The Royal Wedding, What's the Big Deal?

William is probably a nice enough guy, did his military duty and seems to be able to handle his princely obligations. Kate is a knockout, and while she won't be the elegant princess Diana was, her free spirit and beauty can give the creaky old English monarchy some much needed glamor.

All that being said, why is this event such a grossly expensive production when Great Britain and the rest of the world are deep in financial and political messes? One answer is that there will be many people making lots of money out of the royal wedding.

First, there's tourism. London is chock full of tourists from all over the world, primarily money-loaded Americans. The visitors are giving the city's hotels and restaurants a big financial boost by paying at least 500 percent more than the usual costs just to be near where it's all happening.

There are also the street peddlers. They're out in force at the gates of Buckingham Palace and elsewhere in London. They'll make lots of money selling British flags, photos, statuettes, coins, ceramics, fish, chips and everything else with the images of William and Kate on them. For the more sentimental tourists, there will also be souvenirs with pictures of the late Princess Diana.

Probably the enterprises making the most money out of the wedding are the TV networks. They're spending a bundle to get their cameras and reporters in the right places at the right times. However, you can bet they'll also make a ton of money from advertising, or as the British call them, adverts.

With at least two billion people almost literally glued to their screens, the TV networks will also be able to peddle their wares to the biggest audience in history. Imagine the commercials: "We interrupt the royal wedding to bring you wonderful news about our 2011 overpriced gas-guzzler". Another thought occurs. Although it could be considered appropriate for royal wedding night advice, would they dare to advertise Viagra during the royal nuptials?

With all due respect, why should anyone in America really care about the royal wedding? Of course, we've been carefully brainwashed from the moment of the official announcement last year. Every day since, newspapers, magazines and TV news programs have pounded us with the smallest details of the upcoming wedding.

Like the other peddlers, they know video clips or photos of Kate and William will sell their print and electronic media wares. To them, publicizing the event is almost as lucrative as a celebrity scandal, war or natural disaster.

After all, it's only a wedding. The media didn't make this much fuss when Elizabeth Taylor died just a few weeks ago, and over the years, she had celebrated at least eight weddings. They were all royal, by Hollywood standards.

Should we be impressed that William, Prince of Wales, may some day be a king. This has nothing to do with Americans, who have their own kings. There's Larry King, Don King, Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, Elvis, King of Rock'n'Roll, and Donald Trump, who would be King.

In spite of all the skepticism, we can certainly wish William and Kate a long and happy marriage. Of course, maybe we're not joining in on all the hoopla because we're a bit miffed. Somehow, they forgot to send us an invitation to the wedding.