FOREIGN DISPATCH: Royal Wedding: History Or Hype?

By Fox News Radio’s Alastair Wanklyn in London

Some consider it a moment of history. Others hope it makes amends: good yin for Princess Diana’s tragic yang.

But here’s a truth. Plenty of people in Britain don’t care either way about the royal couple.  Yes, they may come to care in years ahead. But for now Friday’s wedding is seen by many as no more than one between two young unknowns.

Sure, William might become a fine King with strong morals. But for now the only tests he has passed are those of any 28-year-old. He’s spent a few years in the Army, and training to be a helicopter pilot. As for Kate, we know even less. She once had a part-time job choosing accessories for a kid’s clothes range. She helped photograph her parents’ range of party goods. And she holidayed in the Caribbean.  Are these life achievements to admire?

If you ask the well wishers lining the parade route Friday, most will say they wish the couple well.  Good. That’s what the church official marrying them says they deserve. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, urges people to support the marriage not spectate.  In other words, actively keep them together, and not stand by observing, which some feel fuelled the bonfire of Diana’s marriage and private life. Queen Elizabeth seems to be demanding that too.

Open any tabloid newspaper in Britain and you’ll witness a continuing appetite for paparazzi shots of Kate. The royal household now seems ready to strike that down, threatening legal action over relatively innocuous photos of Kate, playing tennis, for example.  That’s soft compared with the intrusion Diana suffered. It suggests a whole new layer of protection for this royal couple.

Listen HERE to a report from FOX News Radio’s Alastair Wanklyn in London on the Royal Wedding rehearsals: