Excerpts From the Royal Diaries 30th April 2011...
“Dorothy dressed herself in
a pretty sky-blue gown of rich silk, trimmed with real pearls. The buckles of
her shoes were set with pearls, too, and more of these priceless gems were on a
lovely coronet, which she wore on her forehead. “For,” said her friend; Ozma,
“from this time forth, my dear, you must assume your rightful rank as Princess
of Oz…” Frank
Baum, The Emerald City of Oz.
In between mouthfuls of fried eggs, bacon, sausage and a carefully
buttered English muffin, the elderly but energetic American WWII veteran was
heard to exclaim “I got up to watch the wedding live at 3am.” His audience was
visibly impressed and responded with ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ followed by detailed
questions on all the sundry and seemingly inconsequential facets of the union
between Catherine Middleton and William Windsor; Prince of Something or other,
but ‘Honi soit qui mal y pense’ as they say. Delicately
sipping a hot tea from a ‘Golden Jubilee’ mug emblazoned with the head of Her
Majesty, the ‘General’ (as I like to call him) wasn’t alone in his desire to
watch Windsor and Middleton get hitched at Westminster Abbey; an estimated 23
million Americans were glued to their widescreens, together with the larger
proportion of 600,000 who arrived in London on tourist visas. Why this fervor
for things regal, this delight in the richly embroidered tapestry of nobility,
so distant from the utilitarian land of liberty? Strangely, it seems that a
foreign reality is the American dream. The whole proceedings seemed to exhibit
some type of Cinderella complex; the dream actualized in a rag to riches tale of
a peasant girl once accustomed to humdrum daily blight of washing pots and
pans. Sky-rocketed by some mysterious and powerful plot of social mobility into
the aristocratic ranks. It seems unbelievable… but it is true; not only could
Cinderella attend the Ball, but there wasn’t an incompetent Fairy Godmother to
place limitations on how long she could stay… and she will… she will become
Queen of England to boot.
It is interesting to ponder on
the intentions behind Catherine’s desire to venture in to the highest levels of
the aristocratic business, if one excludes her obvious emotional attachment to
William. The British Royal family, far from being a bastion of good manners is
perhaps one of the worst examples for imitation, as Queen Elizabeth said: “Like all the best families, we have our share of eccentricities, of
impetuous and wayward youngsters and of family disagreements.” If one is
tempted to view this purely as a modern phenomena, you may be mistaken and yet
more horrifically surprised to learn that the ‘family’ has a historical
tendency toward social, moral, religious and political faux pas. Prince William
is merely the latest to evoke a taste for a bit of ‘rough’ – the common
expression for an educated palate developing an inclination towards simplicity.
The prime example of marriage to
commonality is the Edward and Wallis affair, although perhaps not as extreme.
Divorce and remarriage reared it’s ugly head again in the union of Prince
Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles; an affair which began, as unofficial sources
inform us, at a polo game in the 1970’s and continued through the marriage of
Charles with Diana Spencer. The ‘Rottweiler’ as Camilla was called by Princess
Diana was the main cause of the break-up, unofficially called ‘Camillagate.’ It
seems at the present time that the British crown will take a deep thrust in a
downward direction, not with the inevitable succession of the Prince of Wales,
but with rising of Camilla to status of Sovereign. Many simple British folk
reel in horror at the thought of their impending Queen Camilla the First, whose
capacity for fidelity remains in doubt. All these intricate and complex webs of
intrigue boggle the mind of even the imaginative, and are a far cry from the
Disney-esque romantic fables that inform the illiterate.
As a self-professed Anarchist, you might well wonder why I would waste
my precious time on such a trifling topic? I have three main concerns here, and
let me cut to the chase in explaining promptly. Firstly I define my leaning in
political philosophy with more precision as ‘Anarcho-monarchism’ or
‘Moanarchism,’ which is more elucidated in details by J. R. Tolkein, backed up
by Salvador Dali, the surrealist. Secondly, I am eager to reveal that seemingly
traditional institutions, such as the Church of England, and indeed the ‘Royal
Family’ are not unchanging, monolithic and perfect examples of unvarnished
continuity… but rather change, and they change often according to their own
whims and fancies. In conclusion I would also point out that in the case of
Middleton, her upward mobility is, in noble circles, the rule rather than the
exception. I am far from being overtly critical; after all what would be the point?
I wish them all the best in their lives. We can only but sit back with a hot
cup of tea and brew the age-old refreshment of fantasy in our minds, and I am also quite sure that England really needs a Queen with the common touch, rather than one with unreachable heirs and graces.
All Rights Reserved / Copyright: David John Drew 2013.
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