How would you behave if you were at the Royal wedding? I concede that at this stage the contingency is remote, but humour me anyway. It’s a grand sight, the sort of pageant that Britain does best. The royal family, bishops, assembled dignitaries, guardsmen lining the route: all that’s missing is a Spitfire, Vera Lynn and some fleeing Bosche.
But Huw Edwards and some bearskins does not a state occasion make. The wedding will look splendid and solemn, but, once the religious ceremony ends, it’s like any other familial knees-up.
So was it ever thus. The Gentleman’s Magazine, a staple of polite Georgian England, considered this question of deportment in an edition published around the marriage of the Prince Regent to Princess Caroline in 1795. It was unable to provide a clear answer, although there were some subtle swipes at the corpulent Prince and his rumoured misadventures with Mrs Fitzherbert.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in