One day. One short day! Those are the words I imagine are doing roller coaster loops in Kate Middleton’s mind right about now. She is set to marry His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales on Friday morning, making her the luckiest girl in the world, I’m pretty sure. If anyone is livin’ the dream right now, it is most definitely Kate Middleton.
It’s no secret that there has been a royal wedding craze since their engagement in October of last year, and I am not ashamed to admit that I’ve been one of the crazies fueling the intense flame of this media explosion. I’m surely not here to bash all the people (or should I say women?) who spend more time looking up pictures of the ridiculously good-looking couple than they waste on Facebook, because I’m one of them. Nor am I here to fiercely defend my behavior or the actions of the zillions of other Will-and-Kate obsessed Americans who collect ridiculous (and ridiculously over-priced) memorabilia like it’s 1999.
I simply want to explore one thing: why am I so obsessed?
I am absolutely twitterpated by the idea that Kate gets to make the official transition from "commoner" to princess in two days. She sure was in the right place at the right time when she met Prince Will at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland in 2001. They began dating the next year and almost nine years later, they’ll become royal husband and wife. Or prince and princess to be exact.
It’s been fun (and exhausting!) to keep up with all the news and gossip surrounding the wedding of the decade. Brides-to-be everywhere are probably waiting to see what Kate will wear, what the wedding will look like, and what vows the couple will exchange before planning their own nuptials…"just for inspiration," they’d say. I’m not one of those brides-to-be, but I probably know more about the April 29th event than Middleton’s own personal assistant. Seriously, it’s scary.
But you know what? (And this won’t come to a surprise to you…) I’m jealous. I’m totally jealous! There, I said it. Yeah, yeah, I’m breaking one of the Ten Commandments–do not covet, blah blah blah. But I’ve already said it so there’s no taking it back now! I’m totally obsessed, because I’m seriously jealous. It’s not in a bad, let’s-spread-dirty-rumors-about-her-to-tarnish-her-reputation, high school kind of way. I feel like she’s my best friend going through this and despite being really super happy for her, I wish I were in her position sometimes, because it’s a dream come true! Honestly, who wouldn’t be at least a little envious of Kate Middleton today? She’s gorgeous, she’s rich (and going to be veryyyy rich as of Friday), she’s got everything going for her, and oh yeah, SHE’S MARRYING A PRINCE. It’s a freakin’ fairy tale.
Now that we’ve established the crucial points that Kate is fabulous, and I’m more than a little jealous, let’s delve into the deep caverns of my brain to figure out why I’m feeling these intense emotions about a woman I haven’t paid any attention to until last October.
First, the groom. Prince William seems like a stand up guy. You only hear people say nice things about him and besides the receding hairline, he’s a total babe–especially when taking his personality into consideration. The man donates to charities left and right, which is so sexy in itself. In fact, instead of your typical gift registry at Crate & Barrel, the couple has set up a Royal Wedding Charity Fund, which will raise money for 26 organizations around the world. He is turning out to be a lot like his mother Diana, who was also dedicated to many charities when she was alive. Plus, he popped the long-awaited question by taking Kate to a quiet lodge in Kenya, away from the craziness of the press. He even honored Princess Di by giving Kate the famously ornate 18-carat sapphire engagement ring that ushered his mother into the royal family so long ago. What a gent!
While Will and Kate most likely do not have much control over who is invited to the wedding–you’ve got to invite all 500 of your "closest" relatives and the royal families of your allied nations when you’re the future King!–they did have enough pull with the wedding planners to invite some regular ol’ people from Kate’s hometown of Bucklebury, England. And that is darn precious! More than fifty percent of the guest list consists of family and friends of the bride and groom, which shows how important they consider these people in their lives. Another evidence of this: Will’s best man will be his brother Harry, and Kate’s sister Pippa will be her maid of honor. Royal family values: Check!
Speculation has reached astronomical proportions when it comes to Middleton’s wedding gown. Who will design it? What will it look like? The dress has arguably been one of the royal wedding’s best kept secrets, especially considering the bride’s status as an incredibly classy fashion icon. I can’t say much more about the dress–who can??–but as for how Kate’s lovely locks will be styled, there are some ideas floating around, one of which I adore. The ever respectable bride reportedly wants flowers in her hair, a ‘do that gives a nod to her "commoner" status. Flowers would be an appropriate replacement for the stunning tiara her late mother-in-law-to-be Diana wore at her wedding in 1981. Middleton may, however, wear a sparkling tiara for her processional as a princess. What a fitting accessory for one of the only girls I know who can pull of a giant head adornment!
Keeping it modern like the down-to-earth young woman she is, Kate will not be arriving at Westminster Abbey in a horse-drawn carriage, but rather via car. However, the bride and groom will leave the Abbey in the same gilded horse-drawn Landau in which Charles and Diana rode after their wedding 30 years ago. Another dash of modernity added by Kate? Fresh flowers topping the wedding cake and Snog organic frozen yogurt served a la carte during the reception. Oh Kate, you truly understand the elegant taste of a 21st century woman! Seriously, if England’s future princess can have fro-yo at her fancy royal wedding, it’s a definite must-have at mine.
So I guess it’s not so surprising that the world has fallen in love and subsequently become obsessed with Prince William and his charming Catherine. Every move they make has been documented by the media, adding further to my curiosity about the pair (and every intimate detail of their lives). The things I’ve talked about in this article only begin to scrape the surface of the interesting lives of the couple who will one day rule a major world power, and the funny thing is, they don’t even have much real power! They’re just beautiful people who are amazingly lucky to be born (or marry) into such a stellar family/career.
So wrapping it up, I’m obsessed, yes. I’m a little jealous, definitely. But I’m absolutely fine with it. Because from my American-minded standpoint, Will and Kate’s wedding represents the perfect mix of tradition (like *real* tradition…tradition that dates back before 1776) and modernity. It’s something our monarch-less nation will never experience or understand since the closest thing we’ve got to royalty is Brangelina. A prince and his soon-to-be princess who came from a non-royal upbringing…it’s what every little girl dreams of! (Thanks, Disney!) It may not be perfect–although it sure seems that way!–but really, it’s the closest thing we’ll ever get to a fairy tale ending. And that’s why I’m obsessed.
