SWFL weighs in on royal wedding of Prince Harry & Meghan Markle

The vows have been said, the music has been played and the cake has been cut. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are husband and wife.

Whether you love it, hate it or simply have no opinion, this royal wedding was one for the books.

The world watched as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were married Saturday at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, England.

The royal wedding by the numbers

There were 29.2 million people who watched the coverage of the royal wedding Saturday, according to Nielsen data.

WINK rebroadcast coverage of the wedding from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and it was the No. 1 rated program in Southwest Florida, according to Nielsen data.

Did you watch the royal wedding?

— WINK News (@winknews) May 20, 2018

WINK News posed a question for viewers on Twitter asking if they tuned in: of the 210 users that responded, 68 percent said they did not.

“Don’t care, had something else to do with my day,” wrote viewer Rhona Pursell Krachenfels.

Dr. Melodie Eichbauer, associate professor of medieval history at Florida Gulf Coast University, cited the “information age” for the public’s interest in the royals as people could watch live on television.

“That’s a big change that you’re seeing, and it’s happening before everyone’s eyes,” Eichbauer said.

Past & present impacts on society

The royal marriages of yesteryear had to serve a purpose.

“The point of marriages was to either bring about peace, to solidify peace or to augment property,” Eichbauer said.

However, this trend shifted with the marriage of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 1947, according to Eichbauer.

Eichbauer said with the end of World War II, the Allies rallied around their union, helping to provide goods, and it gave the world something to root for.

Eichbauer pointed out the royals were marrying primarily for love instead of a political advantage.

“They’re creating marriages,” Eichbauer said. “They’re entering into marriages you’ve never thought of even prior to the 1930s.”

The modern royal family has broken with tradition before: Prince William and his bride, Catherine, who was not born with royal blood, according to Eichbauer.

King Edward VIII also abdicated the throne in 1936 after proposing to American socialite Wallis Simpson, who’d been divorced twice, according to the British Monarchist Foundation.

“That was scandalous,” Eichbauer said. “Nobody could have imagined that, and now you have Prince Harry who’s married … a divorced American.”

For modern royals a key societal contribution stands out: philanthropy.

“So this is where you really see their impact is just their ability to bring attention to issues, but also to raise money for issues,” Eichbauer said.

Eichbauer stressed the weight of their royal name can raise awareness for causes that may not have received as much attention on their own merit.

For viewer Dennis Woods, he said he hopes their union will have a positive impact.

“All in all, I look forward to the positive difference they’ll make in the world,” Woods wrote.

‘People need that kind of hope’

For Pamela Taylor, the royal wedding created a sense of positivity amid growing U.S. tensions.

“It was wonderful and a breath of fresh air from the atmosphere and attitudes that’s going on in the U.S.,” Taylor wrote.

Eichbauer stressed how the royal wedding provides a glimmer of hope in this tense climate.

“I mean look at today, we’re polarized as a society,” Eichbauer said. “And you hear one thing after another that is not necessarily uplifting shall we say.” 

Eichbauer said the universal theme of hope is a timeless theme with this royal family.

“People need that kind of hope,” Eichbauer said. “Just as they needed hope after World War II after Elizabeth and Philip married.”

Others, like Janie Miller, wrote she “loved the message of unity that was shown!”

Eichbauer emphasized the differences in their backgrounds could provide the chance for success.

“This is an opportunity for two people very big into philanthropy coming from very different walks of life who were able to find themselves and hopefully will start a new life together that will produce great things and bring about great change,” Eichbauer said.

American royalty

Markle, the newly titled Duchess of Sussex, is not your typical royal as “she’s not aristocracy any way shape or form,” Eichbauer said.

Eichbauer compared the similarities of Markle to that of Grace Kelly, who married Prince Rainier III of Monaco.

Markle and Kelly were both American actresses who married European royalty.

“You have an American film actress who is marrying a prince,” Eichbauer said. “I mean that generated a lot of interest, and I think the fact that she is American generated a lot of interest.”

Well wishes for the newlyweds

For those who watched the ceremony, many in Southwest Florida expressed their joy for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Viewer Bonnie Rutenbar Gee wished them luck on their journey as husband and wife.

“They’re young and in love,” Gee wrote. “Hope they enjoy whatever life brings!!!”

Viewer Marta Peters said she enjoyed the ceremony.

“It was a beautiful wedding,” Peters wrote. “Wish them all the happiness!”

Eichbauer said she doesn’t have an opinion on the royal couple, but “I wish them well and I hope they do great things.”