By Craig Wilson, USA TODAY
Here comes the bride.
By Eileen Blass, USA TODAY
Shaaron Anderson of Seattle sets up outside Westminster Abbey in hopes of catching a glimpse of Kate Middleton's gown.
By Eileen Blass, USA TODAY
Shaaron Anderson of Seattle sets up outside Westminster Abbey in hopes of catching a glimpse of Kate Middleton's gown.
And about time, too!
The royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton is just a day away. London is gearing up for the big show, and royal watchers in America are planning their own parties. Actually it's party time all around, even though the timing could not be worse for Americans.
Really. Who attends a wedding in the wee hours of the morning?
Ellie Ausmus of Seattle, for one.
It's not surprising she'll be watching the festivities alone early Friday morning. Her husband just "rolls his eyes" at the hoopla, and her friends think she's "nuts." Her word, not ours.
However dated Britain's royal tradition may seem to some, a good chunk of the world continues to be fascinated by it. For the nuptials of the 28-year-old man who's second in line to be king and the 29-year-old princess-to-be, TV networks expect about 2 billion people worldwide to join Ausmus, and tune in to their tellies as the wedding ceremony begins at 11 a.m. in London. That's 6 a.m. in New York and 3 a.m. Ausmus' time on the West Coast.
Millions will be getting up even earlier: Coverage will start on most networks two hours before Kate walks down the aisle.
"My company has an office in the U.K., and they laughed that I was more excited about the wedding than they were," says Ausmus, 57, who works for an ultrasound machine manufacturer. "So they sent me a bone china loving cup with William and Kate's photo on it as a souvenir."
She'll drink lots of English tea from it, she says, just to stay awake. She even found crumpets at a local grocery to carry out the British theme.
"I've followed the royal family for years. I remember when Charles was made Prince of Wales, watched Charles and Diana's wedding live, saw William grow up, was saddened when he and Kate split and pleased when they reconciled," she says. "This wedding is something important for me to witness as it happens, to toast William and Kate's future life together."
Ausmus may be tuning in alone, but elsewhere across America, friends and families will gather for thousands of early-morning viewing parties.
Polls initially indicated that most Americans were underwhelmed by the royal nuptials, but interest has spiked as the wedding day nears. U.S. media outlets are publishing twice the amount of coverage as the British media, according to a new Nielsen study.
The streets and sidewalks around Westminster Abbey already are jammed with media, tourists, traffic, barricades and even gas lamp cleaners doing last-minute work before Friday's big event.
Nancy O'Dell and the Entertainment Tonight and Insider teams have a special studio at Buckingham Palace and a setup across from the abbey.
"It's like being involved in the Super Bowl times 10," says Kevin Frazier, who'll spend much of the wedding day working with Sharon Osbourne on stories for The Insider. "I don't think people back home realize what's involved."
Hello, hullabaloo
Jane Seymour, the actress-turned-correspondent for ET, says she hasn't met anyone in London who's apathetic about the wedding.
"This is completely insane," says the British-born Seymour. "I think there's nothing else happening in the world because all the media are here. I find it quite fun."
A possible damper? The weather. After gloriously good weather over the Easter weekend and positive early predictions of continued sunshine, the latest forecasts now are for thunderstorms, brisk winds and cooler temperatures on Friday.
"Will Kate arrive beneath a brolly?" The Daily Mail asked, using the British term for umbrella. "The world's first glimpse of Kate Middleton's wedding dress could be obscured by brollies," it warned glumly.
Even so, Union Jacks are hanging above London streets like laundry on the line, and many buildings, including famed Harrods department store, are decorated for the wedding day, sporting photos of the young royals.
For souvenir stand vendor Oli Smith, 28, the royal wedding so far seems like much ado about not all that much.
"Don't get me wrong, I like the royals and all, but I just don't see what the big deal is," he says, surrounded by William-and-Kate commemorative plates and mugs in a kiosk just off Leicester Square. "I mean, good luck to 'em, right?"
Smith says sales are steady but haven't exploded. "Maybe come Friday, we'll see, maybe then we'll really see the crowds," he says. " It almost seems like this (wedding) is a bigger deal for Americans."
Case in point: Thousands of Brits are planning to leave old London town to escape the hoopla. (Friday and Monday are holidays.) So forget the marriage, it's the M1 motorway for them.
Loyal royal gazers
Not that London will be empty. More than a million well-wishers are likely to line the streets as the newlyweds make their way from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace after the wedding. All hoping for a glimpse of the "first" kiss from the palace balcony.
Among the throngs will be American Andrea "Andy" Alderdice, a real-estate agent from Bethesda, Md., visiting her sister, Jenny Nealon, who lives in Wimbledon.
Nealon will not go near the festivities ? she's staying home for a champagne-and-cake party on her block ? so Alderdice plans to travel into the thick of it with her brother-in-law, Gene, and some friends.
"We're heading for a location close to a Tube stop and a good pub," she says. "We'll try to get close to something. Worse case, we watch it from a pub. We just want to experience the atmosphere and get some tacky souvenirs."
That should not be a problem. Spotted in the shops this week: Will-and-Kate nail clippers.
Whitney Burris, a devoted Princess Diana fan, came for the wedding ? and her 50th birthday ? with friend Courtney Surany, 47. They flew in from Denver.
"I like the hoo-ha," said Surany, who stood near the abbey and the media grandstands surveying the scene. "It's great people-watching."
They were able to get one of the last tours of the abbey, which closed Tuesday afternoon for the duration of the week.
One colorful man had claimed a spot Monday night across from Westminster Abbey. John Loughrey, 56, of South London, who was first on the scene and who plans to stay put until the wedding, arrived with a sleeping bag, Union Jack hat, and a Diana T-shirt.
Swarmed by media, he explained again and again, "I want to be here to see the celebration. Diana would be very proud of her son."
People were dropping off food for Loughrey, and he wasn't worried about possible rain. "I'll just have to stand up with an umbrella."
He wasn't alone for long. Bernadette Smith, 48, from Suffolk, England, had one of the first of several tents set up across from the abbey. She and her sister Nichola Gooderham, 57, arrived Tuesday afternoon.
"We want to soak up the atmosphere," she said, figuring they'll get to see Kate and William exit the church. As for why she came so early to brave the elements and whatever else may come her way on the street? "You've just got to go for it sometimes," she said.
Here in the States, the colonists are partying not so much in the streets but in the comfort of their homes.
Kassie Courson of Macomb, Ill., has always been enthralled with royalty, so much so she's throwing a royal wedding party at her house early Friday. And there are rules. Just like all royalty has rules.
"We are to be there no later than 3 a.m. In our pajamas," says her friend Julie Terstriep of Industry, Ill. "Hats are required. Heeled shoes are suggested. Tiaras will be accepted."
Their wedding attire? Snuggies decorated with "jewels and lace for that royal feel."
Courson's husband, Ron, will be the butler, and on his menu will be scones, Earl Grey tea, clotted cream from Devonshire, all served on china bearing William and Kate's likenesses, a gift to Courson sent from England by friends.
Pimm's Cup cocktails also will be served, for those who want a little nip with their breakfast.
Some royal fans are looking upon the wedding as way to bond over generations, not drinks.
Anita Cullen of Columbus, Ohio, is taking the day to create memories for her granddaughter, Allison, who is 9.
"My daughter, Paula, and I watched Charles and Diana's wedding and she has always remembered how special the day was," says Cullen, who works at the Ohio State University Medical Center. "Since her daughter is almost the age Paula was in 1981, we are going to try to make the event special and elegant."
They too will have English tea and scones on their finest china and "we'll make photos of us wearing gloves and hats like so many of the women who will attend the real thing."
Why are we so fascinated by all of this?
"Well, they're keeping my job alive another week," cracked Today show co-host Meredith Vieira, as she sat on the show's set in Trafalgar Square on Wednesday morning.
"But I think we care about them because they're a young, charming, seemingly normal couple about to embark on a crazy life that none of us can really appreciate because we'll never experience it," she says. "But we wish them well. And if you're an American, you can't help thinking about Princess Diana and those pictures of her with William as a little boy and wishing him the best with the second love of his life."
Contributing: With reporting from London by Ann Oldenburg, Marco della Cava and Maria Puente
Ashley Scott Danica Patrick Bridget Moynahan Alice Dodd Laetitia Casta
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