Wedding of prince and actress brings outsized media interest
BERLIN — Like most everyone else with a taste for fairytales, Germans love the spectacle of a royal wedding. But since the country’s last emperor, Wilhelm II, was forced to abdicate in 1918, Germans haven’t had a monarchy of their own to fuss over and so have adopted Britain’s royals as surrogates.
It should come as no surprise then that German tabloids, television stations and social media have buzzed with the latest details of Prince Harry’s fast-approaching marriage to American actress Meghan Markle — from the wedding guest list and the bridal dress to the loaded family dynamics and the lemon elderflower cake.
Three German TV stations — ZDF, RTL and n-tv — plan to broadcast and livestream the event. Dozens of German correspondents are accredited to be on the ground in England for Saturday’s wedding, and networks have enlisted “royal household experts” to help explain the intricacies of the ceremony to viewers at home.
Some 79 international broadcasters, including outlets from the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, are planning to report on Markle and Harry’s wedding. More than 5,000 U.K. and foreign media and support staff have credentials to cover the action in Windsor, a town 35 kilometres (22 miles) west of London that is home to St. George’s Chapel and Windsor Castle, where the ceremony and reception are taking place.