The Barrowed Bride

My Worldmag column on the William and Kate's royal wedding received good traffic ("A Royal and Christian Wedding"). It was a reflection on the remarkably Christian character of William and Kate's wedding at Westminster Abbey in London last week. The means of grace is there to direct their hearts to Christ, and thus to put William's future reign where is was for young King Edward VI in the sixteenth century, squarely under the Lordship of Christ for the blessing of his nation.

Among their reasons to thank God are that he gave them such lovely weather for the big event, and that the edge of the American sword did not reach bin Laden's throat until the following Sunday.

But I began the column playfully with a reference to an old practice among very common people that my Scottish Aberdonian parents once described to me. "After last week’s royal wedding, I was disappointed not to see William wheel Kate through the streets of London in a barrow. So much for the modern monarchy."

You can view film of a barrowed bride here. The website says that the reason for this WWII era instance was the wartime transport shortage.

Here is a man who wheeled his daughter to the church in his wheelbarrow, but there is no historical reference in the story.

Here is groom and barrowed bride on a cake.