English women don't envy Kate Middleton
AOL have unveiled the results of two surveys about Prince William and Kate Middleton's highly anticipated royal wedding as part of its Royalwedding.aol.com coverage. The studies revealed that almost 86% of English women don't envy Prince William's future wife, while 50% of American women are excited about the nuptials. Full results from each survey can be found on royalwedding.aol.com and mydaily.co.uk.
Royalwedding.aol.com is AOL's dedicated royal wedding destination showcasing the latest comprehensive news about the wedding. The site houses content from across a number of AOL properties, including StyleList.com, Popeater.com, HuffPostStyle and several AOL UK sites, making it one of the most comprehensive royal wedding sites. Royalwedding.aol.com is presented in partnership with Unilever's Magnum and PF Chang's Home Menu brands.
The MyDaily UK research, done in conjunction with YouGov, the UK market research agency, found that Kate Middleton still has a ways to go to win over the public, with only 43% of people feeling she's worthy of becoming their future Queen. Of the 1 in 10 women who did admit to feeling a little envious of Ms. Middleton, her wealth was seen as most desirable (27%), even more so than the fact she has a prince in waiting (20%). As for Ms. Middleton's future as a fashion icon, nearly twice as many women would choose to buy outfits worn by Ms. Middleton (23%) than they would Kate Moss (12%).
"While we're seeing an increasingly frenzied amount of royal wedding coverage on both sides of the Atlantic, we felt it would be fun and useful to create a one-stop-shop for it all," said Anya Strzemien, Style Editor for Huffington Post Media Group. "It's the biggest televised -- and online -- wedding event of the century, so we're committed to offering all things Kate and William."
Carla Bevan, Editor-in-Chief of MyDaily.co.uk, said, "We might speak the same language, but clearly Brits and Americans have very different opinions when it comes to the wedding of the decade. Women in Britain might want a wardrobe fit for a princess, but certainly don't fancy the lifestyle that comes with it. Mind you, love or loathe the hype that's going alongside the royal nuptials, we've certainly all got an opinion on the big day, no matter which side of the Atlantic we live on."
In the U.S., the AOL study found that when it comes to guessing what kind of dress Ms. Middleton will wear, the generations have different opinions. Older boomers (ages 55+) believe it will be a lace sheath because the fabric is classic romantic (40%); Gen X (ages 32-44) predicts the gown will be A-line and covered in crystals and rhinestones (36%), and Millennials (ages 18-31) are split between predictions it will be a princess ball gown (33%) or a lace sheath (30%).
In addition, almost half (44%) of women are keeping up with the wedding preparations in some way. Of those following the plans, boomers (age 45+) are more likely to follow them on TV than online (58% vs. 24%), while Millennials (ages 18-31) are more likely to check the latest wedding news online vs. on TV (49% vs. 29%).
The AOL study is based on results of an online survey fielded by AOL March 4 - 7, 2011, to an Internet population sample of 514 women, ages 18+. The margin of error is +/- 5%. Results of the MyDaily.co.uk and YouGov research are based on field work undertaken between March 30 - April 1, 2011. The survey was conducted online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+). All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1,999 adults.