Swept Away with Royal Wedding Fever

Cancel that Friday morning appointment, because the wedding of the year is about to take place. That’s right, Prince William and his fiancée, Kate Middleton, will wed this Friday, April 29 at Westminster Abbey in London, England.

With royal weddings such a rare and special occasion, everyone seems to be going a little bananas about the Royal Wedding between the young couple, which is expected to draw thousands of onlookers in central London and television viewers around the globe. But can you blame us? Who doesn’t love a spectacular wedding full of extravagant hats and decor? With a guest list that includes huge names like Sir Elton John, Victoria & David Beckham, Guy Richie and various royal families from around continental Europe, it’s nearly impossible to escape the publicity of this stunning extravaganza.

Although I won’t be able to attend the special occasion due to… uh, scheduling conflicts… you can bet that I, along with thousands of others, will be sitting front row in our living rooms watching the extraordinary celebration take place. For many of the residents of London, they will have an opportunity to view the ceremony and procession at various landmarks, including Westminster Abbey and Parliament Square. This is where we, the Red Cross, come in.

In order to provide help and safety in case of any emergencies, large or small, during the ceremony, the British Red Cross emergency response teams are expected to scatter over 100 staff and volunteers throughout central London. Specifically, the British Red Cross will staff 80 first aid volunteers, 15 communications and equipment volunteers, 3 first aid posts in Parliament Square and 3 to 6 volunteers at the media village located in Green Park.

Adam Hiley, the British Red Cross emergency planning officer in London stated, “As this is a large scale public event, we have been planning and preparing for it for the past three weeks now. We are deploying equipment and teams for first aid cover to ensure that well-wishers and tourists gathering in central London can be attended to in the event of any emergencies.”

We hope that assistance from the British Red Cross won’t be needed during the ceremony this Friday. However, just as the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago, the British Red Cross is always ready to prevent, prepare and respond to emergencies, whether big or small. So go ahead and pour yourself that bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats and take a sigh of relief in front of your television Friday morning, knowing that our good friends from the British Red Cross will be around to help this historic and exciting celebration go forth with safety.


Make sure to check out some of the exciting local Royal Wedding events right here in Chicago.

David Roth is an intern at the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago. He is currently a junior at DePaul Univeristy and dreams of gracing the cover of US Weekly.

Photo from Flickr: Royal-News