Friday, April 29, 2011

The Long-Awaited Day

Aunt Julie arriving yesterday evening. She drove up I-90 in her tiara.

We got up at 4:00 a.m. Coverage started at 3 here, but we figured we could easily look up the Queen's proclamation on what their titles would be online.

Slightly sleepy but excited:



Appropriate snacks and England's No. 1 tea:


Special wedding cookies sent by Julie's mom:


The sun is now up, and Yo-Yo is worn out from the festivities:


All week long I've endured people's snarky comments and FB status updates on what a silly waste of time this wedding is and how they don't care. I've bitten my tongue, even though most of them are the same people of whom I have to read their constant inane updates about overgrown, overpaid boys, playing incomprehensible sports games. Are there royal weddings every week? I think not. Hey, you--get off of my cloud.

On the radio the other day, they had people call in and say why they cared about the royal wedding and of course there were the women who said, "It's because every girl and woman wants to be a princess!"

Um, no.

It's because this is an historic event--seeing the future King William married in the same abbey where William the Conqueror was coronated.

It's also because, for whatever reason, since I've been a child this family has fascinated me. I got up while it was still nighttime 30 years ago to watch Diana and Charles's wedding. I watched the public announcement of William's birth. And of course I watched the heartbreaking ordeal of two teenage boys, walking down the streets of London behind their mother's coffin--with a little handwritten card, saying "Mummy" on their flowers for her.

I watched for the chance to see them all make that same procession but for a happier occasion today. As Julie said, "We needed to see him come through the streets, but happy now."



Finally, for all the naysayers, isn't it just nice for a change for the world to pause for a moment and watch something joyous rather than some hideous catastrophe?

And, of course, there was also this (breathtaking!):

Yay!

Congratulations to the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!

Now back to your regularly-scheduled cynicism.

3 comments:

Melanie said...

Brilliantly put,Lady Arvila! It was all about witnessing history in the making. So many of us have watched all the most pivotol moments of this family's life - for generations - as I told Scott, watching it live is what you've got to do. I too was taken aback by how many people blasted the wedding - how can people be so rude and, honestly, shortsighted, as to not recognize what the day was all about. Especially with all the natural disasters the world is reeling from right now - I think the wedding was exactly what the world needed.

Mae said...

Way to go, Alice! Great post.

Cindy Swanson said...

No cynicism from me at all! :) I love your idea of a viewing party. I'm a die-hard Anglophile and a hopeless romantic, so the wedding was a perfect fit for me! I agree with everything you said here. :) Great post!