So, did the Royal Wedding actually benefit the nation in any real measurable way (apart from bring to our collective attention Pippa Middleton’s lovely bottom), or is it simple perceived benefit which doesn’t actually exist?
When you host an event that maybe a quarter of the world population watches (or is aware of) – and it goes off perfectly with huge amounts of positive coverage across the globe – then that is a pretty spectacular boost for your global profile and the “UK brand image”.
That may be a “perceived benefit” but I’m not sure how you can deny it exists (though I’m sure you will).
If you want a more measurable benefit you;d have to look at: how much Royal Wedding tat was sold? How many tourists came to the UK specifically for the wedding? How many people travelled to the wedding (rooms, meals, flights etc)? How many people spent extra cash during the extra holiday?
The donations of guests to their wedding fund raised over £1 million for charity.
In America, you can tell your kid that they could be president one day, if they work hard.
You really believe that? Last time I looked America, France and the other “great republics” were still ruled by the rich elite.
In the UK, in theory, we can tell our kids that they could by prime minister if they work hard. Of course that isn’t really true. They’d really have to go to Oxbridge, get in with the right boy’s club, then throw away all their principles and become slimy cretins.