We’re on the ground in London, where we can confirm royal-wedding madness is quite mad indeed. The crowd on Westminster Bridge feels like Times Square on steroids, with hundreds of tourists, speaking dozens of languages. Some carry large plastic totes emblazoned with Prince William and Kate Middleton’s engagement photo, some wear Union Jack wayfarers or joker’s hats trimmed with bells, and all stop to take family photos with Big Ben or cheesy cardboard cutouts of the couple in storefronts. One gift shop we went into has sold over 900 William & Kate commemorative mugs, while we bought the last “tasteful” blue and white royal-wedding mug Liberty of London had in stock. “It’s maddening. I have to get out of town,” one British businessman in a very proper suit told us. A police officer stationed outside the royal carriage house is already dreading the day of the wedding: “It’s going to be bloody terrible. The mall is going to be filled with people. If you want to see anything, you better get here at 4 a.m. Bring some coffee — and you better put something strong in it.”
Related: The Kate Middleton Look Book
