a shared look between HRH William and Catherine; image from thefrenchtribune.com
Over the past few days, I heard one question every place that I went (out with friends, to the grocery store, dentist and doctor’s office): So, did you watch? The Royal Wedding of course!
Did I watch? I rolled in every single bit of the Royal Wedding coverage that I could! Like with Diana and Charles’ wedding in 1981, I got up extra early and raced around the house, hours ahead of when I had to leave for work. Our youngest later told me, “Mom I heard you scurrying around; you sounded like a little kid on Christmas morning!” and indeed I was… I scuttled to the basement with a magnum of coffee and cranked up the volume as old dog and I snuggled in to watch it.
I didn’t expect to but when I spotted those two handsome and poised young men… I cried. I recalled their poise and heartache when we last saw them in the Abbey… at Princess Diana’s funeral. I cried because it felt wonderful to see the joy and genuine nervousness on their faces. And, as a mother to two boys, I cried that their mother was not there to witness this milestone.
I cried when I spotted a smiling little lady dressed in canary yellow – the 85-year-old Monarch; “Granny” to said boys.
I cried when I saw Kate’s face peeking out from behind her veil and when her father gently took her hand in his. How daunting that moment must have been for them both.
I cried when I saw HRH William whisper “you look beautiful” to his beaming bride. I cried again when his words took effect and her face lit up with joy.
Call me a sap and you’d be right.
Call me romantic and you’d hit the nail on the head.
Call me all of those things but know, that in the midst of a birth certificate kerfuffle, Bin Laden’s death, tornadic destruction and soaring gas prices etching worry lines on many a-face, I for one, enjoyed the brief respite that the Royal Wedding brought us. It was fun to comment on her dress, the uniforms, the horse-drawn carriages, the crazy hats, the darling bridesmaids, the second kiss, and the clouds parting as they rolled into Buckingham palace. In an electronic world where we’re bombarded by breaking news all the time and not much of it good, I loved watching two people steal moments of tenderness for themselves; a shared smile as though two billion people were not watching their every move. Of course the pomp & circumstance was spectacular… but it was those little moments of tender human emotion that made the Royal Wedding resonate with me.
So, did you watch?
(On 5/3/11, the very nice people at WordPress deemed this post one of their “best of 385,233 bloggers, 387,452 new posts, 449,667 comments, & 93,406,663 words posted.” I am humbled at the honour and hope you stick around to read more. Thank you sincerely! MJ)
