It is delightful to see Kate Middleton, the now Duchess of Cambridge, marry Prince William. The bride looked absolutely elegant in the chosen wedding dress. As an Australian I remain in two minds about the British monarchy. Australia has a Constitutional Monarchy arrangement for its government. We have our own Constitution. The Governor-General is the Queen’s representative in the country, but we are sufficiently independent that our civil and criminal cases can no longer be presented to the House of Lords (this used to be the last part of any review). If Prince Charles ended up as King then I am sure that many more Australians would favour going all the way and becoming a Republic. You could say that the way he treated Lady Diana has a lot to do with our feelings on the subject. On the other hand, if Prince Charles and horseface are by-passed, and William became King of England, then we would remain content.
Kate’s wedding dress is absolutely gorgeous. The embroidery detail that can be seen in the picture here is an indication of the long hours put in by members of the British School of Needlework. The embroidery on the lace bodice and sleeves is also hand made. The shoes were also hand made by the same group of people.
I did not watch the wedding, but have seen snatches of the event, enough to state that Catherine Middleton made a beautiful and elegant bride. For many there was a comparison with Grace Kelly who became Princess Grace upon her marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco. There were similarities in the bridal gowns. However, my mind was flying to another royal wedding, but in Denmark because our Australian, Mary McDonald married the Crown Prince of Denmark, Frederic. There was a similar elegance in the dress chosen by Mary for her wedding.
You might not be aware but Mary gave birth to twins at the beginning of the year – a gorgeous little girl and a handsome little boy. They have two other children. Mary McDonald, like Catherine Middleton is a commoner. She grew up in Tasmania and she met Prince Frederic as a result of the Sydney Olympic games. It is all very romantic.
Even though this marriage is all pomp and ceremony, its an occasion that has brought joy to thousands of people. The majority of the British who were present in London to catch a glimpse of the happy couple, as well as the thousands of tourists had a very special day. This kind of event is quite uplifting for the British at this point in time. I doubt that it will cause the economy to turn around too much, but it will have a positive impact on the flow of funds as a result of tourism.
Prince William is a lovely young man. His visit to New Zealand and Australia after the disasters that we suffered last year and then earlier this year, showed a young man with a lot of maturity. It showed that he is easy-going, and that he takes the time to listen to people. Those who met the prince during his trip were very impressed, and some were extremely excited because William went out of his way to speak to them. It was the press stories on the TV about how Prince William conducted himself on this particular tour that had completely won me over. (I really hope that William becomes king rather than Charles).
Australians have lots of nice stories to tell about both Princes William and Harry. In fact on the way home from church I heard someone on the radio describing his meeting with young Prince Harry, and how he got an upgraded ticket on his flight to Australia which meant he was in the same cabin area as the prince. It sounds like Harry is every bit as charming as William.