America's Interest in Britain's Royal Wedding
- bellsandwhistles
- May 23, 2018
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 1, 2018
On May 19, 2018, the wedding everyone had been waiting for finally happened. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were married in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom, becoming the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Life-sized cardboard cutouts of Harry and Meghan sat on every street corner. The A-lister guests entered in their fancy attire, large hats, and in Elton John's case, obnoxious pink sunglasses. There was champagne, cheering, and picnics on Windsor's elm-lined Long Walk. The wedding was perfectly elegant, entertaining, loving, emotional, and royal.
Interestingly, more Americans watched the wedding than Brits. Over 29 million Americans tuned in to watch, while the United Kingdom's audience was comprised of only 18 million viewers. Many people are correlating the overwhelming popularity of the wedding among Americans to Meghan Markle's American roots. She was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and received her degree in theatre and international studies at Northwestern University (where I'll be going to camp this summer). Later, she began acting in American television series and films.
It's interesting to analyze what dresses Meghan wore on her big day. (I liked her Stella McCartney bridal gown the best). However, as a stock trader, it's also interesting to analyze and speculate the economic consequences of current events on the market. With Britain's upcoming Brexit from the European Union and a recent immigration scandal, I think the royal wedding was the perfect distraction. These political issues have created months of bitter cleavages based on class, geography, age, and values. Therefore, in addition to celebrating a beautiful marriage, the royal wedding was a strategic bread and circus (or crumpet and wedding) to ease the ongoing tension and remind Brits what their country is all about: class, tradition, and love.
With the spotlight on Britain, I'm more interested than ever in how their market and economy is doing. Trading currencies is something that I've always been interested in doing, especially between the United States' currency (USD) and Britain's (GBP). Currently, 1 British Pound is worth 1.34 US Dollars and is appreciating, or strengthening in value compared to the dollar. Meanwhile, 1 British Pound is worth 1.14 Euros, and is only depreciating further. How do you think the wedding and/or Brexit will affect their currency in relation to the dollar or other countries' currencies? And what currency do you have the most faith in to trade?
Sources:
Dunn, Charlotte. “The Wedding of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.” The Royal Family, The Royal Household, 20 May 2018
Montgomery, Sarah Jasmine. “Early Reports Say More American Viewers Watched the Royal Wedding Than Brits.” Complex, Complex, 20 May 2018
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