We’ll all have no doubt spoken about the royal wedding in the pub with our mates, discussed it around the family dinner table or even posted our thoughts on Twitter. But what did the nation as a whole make of William and Kate’s big day?

According a YouGov poll, 70% of the population believe that the wedding will have a positive effect on people’s view of the monarchy with 73% asserting that the wedding will aid the perception of Britain throughout the rest of the world. It also seems the wedding has brought out the romantic side of people with 62% of people believing that the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s marriage will last for life.

Interestingly one of the largest debates that have come out of the big day is about issues surrounding wedding traditions. Prince William controversially decided to not wear a wedding ring, it seems that this decision is disapproved of by 32% of adults; perhaps unsurprisingly the proportion of women disapproving was higher at 36%.

Furthermore, Kate echoed Princess Diana’s decision not promising to ‘obey’ her husband in her vows, something that 51% of the population supported, it should probably be noted though that men felt less strongly about this than women and also unusually amongst the 18-24 age-group 34% of respondents felt that she should promise to obey her groom, the largest amount amongst all the age groups.

MEC Opinion:
What all of this research shows is that monarchy and marriage are still issues that people feel strongly about, and it will be fascinating to see what impact Kate and Will’s exchanging of vows has had on the country in the months after the confetti has settled. Will the younger generation suddenly become raving monarchists? Will the wedding inspire a reversal in the decrease in marriages? And perhaps most importantly when will Prince Harry get married so we can do it all over again?!