The Wasp — February 21, 1880 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Marriage of King Alfonso and Queen Marie Christine of Spain" This satirical engraving depicts the royal wedding ceremony with heavy irony. The text describes an elaborate, expensive state celebration featuring religious pageantry, military displays, and civic grandeur—yet the caption and illustration suggest mockery of such ostentatious display during difficult times. The opening lines reference "bitter rains and cold winter blasts" affecting Madrid, implying the contrast between royal extravagance and common hardship. The detailed account of ceremonial splendor, ecclesiastical involvement, and aristocratic participation appears designed to highlight the disconnect between the monarchy's lavish celebration and ordinary citizens' suffering. The illustration shows the couple amid clergy and nobility in formal regalia, emphasizing the hierarchical, ornate nature of court ritual that *The Wasp* likely viewed as excessive or disconnected from popular welfare.