Brits to have a bawl at the Royal Wedding

At 10.56am on Friday 29th April, millions of Brits will have their tissues at the ready as Kate Middleton starts her walk towards the altar at Westminster Abbey.

According to new research by Kleenex, watching the bride walk down the aisle is the ultimate tear-jerker moment at a wedding with 26 per cent of Brits confessing to shed a happy tear at this point. And with the walk set to take a long four minutes due to the lengthy aisle, the tears will indeed be flowing.

In second place was hearing the vicar say “I now pronounce you husband and wife” (20.4%) and third was watching the bride and groom walk down the aisle at the end (16.1%).

It is a well known fact that many women (and men) enjoy a good cry at weddings: over two thirds (65%) of those surveyed confessed that weddings cause them to shed tears of joy. Kleenex estimates that on the big day, blubbering Brits will blow their way through nearly 19 million tissues, which is over 262,000 boxes or two million pocket packs.

Leading behavioural psychologist Dr Jo Hemmings says: “Despite many believing that Brits have stiff upper lips, we are actually an emotional bunch. Tears of joy are usually caused by a combination of past memories and current happiness for others, hence why they are often triggered by weddings and other occasions such as happy endings in films.

Many of us aren’t lucky enough to know William and Kate but even so we should all be prepared to shed a few tears on the big day. Although we may not realise it, patriotism is strongly inbuilt in our psyche so the feelings of pride, joy and belonging at the Royal Wedding are likely to make us well-up.”

As for the regions, Northern Ireland has the biggest weepers with 76 per cent confessing to crying at weddings, closely followed by Yorkshire and Humber (74%). Those in the North East are a hardier bunch, coming last with only 54 per cent.

The research also looked into the televised weddings that have made us cry. Prince Charles and Diana’s wedding was top, followed by Scott and Charlene from Neighbours and Monica and Chandler from Friends.

Kleenex tissues are always there when you need them most, so with millions of Brits set to cry on the big day, pocket packs will be handed out at various stations close to the action in London to ensure the nation is prepared.