D.C.-area residents to rise early
for the wedding of a generation
Melissa Kaiser has been ready for the royal wedding for months.
“When the wedding date was announced [in November], I submitted a request to my boss for the day off,” said the Arlington resident, who plans to get up at 4 a.m. and watch all the festivities with her mother. “We even have the royal cups for our morning coffee.”
She added that she visits the official royal wedding website as often as possible to stay up to date on all of the happenings.
Friday’s wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton has captured the imagination of many around the world, including those in the Washington area.
“I don’t think it’s often that the public has the opportunity to see a formal ceremony take place that’s surrounded with so much pageantry,” Kaiser said. “What’s wrong with engrossing yourself in all the pomp and circumstance every 30 years?”
She is just one of many local residents who are planning on taking in all of the festivities.
Across the Washington area, thousands of residents are set to wake up before the sun rises to watch the royal nuptials. Many will roll out of bed just before 6 a.m. and turn on the telly, drinking coffee, or maybe some English breakfast tea, while others will gather in groups at hotels or English pubs. For the more hard-core royal fans, the festivities start Thursday night as they head to the Ritz-Carlton and other places for sleepovers.
“A lot of people are into British royalty,” said Nancy Gordon, organizer of the Washington DC Area British Expat/UK Interest Meetup Group. “Some people relate to royals like you relate to celebrities.”
“There’s been a good interest of people,” Gordon said. “They’re very enthusiastic. I think people are quite excited.”
Her group of British expatriates and others who just love the culture is planning on meeting Friday evening at the Queen Vic, a new British pub on H Street in Northeast, to go over all the details, from Kate’s dress and hairstyle to Prince Harry’s toast.
While major sporting events like the World Cup make easy comparisons to the wedding, it’s probably the 1981 marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana that translates the easiest.
Kaiser remembers watching the last royal wedding. “I was a little girl, my mother woke up my twin sister and me to watch Charles and Diana get married,” she said. “It’s a great memory to have and a new tradition I’m lucky to repeat with my mom.”
The British Pantry in Alexandria has capitalized on that sense of excitement, selling a number of commemorative gifts in its shop. Stephen Mead, a native of London who works in the Old Town shop, was particularly intrigued by the enthusiasm on this side of the pond.
“What’s surprising to me is how keen Americans are for the royal wedding,” he said.
Added Mead: “It’s nice to have something in the news that’s a happy occasion.”
