Royal Wedding, and hope for humanity. Really.

London dressed for a wedding (Wiki commons)

The Queen of England looked as happy this morning, leaving her grandson’s wedding, as I’ve ever seen her. I think that has meaning. Whether HRH Queen Elizabeth II is finally accepting change, I cannot tell, but I would surmise that her grandson and his bride, the very breath of the modern couple, seem to have lured Her Majesty into something of a thaw. It is possible that the sheer magnitude of their enduring love―lasting a decade and enduring vicissitudes of sorts and still ending at a traditional altar bedecked ecologically, it’s clergy enjoined to offer globally inclusive prayers written by that couple―will bring about change that is good for their subjects, even before, some years hence, they ascend the throne.

How we got here

While Wills and Harry, his children, have always been favourites of the people and the press, Prince Charles has always seemed a sort of poor stick. HRH Prince Charles was done no favours by a forced marriage to a woman he didn’t love, who nonetheless provided two appealing sons and raised them well. His marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles seemed a travesty, and it was, simply because it should have happened decades earlier, nor not have happened at all. Someone needed to be wiser, and no one was.

But what is, as the New Agers say, is best. I believe it. Princess Diana was the martyr to change in the British monarchy, god rest her soul. Prince Charles wasn’t quite ready to be dragged kicking and screaming into what I think, in fact, he wanted―marriage to a commoner he loved. He wasn’t ready to give up the throne, nor tussle with his formidable mother and father. So be it. He didn’t get to marry his commoner, rather than Diana the fake commoner, whose pedigree exceeded that of Charles himself, although the grandest title she possessed was Lady, making her almost common.

If even half what was written by Diana herself and in the tabloids was true, Prince Charles was something of a cad toward her. But think about it: He was forced to marry an incredibly young and sheltered virgin many years younger, a starry-eyed girl who had no equipment either or royal life or to either vanquish, or accept, a romantic rival.

Had Diana been French, she might have said, as so many French woman have done for so long, “Well, have your little fling. Go on holiday with her, if you like. But bring yourself and your pay check home to me.” A practical viewpoint, but one that wasn’t going to wash either with the British monarch-in-waiting or with his child bride. And so, disaster struck.

The other woman, no better than she had to be

Camilla? Well, she was the only cast member in this royal drama who could have made a tragedy into a comedy, but chose not to. Had she walked away, perhaps….but then, what is, is best.

And so, after Diana the fake commoner who was elevated to royalty, and Camilla the bona fide commoner was not elevated by the Queen (doubtless in mind of the havoc wreaked in the royal household by Camilla), we have Kate Middleton, a bona fide commoner who has been elevated to HRH status by the Queen.

It appears Kate Middleton has won acceptance by the guardian of the British monarchy’s tradition, HRH Queen Elizabeth II. It bespeaks not just a small change, I think, but perhaps a large one, all things considered. There has been no hint that HRH Queen Elizabeth was dismayed by this marriage.  Indeed, she did make a few demands―tiara rather than flowers in the bride’s hair, I think, and a traditional wedding breakfast. But despite having relatively little input to the wedding of the second in line to the throne, and a man who will almost doubtlessly reign longer than his father will, the Queen seemed genuinely happy.

Global wedding of sorts

Queen Elizabeth’s grandson and his bride wrote a prayer that was inclusive not only of his subjects-to-be, but of all the world. I think the couple take their vows to each other seriously, but I think they take their vows to humanity more seriously still. They vowed, in that prayer, to attend to the needs of others. Period. End of story. It is unclear what Kate Middleton as done to date that would demonstrate her commitment to a duty to humanity in general and her future subjects in particular. But Prince William has demonstrated his intention with actions: He is a search & rescue helicopter pilot. Search and rescue. Service and assistance. A dangerous job, a job only carried out when mortal peril is on the horizon.

If one combines Prince William’s service to others with...

The compassion he learned from his mother …

The gifts of his father’s nature (who I think history will paint with some errors, big ones, but with some genuine contributions to human welfare as well)…

And the steadfastness of a monarchy―of which he is a part―that endured the WWII blitz in situ (in comparison to the behaviour o that execrable US President George W. Bush who fled Washington, DC, in an highly fortified airplane when 3,500 of his citizens had been savagely murdered from the air and needed a leader)…

Then one gets everything one needs to bring the British monarchy forward, possibly fast forward even during the end of his grandmother’s reign, through his father’s time on the throne and into the world Prince William and HRH The Duchess of Cambridge envision, apparent in every particle of their long and thoughtful relationship and their simple and inclusive--by royal standards--marriage ceremony.