by the Nazis, and even the War of the Triple Alliance here in South America would not have happened if the British Empire did not want to destroy its new Paraguayan industrial competitors.
No single country or empire should rule the world!
Of course, all this have nothing to do with William and Kate, but I think that this wedding's repercussion was greatly exaggerated, let's not forget that, after the queen, all other royal weddings ended in divorce and scandals.
Nevertheless, I wish all the best to this couple.
@alain,
ReplyDeleteI am totally with you! the two are in love and that's wonderful!
@randy - the british empire caused much trouble and part of the major problems we have in the world today are a direct result of it.
but let's keep this a disney blog ;-)
@Marco Antonio Gracia; every nation in the world commits atrocities, and the Spanish Empire, Dutch Empire, French Empire whatever were just the same.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, at least in Disney films the courtship doesn't last ten years, it would be a pretty boring film!