A Royal Obsession, Do Americans Care

?

April 20, 2011

Britain's Prince William and his fiance Kate Middleton applaud as they watch a play at the Youth Action Centre in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Tuesday March 8, 2011.

The U.S. media have made sure Americans don’t miss out on a single detail about the upcoming wedding of Britain’s Prince William to Kate Middleton. But what do Americans in Washington really think of the royal wedding mania?

American TV morning shows and 24-hour news channels make it seem as though Americans can’t get enough of the royal affair. But Americans in the capital, Washington, seem to have mixed feelings.

"I haven't really paid attention to it. There's other things going on that seem to be more important than that," one woman said.

M.C. Corson, a tourist visiting Washington D.C., disagrees. "I do like to follow it when I can. And I especially like sorta following sorta how Kate's become a real fashion icon," she said.

Tourist John McKee Heyniger isn't interested. "It just doesn’t have any concern to me. It's his business. It's, you know, an English wedding and I am American," he said.

But American media outlets will give them a front row seat, anyway. Leading American television anchors from networks, like ABC and CNN, will be in London to catch the first glimpse of Kate Middleton’s dress. Even The Weather Channel will deliver special royal wedding forecasts, and the American cable network, Lifetime, has made a