LONDON (Reuters) - One year after some two billion people around the world tuned into watch Britain's Prince William marry Kate Middleton, the global media remain captivated with the lives of the now Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
The wedding fervor, which saw a million Britons cram the streets of London on April 29, 2011 to catch a glimpse of the future king and queen, has inevitably faded with the memory of the fairytale dresses, uniforms and horse-drawn carriages.
But royal watchers and many members of the public believe the couple have boosted the monarchy's popularity and offer an escape for a nation beset by recession, unemployment and financial insecurity.
Even if, as naysayers argue, the duke and duchess are merely celebrities whose wealth and style are out of reach of all but a few, their popularity reaches far beyond Britain.
Media outlets in Britain, the United States, Canada and beyond remain enamored with Catherine and second-in-line-to-the-throne Prince William.
"I think it's been a complete triumph for them," Claudia Joseph, a biographer of Catherine, said of their first year of married life.
Where the couple, and their PR team, have been particularly successful, commentators say, is in projecting the image of a relatively ordinary pair, albeit it one that has access to palaces, castles, glitzy red carpets and the odd butler or two.
While William has been working as a rescue helicopter pilot in north Wales, they have stayed in a rented home on the island of Anglesey, a move that has helped them build the "couple-next-door" idea.
"William drives himself to work, enjoys a pint in the local pub, Kate shops at the local supermarket, cooks for her husband, they go for walks, go to cinema, watch television," Joseph said.
MEDIA MESMERISED
Some newspapers have followed the royal couple with a commitment bordering on obsession.
Barely a day goes by when either the Daily Mail or Daily Telegraph -- as right-leaning publications natural allies to the monarchy -- do not splash images of them over their pages, usually accompanied with gushing prose.
On Friday, the Daily Mail featured photographs of the duke and duchess attending an official function on its front page and again on page 3 and 27.
The Telegraph devotes its main front page picture to Prince William holding a baby and page 4 to a story of how Queen Elizabeth and father-in-law Prince Charles get on well with Catherine.
Often stories are about official engagements, including visits to charities, trips abroad and movie premieres.
They also focus on fashion, with the duchess seen as a key arbiter of taste whose choice of clothes and accessories sends items flying off the high street shelves.
"Catherine's style spans the catwalk and the high street and she is a great champion of British brands, making her an excellent style ambassador," said Caroline Rush, chief executive of the British Fashion Council.
In one of the more bizarre examples, pictures of the duchess playing field hockey led to a surge in interest in the sport -- one online retailer saw sales of hockey sticks surge 238 percent in the days after she paid a visit to the British Olympic team.
Some articles have ventured into pure speculation.
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