On May 19, Prince Harry of England welcomed the wedding. This grand and romantic fairy tale wedding not only aroused the excitement of the British people, but also attracted the attention of the whole world.
The British royal family is an important part of Britain's soft power. Of the nearly 200 countries around the world, about 20 countries have royal families.
As a business card for the UK, the wedding of royal family members naturally became an excellent stage to showcase the image and soft power of Britain. Meghan, who has African descent, entered the British royal family. In addition to injecting new modern factors into the British royal family, the UK is also trying to use her to show a more open and diverse British society to the world.
British Prince Harry and Meghan Markle hold their wedding at Windsor Castle
British royal wedding as a global show
Although media polls on the eve of the wedding, more than 60% of British people have no interest in Prince Harry's wedding, but on the wedding day on the 19th, thousands of people still poured in. According to Windsor police estimates that 100,000 people were watching the ceremony.
On the wedding day, the British Consulate in Shanghai and British expatriates in Shanghai also held a small celebration for this. Among these British expatriates, the British's enthusiasm for the royal wedding was fully reflected.
In a small theater decorated with the ubiquitous British flag, more than 200 British people in Shanghai gathered together, drinking and chatting while watching the live broadcast of the wedding. Whenever royal members or other celebrities appear on the big screen, cheers and applause will sound. When the singing sounded at the wedding, the audience also sang with great affection.
"Many people don't know Meghan Markle or Prince Harry, but they just like grand weddings," said John Edwards, the British Consul General in Shanghai, explaining the British's excitement for royal weddings, and the reason why people in other countries in the world are full of enthusiasm for this exotic grand ceremony. "Royal weddings are both celebrating traditions and celebrating love," said Wu Qiaowen.
Whether it is a traditional and modern ceremony, or the solemn and fashionable wear of guests at the wedding, it is enough to inspire yearning in the hearts of men and women all over the world. After all, love is the common language in the world.
The British media's enthusiasm for this matter played a key role in turning this British wedding into a global performance. For weeks, various rumors about wedding details have become popular news in various British media, and have led British emotions to excitement bit by bit, which eventually climaxed on May 19.
The British media’s reports on the royal wedding can be described as exaggerated. News reports were already overwhelming a few days before the wedding, and the reports on the wedding day were in all directions without blind spots. A global live broadcast was conducted on site, with guests commenting and commenting behind it, and the scale of the report was comparable to the Olympics.
Although Prince Harry's wedding is much smaller than the wedding of Prince William and Kate seven years ago, it does not hinder the global influence of this fairy-tale romantic wedding. According to media reports, millions of people around the world watched Prince Harry's wedding live broadcast on May 19.
The UK shows its national image through Prince Harry’s wedding
As early as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s relationship was spread, many labels surrounding Meghan became hot topics among the people. Compared to Princess Kate, Megan has more elements that are contrary to the ancient British royal tradition in addition to her civilian status: she is an American, divorced, advocates feminism, she is a mixed-race child, her mother is black, and her father is white Irish.
If you look at Meghan from the ancient tradition of the British royal family, the first two are enough to kill her love with Prince Harry. 70 years ago, Elizabeth II, the queen's uncle Edward VIII had to give up the throne in order to marry the American who had been divorced twice. However, Meghan is a good choice for the British royal family that is facing the British people with a more modern and open attitude.
"In the past 20 to 25 years, the royal family has changed a lot, especially since Princess Diana ," said Wu Qiaowen, "they are also renewing themselves and becoming more modern."
Megan Markle undoubtedly represents the "modernization" trend of the British royal family. On the one hand, her appearance somewhat echoes the expectations of British society for more civilian elements to be integrated into the royal family since Princess Diana. On the other hand, Meghan’s symbols are also in line with the current social atmosphere of the UK advocating diversity and progress.
For Meghan's most popular black bloodline, in Wu Qiaowen's view, this itself is a manifestation of the modernization of the British royal family. He described Meghan's entry into the British royal family as "extremely unusual." Although, as the sixth heir to the British throne, it is very unlikely that Prince Harry will inherit the throne.
"This is not like Obama and becoming the first black president. Of course, this is also a big deal, but it is still very important for a mixed-race child to enter the royal family." Wu Qiaowen said.
The Wang family has no selfless affairs. In the past, royal marriages were often marriages for political purposes, but this is rare now. However, this does not mean that royal marriage is only about the romance.
Before the wedding, the media described the wedding as "subverting tradition", and the various details on the wedding day also confirmed this. The most eye-catching thing is the numerous black elements that appear at the wedding, including the passionate sermons of Michael Curry, a black bishop of the American Anglican Church. In his sermon, he also quoted the late American black civil rights leader Martin Luther King, saying, "We must discover the redemptional power of love. If we do so, it will bring about a new world." The music of the wedding ceremony also changed the classical and solemn tradition. The "Kingdom Choir" composed of 20 traditional black spirit singers performed American soul music, and the famous African-British musician Kane Mason was responsible for playing the cello.
It’s not just a romantic royal wedding, but a world stage that promotes British values, although many people don’t think it has much to do with improving the status of black British people. But with this unique stage, Britain silently shows its image to the world.
html At the celebration held at the British Consulate in Shanghai on the wedding day of 19th, Peppa Pig's image was particularly eye-catching. In many conspicuous locations at the event, the organizers carefully placed Peppa Pig-themed snacks.This pink British pig with a hairdryer head became very popular on the Chinese Internet not long ago because of the spread of short videos. The contrast formed by the relationship with "social people" helped the British animation "Peppa Pig" set off a frenzy among the young Chinese people.
Peppa Pig is another typical case of British cultural products success in China in recent years. From Harry Potter more than a decade ago to the more recent "Harmony Detective Sherlock ", to "Peppa Pig", British cultural products have won the young Chinese people, and the British obviously know their soft power very well.
