So yes, I'll be tuning in at 4 a.m. in the morning to watch William and Kate get married. I almost feel obligated. I'll always remember watching Charles and Diana back in 1981. It was only about a week or so before my sister and I went to London for the first time. It was so exciting. Diana was just a charmer, and she drew you in with her innocence and naivety. She seemed to embody the whole "princess" image, and we all wanted only happiness for her. Let's face it, she was willing to marry Charles, and he never really struck anyone as the "handsome prince who comes along to sweep you off your feet" kind of guy, right?
Just look at the body language in both of these engagement pictures. In the one of Charles and Diana, Charles is sitting with his arms crossed while she is hugging him. Charles isn't exactly exuding warmth, and he looks quite uncomfortable in such a casual shirt, pose, etc. Diana is the one doing all the loving in that picture. Then look at William and Kate. What a difference! He is holding her in a very protective and loving manner, while she happily melts into his arms, yet also shows her own strength. Their smiles are beaming and mutual. She knows what she's getting into, and they've been together long enough to know each other well. So very different from his beautiful, young mother 30 years ago.
I am a registered Anglophile (if there is such a thing), and anything of an historic nature like these royal weddings, excites me. I'm glad William and Kate are getting married at Westminster Abbey! It's so beautiful, and IS a quentissential part of British history. When we went to the Abbey back in 1981, it wasn't very crowded. You could really wander around, take your time, and enjoy every tiny historic millimeter of it. You could just feel the experiences there over the centuries. It was wonderful! Then, the last time I was there, 1998 I think, it was a completely different experience. I had to wait in line forever to get in. Then, was herded through along the designated path at a designated pace. In addition, every 15 minutes, a chime would ring indicating that we were all supposed to be quiet and still for a moment. It was the oddest experience in any cathedral I've ever had! It didn't even feel like the same place I'd been to on my previous visits. Very little time to soak up all the great dead folk and their tombs. In the end, I couldn't wait to get out of the cattle chute. Of course that was all a result of Diana's funeral there. Tragedy upon tragedy.
So in the early morning hours, let's bring some happiness back into the Abbey with a happy wedding! We watched William as he was brought out of the hospital for the first time, watched him as he toddled around the grounds at Buckingham Palace, watched him welcome his new little brother, watched as he went off to kindergarten, off to Eton, off to St. Andrews, the military, etc. We watched as William and Harry walked so bravely behind Diana's coffin. We've watched him for his entire life. Let's watch him as he and Kate enter their new lives together officially. Can't you feel Diana there already?
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