Maybe it’s because we don’t have a monarchy of our own to swoon over, or maybe it’s because William and Harry are basically real-life Prince Charmings, but Americans love British royalty. According to the Nielsen Company, which collects data on media consumption, nearly 23 million viewers nationwide tuned in to watch the live broadcast of the royal wedding at a time when many would otherwise still be asleep.

An unfinished English paper, a morning sports practice or a looming test might warrant this early awakening, but generally there are few things that will get a Hockaday girl out of bed before absolutely necessary.

This was not the case on Friday, April 29. On the day of the wedding of Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, and Kate Middleton, students set their alarm clocks for early in the morning to watch the royal festivities.

At 3 a.m., girls who spent the night at sophomore Grace’s house awoke to watch the ceremony.

Junior Abigail, a self-proclaimed Anglophile, started watching the wedding with a group of friends “a little before 4 a.m.”

A “royal wedding freak” but not an early riser, freshman Ashton invited eight friends to her house on Friday night to share a recap of the event.

Girls oohed and aahed at Kate Middleton’s dress while mourning the loss of a favorite royal crush (It’s alright though, Harry’s still available!).

“We all had a really fun time and to me, the wedding was amazingly beautiful,” Grace says. “I thought Kate Middleton looked stunning and every piece of [the wedding] was flawless.”

Junior boarder Eve, who lives in Australia, thought that the excitement transcended national boundaries. “People here talk about it just as much as they would have done back in Australia,” she says. “The fact that we’re still under the queen as a part of the commonwealth doesn’t really change a lot because it’s such an exciting event.”

For many Americans, the wedding was appealing due to its fairytale nature.

“I just think it was totally a Cinderella story,” says senior Caroline, who missed the beginning of her first period class to watch the ceremony with her mother.

Caroline “hadn’t really cared about the royal family until the wedding came along,” but the press coverage surrounding the ceremony hooked her interest.

While none of the members of Abigail’s “wedding party” donned fascinators—the elaborate quasi-hats seen atop the heads of some wedding-goers— they did channel British culture in their choice of refreshments, enjoying tea and homemade scones while watching the ceremony.

Ashton chose a similar menu of tea sandwiches and scones with clotted cream and even provided a cake “modeled after the blueprint for Kate and William’s wedding cake.”

But for Caroline, emulating the delicacies was not enough.

“I am a little jealous of the whole monarchy in general,” Caroline says. “I realize that having a monarchy goes against all of the ideas of the American democracy, but the old tradition and formality is so cool.” Caroline was impressed by the way that the wedding brought the entire country of England, as well as the rest of the world, together to watch.

“There were over a million people standing outside waiting to catch a glimpse of the queen or the new married couple,” she says. “How cool is it to have an event that brings your country together like that?”

The Hockaday student body’s enthusiasm indicates that they wish for the couple a happy marriage—fully stalkable on the web, of course.

— Mollie & Kristy