As much as one enjoys a hearty session of condemning the colonial experience, there are some moments in the personal lives of our past colonial masters that make one want to let bygones be bygones. I like to think of this as a triumph of hope over experience.

Indeed, if ever, there was a poster boy for hope over experience it is Britain’s Prince William. The experience of seeing his parents’ troubled relationship, their respective affairs and the eventual messy divorce making headlines in newspapers and TV screens around the world has not tempered his view of the institution of marriage. In fact, come April 29, he is to become wedded himself to former classmate Kate Middleton.

The 28-year-old prince, who prefers to be known by his nom de plume William Wales, met his 29-year-old princess-to-be at the University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland nearly 10 years ago. She was just another one of his housemates and a friend before the two became romantically involved.

But while they both studied art history at St Andrews (he later switched his major to geography), the difference in their family backgrounds was, and still is, considerable.

He is second-in-line to the British throne, had up to 14 police officers dedicated to his round-the-clock security while he attended university, and was called “Steve” by other students to avoid the lurking paparazzi.

She is a commoner, albeit a wealthy one. Her parents Carole and Michael – a former flight attendant and flight dispatcher – are self-made millionaires thanks to Party Pieces, a mail order company they founded in 1987 that sells party supplies and decorations. She also has a younger sister named Philippa, better known as Pippa, who has earned the British media’s attention (and scorn) for emerging as an attention-seeking social butterfly.

Kate will be the first commoner to marry a prince close to the British throne in 350 years. The last time was in 1660 when Anne Hyde wed the Duke of York, who later became James II.

So come April 29, 2011, London will be overtaken by merrymakers and well-wishers eager to greet the happy couple. Apart from the many thousands who will camp out overnight for a place along the wedding procession route, city officials expect as many as half-a-million people to fill Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square where giant screens will be set up to broadcast the ceremony. Another 800,000 are expected to be waiting for the newly-weds to greet them from the balcony of the Buckingham Palace.

An estimated 4,000 street parties are also planned to be held across the United Kingdom on the big day. Not surprisingly, the Middletons’ Party Pieces is offering for sale the accessories needed to hold a traditional street party, including plates, cups, bunting, hats and balloons, all featuring the Union Jack.

Considering this wildly festive mood, it is not surprising that some Londoners have chosen to make the most of the four-day holiday that the royal event will entail (wedding, weekend, and May Day) by escaping far from the madding crowds that will besiege their city. At least two London residents I know are flying all the way to San Francisco in order to avoid the mayhem.

But for now, at Westminster Abbey where the marriage ceremony will take place in front of approximately 1,900 guests, cleaners are busy vacuuming monuments and dusting plaques in anticipation of the big day. The Abbey’s gift shop is selling small flags with the royal couple’s photograph, perfect for waving as the wedding procession passes by.

Unfortunately for the couple, their image has also been printed on any and all merchandise that can pass as a wedding souvenir: mugs, glasses, coasters, teapots, tea towels, teabags, china plates, t-shirts, teddy bears, beer bottles, 16-inch dolls, even a commemorative ‘Wills & Kate’ beef pie.

Beef pie or no beef pie, those of us who live far away from London will have to rely on live television to witness the royal goings-on. According to one estimate, approximately two billion viewers around the world are expected to watch Kate walk down the aisle. (The ceremony will start at 11 am London time, but if you want to see the wedding procession arrive on horse-driven carriages tune in at least an hour earlier.)

As a token of celebration, those of us who plan to indulge in royal gazing at our respective local times (5 am in Toronto, 2 pm in Pakistan) may wish to partake in a piece of the ‘groom’s cake’. Not the actual cake that is being made at the groom’s request with 1,700 of McVitie’s rich tea biscuits and 18 kilos of dark chocolate, but a much smaller, homemade version thereof. Said to be a particular childhood favourite of William’s, his grandmother, the Queen, made sure the chocolate biscuit cake was on the menu for tea whenever he visited her.

The cake recipe, which was so thoughtfully provided by the local newspaper, is amazingly simple and easy to follow. In fact, there isn’t even any actual baking involved. So on the night before the big day I will break some rich tea biscuits (Marie biscuits will do) and add some melted dark chocolate, sugar, butter and a beaten egg to it. The sticky mound will go into the refrigerator to set. Very early the next morning, pieces of cake and cups of tea will be raised in front of the TV screen to toast the prince and his bride.

Talk about a royal treat.

The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.