Poll: Many Brits find Royal Wedding a turn-off

While the UK media may be hyping up the forthcoming nuptials between Prince William and Catherine Middleton – due to be held on April 29 – many Britons are decidedly underwhelmed.

Many will not be marking or watching the royal wedding because they don’t believe in royalty; others because they’re not interested in the marriage of two strangers, reports the BBC. About a fifth of Britons consider themselves republicans, says the corporation on its website, citing opinion polls. But, even though around 70 percent back “the constitutional status quo” by supporting the idea of a royal family, there are still many who won’t be hanging out the bunting in the streets or filling trestle tables with sandwiches, cakes and soda pop. The BBC cites a YouGov poll saying: “The vast majority of the British public will neither visit London to see the royal wedding procession nor attend a street party in honour of the upcoming event.” It adds that, “while around a third will be watching on television, exactly the same proportion will be shunning the occasion altogether by doing their best to ignore it.” The poll’s figures show that 35 percent will watch the wedding on TV, but the same proportion will ignore it altogether. Only 3 percent will attend a street party; 2 percent will go to London to watch the procession to Westminster Abbey; 5 percent don’t know what they’ll be doing. Health services closed down The royal nuptials have already sparked controversy in the world of work, with some health workers in the UK annoyed that they will not be paid extra if they have to work that day, which has been declared a one-off bank (public) holiday. They will merely get a day off in lieu. This concerns the Derby area, where the occasion has meant that some health services will be closed down for the day – but it is something likely to be replicated throughout the country. The director of human resources at Derby’s hospitals, Karen Martin, said: “Where we’ve been able to, we have closed down services for the day. Areas that will be working include emergency theatres, cancer services, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, diagnostics, pharmacy and the labour ward.” In that area’s hospitals and health centres alone, the extra day off being given to staff will cost the service £687,000, said Martin.