The Royal wedding - A perfect day

BILLIONS watched on TV across the globe, millions celebrated in London and around the UK and two kisses on the world’s most famous balcony.  The Royal Wedding was an amazing day, with a beautiful mix of tradition and modernity.

    Tonight, Prince William and Kate Middleton, now known officially as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be attending a party hosted by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace.  It completes a day that will be looked back on as a truly perfect day for the nations new Prince and Princess.  Prime Minister David Cameron described it afterwards as a day that ‘Britain was at its best.’  He was most definitely right.

    The ceremony itself at the historic Westminster Abbey was a grand occasion.  William and his best man, Prince Harry arrived at 10am, 90 minutes after the doors opened to the many hundreds of guests invited to the wedding of the century.  They included Prince Albert of Monaco, the Australian Prime Minister and many leaders from the Commonwealth.  David Beckham, Sir Elton John, amateur jockey Sam-Wahey Cohen and former Prime Minister John Major were amongst the celebrities in attendance, as were current political figureheads Cameron, Nick Clegg, George Osbourne and the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.  Former leaders Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were surprisingly not included on the guest list however.  Also in attendance were close friends of the happy couple. 

BEAUTIFUL: Kate heads into the Abbey in her stunning dress

    An hour after Prince William arrived, Kate Middleton turned up in the back of a black car.  The blushing bride was escorted to the aisle by her proud father, Michael.  After huge anticipation and weeks of speculation, the wedding dress was simply spectacular.  Designed by Sarah Burton; the successor to the late, great fashion designer Alexander McQueen, it was a dress that bought back memories of Grace Kelly’s dress on her wedding day to Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956.  The thin veil could see every single delightful expression of Kate.  Choosing Burton as her designer for the big day will also be a big boost to the British Fashion Industry.  It also celebrated the legacy of Alexander McQueen – who was a legend in his fashion showcases until his death last February.  The dress was well-executed and there can be no doubt that it was made fit to look like and be worn by a Princess.

    The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams produced the service impeccably, to the happy couple.  They looked very relaxed throughout, although the way William did struggle to get the ring on Kate’s middle finger did suggest the understandable and traditional nerves.  There was no stuttering on the vows, unlike when Princess Diana married Prince Charles in 1981.  The whole service was simply perfect, with a highlight being when ‘Jerusalem’ belted out in the church.

     An hour later and ‘Crown Imperial’ played out as the couple returned from signing the registers in the private residence of St. Edward’s Chapel in the Abbey.  There was a clear seal of approval from the expectant crowd outside, as it managed to deafen out the loud chiming Westminster Bells.  They may have arrived in cars, but the trip back to Buckingham Palace was via the traditional transport in these occasions of horse and carriage.  There were an estimated 1 million people on the processional route from the Abbey to the Palace.  This was followed by some official photographs, lunch for 600 people courtesy of the Queen and then the traditional balcony appearance infront of the crowd outside The Mall.  The crowd got their wish as William and Kate kissed for the millions of people and the worldwide media.  If that wasn’t enough, they kissed again shortly afterwards in a fairytale moment. 

TREAT: The happy couple head back to Clarence House

     The final treat for the crowd was a real surprise, as William and Kate pulled out of the Palace gates after lunch.  William driving Prince Charles Aston Martin with ‘JUST WED’ on the license plate and an ‘L’ plate on the front of the car back to Clarence House for some brief respite this afternoon.  It was specially decorated by Prince Harry and other close members of the Royal Family.

     This was the day when a broad smile appeared on the nation and that is down to William and Kate.  They have given us the opportunity to share their happiness and with the scenes seen today, there seems to be clear genuine affection for the new Royal couple.  The weather was good as well and improved as the day went on, despite the initial forecasted showers.  As soon as the champagne began flowing on The Mall at 8am this morning, the party begun and it will continue long into the night and probably, throughout this extended Bank Holiday weekend.  All the doom and gloom of worldwide economic uncertainty, death in Afghanistan, conflicts in Libya and Syria and natural disasters that have devastated Brazil, New Zealand, Australia and Japan this year, it was so nice and fitting to see something jolly today.  The world watched this global event, with celebrations ranging from Australia and Paris, to Shanghai and Russian and American astronauts toasting their success on the International Space Station.  With an estimated TV audience of 2 billion worldwide, it is likely to be the biggest audience in TV history with only the 1966 World Cup final and the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997 likely to rival that in the British audience stakes.  400 million are believed to have watched it live on YouTube!

CELEBRATION: Kate' hometown of Bucklebury salute their girl

    Across the country, there were thousands of parties held in celebration for the Royal Wedding.  Many streets closed on this national day of celebration.  The happiest places include St. Andrews University in Scotland, where William and Kate met as University students a decade ago and in Bucklebury – the hometown where Kate grew up.  Before today, Chris Tarrant was their only claim to fame.  Now they have the new Princess to take that mantelpiece.  William and Kate have travelled a long road since meeting at University, which has included a trying separation four years ago.  However, they now live together in Anglesey in Wales and although recent Royal marriages haven’t been very successful, there is real optimism that this is a marriage that will go the distance.  

     This was the perfect day and a special day that all of us will remember for generations to come.  Congratulations to William and Kate and thank you for giving us such a unique moment, I wish you a very happy, prosperous and successful future together.  

Volvo Taken Over By The Chinese - Has China Got The Car Industry Back On Track?

   

Last weekend, manufacturer giant Ford took the decision to sell the Swedish carmaker, Volvo to the Chinese car manufacturer Zhejiang Geely Holding.  The deal, signed in Gothenburg, Sweden is worth an estimated £1.2billion making Zhejiang Geely Holding the largest private carmaker in China. 

It is the biggest signature of a Chinese company from a foreign carmaker and it only comes weeks after China overtook the USA as the top dog in the car market.  The deal was originally arranged in December, in light of the uncertainty over the growing recession and it should save 19,000 jobs worldwide at Volvo.  Largely, Volvo’s car sales have slumped massively, like many rivals since the credit crunch.  Fortunately, their situation isn’t as dire as that of Saab, which has needed rescuing to stay afloat and the well-documented problems with the Japanese figurehead, Toyota.

Ford paid £4.3billion for Volvo in 1999, and that figure shows how much the car industry has suffered in recent years, really feeling the bite of the economic issues in the world.  Zhejiang Geely Holding started looking into buying out Volvo over three years ago.  Last weekend, it was announced that Volvo would retain its Swedish backbone and it would still be run from its main headquarters base in Sweden.  Unlike Kraft’s broken promises when it bought out Cadbury’s in January, it will not move all production over to its main base in China.  The Volvo plant in Belgium will not be affected either, after fears had recently increased about job losses.  However, there are already plans for a new Volvo plant to be built in China, which will be capable of building 300,000 vehicles a year.  Geely are confident that Volvo could sell 200,000 extra cars a year in China, should they get the go-ahead to build the new plant.

Ford said it wanted to go through with the deal very quickly, so it could ‘sharpen the Ford brand across the world.’  Having disposed of the likes of Aston Martin and Jaguar since 2007, it might concern some though about Ford’s desperation to sell for a financial benefit.  During a traditional handover period, Ford will continue to supply Volvo with automotive parts and supplies.  Volvo sold 324,000 cars in 2009, which was 10% down on its 2008 figures.  However, Volvo sales have soared at the start of 2010, going up 40% in the USA in the first two months of this year.

The takeover is expected to be formerly completed in the summer.  The Chinese have recently agreed to take over parts of the failing Saab business and recently pulled out of a takeover deal of General Motors, following the failing to gain government approval in China.  This confirms the belief that China is now the country where the car-making machine is.  After months of trauma, the car industry is starting to recover, at least in some areas of Asia.  Can it recover soon enough elsewhere around the world….only time will tell.