Page - 8 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 04/02

Editorial | 7www.jrfm.eu 2018, 4/2, 7–21 DOI: 10.25364/05.4:2018.2.1 Anna-Katharina Höpflinger and Marie-Therese Mäder “What God Has Joined Together …” Editorial On 19 May 2018 the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle flooded the television channels. Millions of spectators around the globe watched the event on screens and more than 100,000 people lined the streets of Windsor, England, to see the newly wed couple (fig.1).12 The religious ceremony formed the center of the festivities. It took place in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, attended by 600 invited guests. While this recent example is extraordinary in terms of public interest and financial cost, traits of this event can also be found in less grand ceremonies held by those of more limited economic means. Marriage can be understood as a rite of passage that marks a fundamental transformation in a person’s life, legally, politically, and economically, and often 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j51O4lf232w [accessed 29 June 2018]. 2 https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/may/19/a-moment-in-history-royal-wedding- thrills-visitors-from-far-and-wide [accessed 29 June 2018]. Fig. 1: Longshot from the air shows spectators lining the streets to celebrate the just-married couple (PBS, News Hour, 21 May 2018, 01:34:21).1