Nearly 30 Million Americans Watched Royal Wedding
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) -- The numbers are in, and 29.2 million people in America were up watching the Royal Wedding on Saturday.
From pubgoers in pajamas to merrymakers in finery at a posh hotel, Americans cheered and teared up as they watched Meghan Markle marry Prince Harry in a royal wedding with trans-Atlantic resonance.
People gathered at wedding watch parties -- some before dawn -- at a Hollywood pub and New York's swanky Plaza hotel, in oceanfront towns in Florida and spots in the Rocky Mountains, to see an American of mixed race heritage become part of Britain's royal family.
At gatherings around the U.S., viewers admitted Markle's beauty and naturalness. But they also marveled at the boundary-breaking union between the 33-year-old prince who has been open about how grief shadowed his life for decades after the 1997 death of his mother, Princess Diana, and the 36-year-old American actress who has spoken out about coming to terms with her biracial identity as the daughter of a black mother and white father.
The new Duke and Duchess of Sussex haven't been seen in public since tying the knot Saturday. They didn't take a honeymoon, holding off on that until later.
Their first official duty as a married couple is tomorrow, attending a garden party at Buckingham Palace to honor Prince Charles and his charity work.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)