The wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton is sparking a frenzy in the hearts of romantics everywhere. When I drove through central London—where I’m spending my semester abroad—Wednesday night, the area surrounding Westminster Abbey was already decorated with flags, ribbons, sign-adorned tents and all the extras required when a Royal fairy tale comes true.
The last time I remember feeling the buzz of a nation’s excitement was when we elected President Obama in the States. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve invested more than one birthday wish in the hopes of becoming a princess, but I can’t help but feel that all of this excitement should be channeled toward something bigger than one couple’s wedding vows. Here are 11 ways to causify the Royal Wedding:
- Instead of cancelling work and school on the Monday after the Royal Wedding, England could cancel work and school on Earth Day as a national challenge to make zero carbon emissions that day.
- The Royal family could cut the Royal Wedding fund in half and put the money towards a year of school supplies for every student in London. Maybe students across the board would perform better that year.
- William and Kate could say they won’t marry until gay marriage is legalized in England. Then, on their wedding day, love—not just the heterosexual kind—could be the universal language.
- British government buildings are covered in British flags this weekend in honor of the wedding. If Election Day caused as much of a national stir as the wedding, maybe voting among young people would increase.
- If all the people camping outside of Westminster Abbey days before the wedding were as committed to demonstrating against homelessness as they are to catching prime sidewalk seats for the wedding processional, an anti-homelessness demonstration could gain as much news coverage as the Royals’ big day.
- If the wedding menu were vegetarian as a protest against the animal abuses that occur in factory farming, wedding guests might become interested enough to do some of their own research into the problem.
- The couple could ask for donations to their favorite charities in place of wedding gifts. Oh, wait…they already did that! Awesome job, guys.
- William and Kate could insist that they wouldn’t live in a palace or on an estate until serious improvements were made to the status of poverty around the world. Maybe their gesture would remind everyone of our own privileges in the face of serious want in the world.
- Kate could redefine the 21st century princess as an independent, grounded, hardcore cause-rocker. Maybe today’s little girls’ dreams of becoming princesses would entail standing up and working hard for what they believe in.
- If William and Kate had Twitter accounts, the public’s love for the couple’s love could spread virally to all the awesome do-gooders the couple would follow.
- The couple could sell private photographs of the wedding ceremony and donate the profits to family shelters around the world. The romance surrounding the start of William and Kate’s family could raise a ton of money for families in need around the world.
