Why does the British royal family exert such a hold on the public imagination? Here in the U.S. that fascination usually lies dormant until a royal scandal erupts--or something happier. The lead-up to the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton has given us a chance to enjoy both romance and (courtesy the British tabloids) a hint of juicy scandal.

So now we've got William and Kate to add to Charles and Diana, and Elizabeth and Albert. But what about George VI and Lady Elizabeth, George V and Princess Mary, Edward VI and Princess Alexandra--and the first woman to wear white on her wedding day, Queen Victoria, and her beloved Prince Albert? In this Royal Weddings theme we go back in time to the Victorian Age with a desktop slide show featuring vintage photographs of royal weddings past. The sound theme is Windows' classical Sonata pack, with the bells of Westminster for atmosphere (courtesy FreeSound member WIM under a Creative Commons License).

If you're a diehard romantic--or just a history buff--you'll want to load the free Royal Weddings theme.

Note: To install this Windows 7 theme, unzip the downloaded archive and double-click the themepack file within. Windows does the rest.

--Kim Saccio-Kent