Royal Wedding Betting Analysis
Never has the wedding of a trainee RAF pilot and the daughter of an air hostess generated so many newspaper column inches. The country went into overdrive this week after the engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton was announced, meaning we get a Royal Wedding in 2011.
There seem to be two distinct camps regarding the Royal nuptials. Firstly, there are the people who equate Government spending cuts with ‘living like a hermit’. These people would like to see the Royal couple married in a Portakabin on the A43 with a low-key reception at their local Harvester.
On the flip side, however, are those people that appear to live in the 1950s and believe that a good Royal Wedding – whatever the cost – will cheer the country up and make us forget about our economic woes.
There’s nothing that a lot of coloured bunting and some home baked cakes can’t solve.
As far as the venue for the wedding is concerned, the punters like the chances of Westminster Abbey. This appears to be partly because Middleton has been ‘seen at Westminster Abbey’ this week whereas a spokesperson for St Pauls denied the part-time clothes buyer had checked out their venue.
The Abbey has certainly been the most popular choice with punters since the announcement. There’s also been plenty of money for St George’s Chapel in Windsor – presumably because it’s handy – although wouldn’t that be a bit like getting hitched in your granny’s garden shed? Similarly, the Queen’s Chapel at St James’ has also seen a bit of support, basically as it’s adjacent to where the Prince of Wales lives. Would you get married just across the road from your dad and his second wife? We certainly wouldn’t.
We’re also surprised that punters haven’t latched on to a fifth venue for the ceremony. Sounding like a modern day Del Boy hawking out his own building, Boris Johnson has offered the couple City Hall for the shenanigans. “If they want a cut-price deal with a central London venue with a view of London landmarks, the ideal place would be City Hall. I’m not saying the wedding should be cut-price or bargain, but a cost-effective wedding in keeping with our cost-effective times.”
Bank holidays for all
Whenever the wedding, it looks like we might get an extra Bank Holiday to celebrate. David Cameron suggested this week that there should be a ‘national day of celebration’ to honour their marriage, even if the ceremony takes place on a Saturday.
Punters have lined up to back May 2011 as the preferred month for the nuptials – although that would presumably mean three bank holidays in the space of four weeks. The couple apparently prefer March, although the betting public consider that a rank outsider – you can back any Saturday in March for 14/1 or longer.
There’s also been plenty of money for June and July and the smart money could be on a later summer ceremony. William’s parents were married on 29th July whilst his uncle Andrew got married on 26th July, so the family certainly has a bit of previous in terms of late July weddings. Mind you, look how those two marriages turned out….
There’s even a little bit of money for an August and September wedding, although if the press coverage and build-up to their big day is going to last that long, there may be no-one left in the country to care….
Royal Wedding Betting
