What do Londoners make of the royal wedding?

As the Eurostar from Paris emerged from the Channel tunnel, the driver of the train announced, "Welcome to the United Kingdom, where the country is preparing for the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. We would like to offer our best wishes to the couple!"

Crawling through London traffic in a black cab, a talk show blasting from the radio discussed – you guessed it – the royal wedding in excruciating detail. It seems the entire United Kingdom was caught up in royal wedding fever.

But are Londoners as enthused?

ROYAL WEDDING MADNESS SWEEPS THROUGH LONDON

Undoubtedly, as one walks the streets of the capital, reminders of the imminent nuptials are everywhere. There is hardly a shop window without a Union Jack flag or some kind of marketing ploy with a royal wedding twist, and everywhere you look bunting is swinging jauntily in the breeze.

London has never looked quite like this before. The splashy displays that the royal wedding has engendered have outstripped even the Christmas holidays, when Londoners traditionally fling themselves with abandon into dressing up the city.

Bunting sales soar

It was reported in London's free daily newspaper, Metro, on Thursday that bunting sales on eBay have soared 168% in the United Kingdom, with the site reportedly selling a Union Jack product every two minutes.

Londoners are generally a cynical bunch, and it takes a lot to shake them out of their urban scepticism. But perhaps being given the extra day off work for the wedding combined with the undeniable feel-good factor reverberating around the city is rubbing off on them.

Central London in lockdown for wedding

Sam Rowe, who works in a flag-and-bunting-draped pub in the heart of London's Soho on Wardour Street, admitted that he was “secretly really enjoying it”. Sam went on to say that he liked “the sense of continuity and history” that the royal family provides, but as a left-winger admits to this only reluctantly.

Enjoying a pint in the evening sunshine outside the De Hens pub on the outskirts of London's Chinatown, Will Dibble said he thinks the royal wedding has “brought the country together” and that it is nice to see the bunting and flags everywhere. But he added that he will not be watching the event because has better things to do.

A few nay-sayers can also be found. Dev, who works at a fruit and vegetable stall in Berwick Street in central London, stated firmly that he “couldn't care less” and that the whole thing has been “overhyped”.

Raju, a distributor for the London Evening Standard (the capital's free evening newspaper) at Clapham Common, was happy to pose for a photo, but answered with a simple and to-the-point “No” when asked if he had any interest in the royal wedding.

It appears that some Londoners are already suffering from royal wedding fatigue. But I suspect that, secretly, they are enjoying the royal wedding hoopla. Londoners would no longer be Londoners if they openly flung themselves into the proceedings – it would be against their cynical natures. But even the famously reserved British cannot completely hide the guilty pleasure they are taking in the country’s royal revival.

London's Regent Street, covered in Union Jacks. (All photos ©Katherine Thompson) A tourist memorabilia trader on Argyll Street just off London's Regent Street. Louis, who works on the stall, says they have been doing a "roaring trade" since the wedding was announced. Shop window at London's famous Liberty department store, with obligatory royal wedding theme. Jeffrey Groeneveld from Holland, who has come to the UK just for the royal wedding. Tanzeel Azad sells commemorative royal wedding magazines close to Carnaby Street. Dev, a market trader on Berwick Street, is not impressed with the royal wedding and says it has been "overhyped". Sam Rowe, behind the bar of the iVillage pub on Wardour Street. Sam says he is "secretly enjoying" the royal wedding celebrations. A banner draped across the entrance to London's Chinatown congratulates Prince William and Kate Middleton on their upcoming nutials. Will Dibble, enjoying a beer next to London's Chinatown, says he will probably not watch the wedding as he simply has "better things to do". Even this small street off Shaftesbury Avenue has bunting, which is prevalent all over central London.