For the 8,000 members of the public who have been invited to stand outside St George's Chapel in Windsor today and wave their Union Jack flags on the occasion of the latest royal wedding, there will be more than a little ripple of excitement.

Fashionably late no doubt, Sophie Rhys-Jones will arrive outside the chapel and the flag-wavers will get their first glimpse of "The Dress" after standing for hours in the Windsor gardens. Any lingering distaste at the Sun's publication of topless photographs of the bride will be forgotten and replaced with a sense of hope for the future for this latest royal marriage.

The marriage of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones was billed (from the moment the public set eyes on her unfortunate resemblance to Princess Diana) as a private, family affair. Yet, as with all royal weddings since the end of the second World War, they cannot be truly private, with television cameras capturing every turn of the head and stumble over the vows.

When the then Princess Elizabeth married Prince Philip in 1947, Winston Churchill remarked that the day brought colour back into the lives of the British public after years of conflict. That same happiness and hope were a feature of the glorious day in July 1981 when Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer, when the world did not know about Camilla Parker-Bowles.

But since the days when people were happy to camp out in The Mall the night before a royal wedding, singing rousing songs and getting little sleep, the lowering of public expectation of the royals has removed much, if not all, of that hope. Divorce, death and scandal have brought the House of Windsor into sharp relief and exposed it as an earthly institution closer to the imperfect lives of their "subjects", so that few people will look on today's wedding with any sense of awe.

That everyone hopes Edward and Sophie will enjoy many years of happy marriage, blessed with children and little scandal, is without doubt. Whether it can be achieved is anyone's guess, but if the canny Sophie can pick her way through the media minefield - and she has displayed graceful skills in that department so far - then both she and Edward already have a head start.

But as the past few weeks have shown, there may be other pitfalls ahead for Sophie. Shortly after public interest in the wedding day and the inevitable honeymoon photos has subsided, the burden on the shoulders of this modern, professional royal bride will weigh heavy. Post-Diana, the British media have handed poor Sophie the poisoned chalice of dragging the royals into the new millennium.

In her, they see similarities with the beautiful, aristocratic Diana - though she will never be allowed to replace her - and yet at the same time Sophie is celebrated for her modern, sensible approach in combining career and marriage, which Diana could never achieve.

FURTHER complicating the attempt to pigeon-hole the new royal wife, the modern Sophie has chosen to obey Edward, something which Diana decided against. Some commentators argue this decision suggests Sophie is less the modern woman and more the traditional don't-rock-the-boat kind of royal the Windsors need after years of turbulence.

Clearly, Sophie's media-wise, low-key attitude will tie her to the royal bosom unlike other royal brides. We will probably see her hunting and fishing in the royal tradition before long. Yet beyond the superficial royal duties, Sophie appears ready to adopt a steely approach to royal life without the expensive frills and fripperies which were the downfall of her predecessors.

The question of whether she can save the royal family from the troubles of the past rests on an assumption that the Windsors are in crisis. In the months after the death of Princess Diana, the royals were clearly reeling from public criticism.

Regular public appearances of Prince Charles with Camilla Parker-Bowles, the departure of Sarah Ferguson from centre stage and, despite some awkward moments, Queen Elizabeth's attempts to get closer to the public have combined to reduce ill-feeling toward the royal family.

The British public no longer displays deep affection toward them, but it is not about to throw the queen off her throne and Buckingham Palace was never really in danger of falling to a republican siege when Diana died.

If Sophie and Edward tread carefully, the public will love them. A sceptical media will be harder to win over. Today is about hanging out the flags and watching the television pictures of the happy couple. Whatever comes Edward and Sophie's way, one senses in this couple a determination not to lead the royal family into another messy scandal.