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Marriage, Modern Perspectives, Young Married Mom

May 2, 2011

To Be a Princess

I am not one to keep tabs on celebrities, whether in this country or any other.  But something has me really excited about the royal wedding last week.

While I recognize there were and are a number of troubling things going on in the world—tornadoes in the Midwest, and so on—there was this one consistently happy piece on the news each morning.  It felt like the whole world was united in anticipation of celebrating the precious love of a young couple.

Now, there probably was too much media coverage, too many details that the general public didn’t really need to know.  But on the other hand, all the time and energy that went into the reporting was nothing buy joyful.  Because at the root of it all there was simply a man and a woman in love, who felt called to make a lifelong commitment to one another in front of, quite literally, the entire world.

Last week I found myself wondering what it must be like to be Kate.  Imagine:  Kate Middleton one day, Princess Catherine the next!  I don’t claim to know anything about English wedding traditions, much less English royal traditions.  And I’m sure to Kate, Prince William is just William, or Will, maybe.  Or even Billy (doubtful).  But at some point, the royal thing had to become a factor in the relationship.  So I began to imagine—from an American perspective—what the journey from meeting Prince William to marrying him might have been like.

A call home while at school:  “Yes, mum, well, I’ve met someone and we’ve started to see each other. . . . Yes, he comes from a good family. . . . Oh, yes, he’s very attractive, very smart, and kind. . . . His name?  William.  Prince William.”  Did a shriek follow, I wonder?

I also wondered if Kate’s mom ever said things like, “Clean your room, Kate!  What if the Queen of England were to arrive on our doorstep right now?”  Who knew that would be a possibility one day!

And imagine being one of Kate’s friends growing up.  Now you’re invited to her bridal shower.  What in the world do you give her?  A vegetable peeler?  An apron that says “Princess”?

Humor aside, this wedding seemed to offer hope in a time when a lot of people really need it, whether because of the economy, job situations, or their own troubled relationships.  It’s encouraging to me, too, as a young married woman, to see people respond so enthusiastically to a new union, to be happy that William and Kate are happy.

At the end of the day, yes, Kate became a princess.  But shouldn’t we all feel like royalty on our wedding days?  I know I have found my prince, and there’s no need for a crown to prove it.  Whether there’s a coat of arms to go along with it or not, marriage is something worth celebrating.

  1. Rebecca says:

    I distinctly remember my mother telling me to clean my room like the president was coming. It was during Pres. Clinton’s term. And my reply was, “Well, if HE was coming I would trash it even more!” I was a sassy, political little 5th grader back in the day!

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