For many Saudi families, watching the royal wedding was a relief and a change from watching incessant killings, violence and revolutions across the Arab world.

The wedding has also been an opportunity for lighthearted banter with people circulating jokes via SMS text messages and the BlackBerry messaging service. One of the more popular messages came from people who claimed they had received an invitation to attend but had to excuse themselves because of Friday prayers.

Another message was sent to Saudi women “who dream about marrying a prince.” It added, “At the end, you’ll simply end up with a Saudi man dressed in a white T-shirt and trousers.” Other messages called on the authorities to make Saturday a national holiday because of the wedding.

One interesting message contained a conversation with Queen Elizabeth who was asked why the wedding was held in the morning and not in the evening. The queen answered saying the Riyadh-based Saudi team, Al-Nasr, is “playing on Friday night and that she couldn’t miss it for the world. That’s also why I’m wearing yellow.” Another message read, “Look at the wedding, it didn’t cost much. The wedding ring was his mother’s, the church belongs to them, he’s dressed in his military uniform and Kate Middleton probably put her own make up. Saudi women please learn!”

Other Saudis circulated messages “criticizing” the wedding saying there was no traditional Arabic coffee, or qahwa, served to guests along with dates. Another SMS read, “Look at their kids. They are so polite. They’re not jumping around and taking stuff like ours. If you search their pockets, you will not find them hiding a Pepsi.”