The Royal Wedding was a great example of British culture that was seen around the world. On April, 29th millions of people all over the globe tuned in to watch the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. Despite some of the British sentiments over the wedding and the views of the Royal family in general, the monarchy is still a huge part of British culture and the history of ‘old Britain’. Tourists flocked to Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and other locations around the city to experience the historical event. With that many eyes on Britain for the wedding and next year for the Olympic Games, it is clear that the UK is getting some good publicity. An increase in tourism for events like this is great news for cultural diplomats. Being able to attract this many foreigners and having everything run smoothly is a great reflection on the country even if it was not an ‘official’ diplomacy activity. By exposing people to aspects of culture from other countries, they are more apt to listen to public diplomacy measure because they feel that they have a connection to events that happened abroad. It is unclear how to measure the success of any positive feedback the wedding produced because measuring public and cultural diplomacy is something that is not easy to accomplish. The effects of these things can take years to transpire and could perhaps only manifest in the lives of those who shared the experience and their views on the country.
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