William and Kate: reason to be cheerful?

Published on Wednesday 17 November 2010 19:14

At least for one day next year the only thing the nation will think about cutting is a wedding cake. But will a marriage of two royal sweethearts really manage to lift the mood of austerity Britain?

• Quick work: the centre of a souvenir plate already in production at Aynsley China in Stoke-on-Trent

AS WE contemplate the blasted wasteland of Britain in recession, with the prospect of 500,000 public sector job cuts looming, where exactly in the shrinking list of reasons to be cheerful should we fit the Royal Wedding? Ardent Royalists, already unfurling their Union flags and polishing the obligatory red, white and blue plastic bowler hat, would hoist it to the top of the happiness totaliser. Republicans, meanwhile, view it as a dark cloud rather than a ray of sunshine, one whose imminent downpour will wash away more public money.

What of the rest of us, will we take pleasure in the young couple's happiness? Or merely view them as we would any other couple who met at university and to whose wedding we are not invited, – that is to say, with indifference? According to Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London: "Everybody is pleased. In a weird way, a royal wedding cheers everyone up." Precedence says he has a point and that we will care, but not quite as much as in the past.

When the Queen married Prince Philip in 1947, it was against a backdrop of austerity today's generation could only imagine, one subject to strict rationing, but then the Royal Wedding was a reason to celebrate – a burst of colour in a grey world. Few begrudged the young princess the extra ration coupons required to obtain the material from which Norman Hartnell created her dress. After all, two years previously men were giving their lives for King and Country, now in peace all that was required was a garment, and patriotism remained high.

At the time Charles and Diana wed in 1981 there were riots in the streets and unemployment had risen to 2.5 million – sound familiar? Then again, Royalty remained firmly on its pedestal, although the divorce of Princess Margaret had wobbled it a little. Since then divorce, tapped phone calls, and long-lens photographs of a bald man sucking a duchess's toe has soundly knocked Royalty off its perch. No longer are they viewed as our betters, merely richer. For many the soap opera of William and Kate's will-they-won't-they is merely an extension of our obsession with celebrity culture, granted one played out in grander homes.

Yet it is this appetite for escaping our lives by focusing on those of others that might drive us to take refuge from reality in the nuptials. Peter York, social commentator and author of Peter York's Eighties and The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook, believes there is currently a public appetite for escapism mirroring that of the early 1980s. "There's a lot of it around right now – Downton Abbey is about all that," he says of the hit ITV1 drama, recently shown in England and Wales. "In 1981 you had something similar with Brideshead Revisited."

Nonetheless, York suspects the Palace will be keen not to overdo the ostentatious bling lest it prove too much for hard-up subjects. "I think they'll be careful about how they do it," he says. "They'll be taking soundings about how far to go." After enduring a deep economic recession followed by painful spending cuts, surely it's about time Britain had a reason to be cheerful. Phillip Hodson, Fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, comments that while "cynics" will say the announcement is well-timed, we'll all inevitably feel more cheerful. "The Royal Family are a soap opera: a multigenerational dysfunctional unit, which we all recognise in ourselves – even if we do occasionally feel jealous of their wealth," he says.

For the same reason that a global television audience of 750 million tuned in to see Charles and Diana get married in 1981, a staggering number will doubtless gather around their TV sets on one as-yet-to-be-named day in spring/summer 2011. "This announcement makes us think of our children, our friends, and everyone we know who's in love. The emotion surrounding this event will be like Strictly Come Dancing and X Factor multiplied by 100. It will be a joy - a pageant, party, and show wrapped into one," sayss Hodson. "And since we're an ageing nation, there will be huge sentimentality among older people towards it."

But how deep do such sentiments go? According to Oliver Burkeman, author of How to Become Slightly Happier and Get a Bit More Done, it's hard to measure the significance of our reactions. "Most psychology studies have focused on negative news," he says. "Watching coverage of wars and humanitarian crises unsurprisingly makes people feel more stressed and anxious, but it makes sense that positive news might have the reverse effect."

Go back three decades, and the nation was gripped by royal wedding fever. Throughout her life, the public's love for Princess Diana seemed limitless. But as the apparently perfect veneer of her marriage began to crack, so did our belief in fairytale happy endings. Burkeman wonders whether we'll ever feel that level of joy again: "Whether a royal wedding can still have that kind of impact depends on attitudes to the monarchy. The days of deference are gone so, for most people, the royals are like any other celebrities – they fascinate us, but are quite capable of irritating us too."

Now that our fairytale princess is gone, he even suggests that a major royal wedding could actually have a negative consequence on the nation's mood. "Happiness is largely based on comparing ourselves with other people. Among people who aren't huge fans of the monarchy to start with, a lavish and expensive wedding could quite easily make people feel worse about their own situation." He believes there could even be anger. "There will be resentment towards Kate about her inherited wealth from her family, and her husband. It's fine when we're all feeling OK about our lives, but when people are choosing between the car and the kids, so to speak, it's tricky to feel joy for others."

Yet hard facts and cold cash point to the national benefit of a royal wedding. When Charles and Diana wed the public were given an extra bank holiday, and while business leaders may groan if, as is more than likely, one is given next year, even republicans enjoy an extra lie-in.

Tourism is expected to receive an extra boost. Sandie Dawe, head of VisitBritain says: ''The Royal Wedding is set to deliver a welcome boost not just to the tourism industry in London but across Britain. It will give VisitBritain a wonderful opportunity to showcase Britain in the lead up to the 2012 Games.

"We are already talking to the rights-holding broadcasters and the marriage in 2011 gives a further unparalleled chance to tell the world what we have to offer as a tourism destination.

"The couple studied at St Andrews and spend time at Balmoral so that is a wonderful boost for Scotland, and they live in Wales which has fantastic scenery and awe-inspiring castles.

"William and Kate are a modern couple. They go to nightclubs and they are outdoor people which gives us the chance to talk about these activities on offer to overseas visitors. Kate seems to shop on the high street which is very accessible.

"The wedding dress will give us a chance to highlight our designers while the wedding gifts will showcase our outstanding craftspeople, potters, glass and textiles. All of this helps us tell the story of contemporary Britain. It is the most wonderful publicity boost for the country.''

And then when its over, when the streamers are swept up, the bowler hats put away and the prince and his newly acquired princess depart on their honeymoon, austerity Britain will still be there with plenty with which to turn smiles into frowns.