Dusting Off The Bunting

I could not let today go by without commenting on THE announcement. Prince William and Kate Middleton, soon to be Princess Catherine, are to marry next year. This is great news. Their engagement has hardly come as a surprise. As I learnt about it, from spying rolling TV News (BBC of course) through an office window in The City yesterday, I initially smiled and walked on by. It was only after further deliberation and the media frenzy that has already gone into overdrive, I considered the true significance of the engagement and the wedding next year. The Missus and I had a good debate over whether or not we should really care. Our own frenzy was fuelled in no small part by a couple of pints of strong continental lager. 

It is inevitable comparisons are drawn between William and  Kate and Charles and Diana. The new royal couple do look very happy together and stare lovingly into each others eyes in front of the World's media. Is this any different to William's parent's announcement thirty years ago? Certainly his fiancee looks more at ease and confident than Diana did. Kate is ten years older than Diana was and the couple have been together for eight years. Even The Queen let slip her feelings that it had been a "long time" for the couple to get to this stage.  Let's hope that this modern royal couple will benefit from time spent away from media scrutiny so that they have already forged a strong bond and do not need to grow up, or worse grow apart, in front of the camera. 

William himself drew a parallel with his parent's relationship  by giving his mother's engagement ring to Kate. While some may see this as a disturbing move, invoking the sad tale of his parent's marriage and leading us to ponder Diana's tragic death, the gesture is more than that. It cleverly allows the couple a dignified nod to Diana without her memory haunting what is a happy occasion. It is, after all, not unusual for rings to be passed from generation to generation. Giving Kate an heirloom also heads off any initial criticism of extravagance in these austere times. Sometimes, it would seem, the Royal Family are just like us commoners. Indeed, Kate is a commoner, the first to marry into "The Firm" . While Diana was not a royal before marrying, she was from nobility.

Speculation is now rife as to what shape the Royal Wedding will take. The UK and the World is bracing itself for months of endless debate, sneak peeks, interviews with dress designers, discussions about the venue, the guest list, the cake, it goes on and on. I can recommend a discreet registry office in East London should William and Kate be stuck for ideas and would strongly favour a reception in The Cuckfield, though I do not think a quickie wedding and pub gastro food in a local is quite what the Royal Household has in mind. It's a pity, champagne and pie is a great way to treat your wedding guests. It certainly worked for The Missus and I. 

Inevitably there will be those who will call for a frugal wedding and republicans (for they do exist here) who will demand the House of Windsor pays for a the day, instead of the bill being sent to the taxpayer. Certainly some consider an enormo-wedding on the scale of Charles and Diana would not be appropriate. As momentum builds and the initial British cynicism gives way to support and then an outpouring of adoration (albeit understated) and excitement, we would all do well to get behind our future King and Queen. Sometimes it's wise to take a step back and look at events through the eyes of children and the BBC's Newsround broadcast today made me do just that. The wedding announcement here was presented purely for what it is. The celebration of two people very much in love who will become our future monarch. The outcome, a royal wedding which none of the target audience will have seen before. 

Let's not deny children here the excitement of this day. I remember Charles and Diana's wedding, principally because we were given a national holiday to celebrate, no school that day. Whether I watched the ceremony, I think I was outside playing on my bike, is of no importance. I remember the build up and excitement. For Prince Andrew and Sarah Fergusson's wedding there was no holiday but the wedding was shown in schools and we all in some way able to share. Royal weddings since have been muted affairs.

Let's not deny ourselves the pomp, the trumpets, the royals riding down The Mall in sparkling stage coaches. Let's not deny The Dimbleby his chance to shine again as he provides twelve hours of non-stop live narration of events as they happen. Let's not stop the souvenir teaspoon's, tea towels, mugs even the commemorative plates to hang on peoples' walls. Most of all and best of all, let's not deny ourselves the sight of the whole Royal Family appearing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in front of thousands of people, a sea of waving Union Jacks, with the RAF flypast overhead. This is the stuff we do best so let's do it properly. 

Congratulations to William and Kate. 

Souvenir Ladybird book from 1981

A souvenir mugshot