Tuesday 16 November 2010

The Royal Wedding

Okay, so I was ten when Lady Diana Spenser married the Prince of Wales, so I don't know what it is like to be Single during Royal Wedding hysteria. I was grown-up and Single when the Earl of Wessex (Prince Edward) married Sophie, but I felt fine. There wasn't much hysteria, since it was just, you know, Prince Edward. Not the most high profile of chaps.

I do remember, back in 1981, that the papers were full of Lady Di and Prince Charles and it seemed that every British woman over 19 got her hair cut just like Lady Di. You can always tell a British film or TV episode was shot in 1980-1982 by the Lady Di hairstyle on the women.

Therefore, I predict similar hysteria over Kate Middleton, whose engagement to Prince William was announced today, so hold onto your, er, hats. Thank goodness Kate has lovely, long hair. She's brunette, too, just like Diana started out.

Some things to remember:

Kate is 28.

Dating a future king is just about the only time I would consider an 8 year dating relationship at all reasonable.

Sleeping with and even living with a man before marriage in the desperate hope that you will get married to him "one day" is still not on.

IMH(?)O, Kate Middleton was an ordinary girl who fell into an extraordinary situation, and has dealt with it pretty well, all things considered. She is a good role model in that she has perfect manners in public and good dress sense. These are the only two ways in which you should compare yourself to her.

7 comments:

Liza Lee said...

I think it's terribly funny that Prince Charles said, "They've been practising long enough." It sounds like he doesn't approve of them shacking up, either.

Maggie said...

Sigh. As a young wisp of a thing I was convinced I would marry Prince William. In fact, when I became Catholic, my family joked, "You know this will put you out of the running for Princess of Wales, right?"

How different an experience from when Charles and Di married! My mother told me that Di had to undergo an examination to prove her virginity. And yet, Kate and William have been all but living together for years, and no one seems to mind at all. I wonder what Her Majesty thinks?

Mrs McLean said...

Nobody minds at all because nobody wants another Diana situation.

Love her or hate her, mentally fragile 19 year old child-of-nasty-divorce Lady Di was not really royal consort material. Meanwhile, it's not like Charles was emotionally free himself. Shades of George IV and Mrs. Fitzherbert. These 18th-19th century situations simply do not work any more: everyone talks too much and, besides, Victoria and Albert set the standard we like for the Royal Family.

The future Queen Kate (I hope) isn't a NCG, but as you've pointed out, Prince William CAN'T marry a NCG. So better a nice ordinary English girl (with presumably only one lover--him) with a proven track record of sanity and fidelity than a lot of high-profile British girls I'm thinking of.

Domestic Diva said...

"Dating a future king is just about the only time I would consider an 8 year dating relationship at all reasonable." LOL - Amen, Seraphic!
I'm Stateside so not as privy to all the royal info as you are (but a closet royal-watcher all the same). I'm curious why you think Will & Kate stand a better chance of success than Charles & Di. Yes, Kate is older than Di, and yes, they've dated for 8 years & so obviously have thought it through. But William is, like his mum, a child of a nasty divorce, and their presumed premarital relations would certainly blind them to red flags in one another.
I do hope they make it...I enjoy a fairy tale romance just like anyone...so I'm hoping you'll elaborate on what you said.

Seraphic said...

Well, there are several things. Charles was 12 years older than Diana; Will and Kate are the same age. Charles was a bit of an intellectual whereas Di was a high-school dropout; Will and Kate both attended the University of St Andrews for Art History. Charles first great love was Camilla Bowles-Parker; Will's first great love was Kate.

Diana sneered at the Windsors for being "recent immigrants"--the Spensers have been part of the British ruling classes for centuries and centuries. Kate, like her sister-in-law-to-be the Countess of Wessex, is an ordinary middle-class person. By the age of 28, Diana probably had had bouts of mental illness (not just bulemia); Kate seems pretty sane. Diana blabbed all to the media after the split; after Kate and Will "took a break", Kate didn't say a word to anyone.

Finally, I am prepared to believe that it is true that William adored his mother, and therefore my guess is that he is personally very down on infidelity. And my guess is that the men of the Royal Family have learned that we expect them all to behave like Albert the Great and Good and not at all like Edward VII.

My hope is that Kate will be a lot like Countesss W (Sophie): quiet and pleasant and not outshining or shaming her royal husband. I heard her on the radio last night; and she seemed nice, an ordinary young Englishwoman with a pleasant laugh.

Mrs McLean said...

Whoops, that's Parker-Bowles. Sorry Yer Grace. I can't remember what her maiden name was.

Seraphic said...

Sigh. I got an angry anonymouse comment. People, I am not advocating shacking up. Read every word, please. Kate is both a good role model in some ways and a bad role model in others. If you can't see the distinctions, you're way too angry about something.