So yesterday it was the Royal Wedding. The day before there were a few, er, discussions at work. Quite a few people expressed their opinion that I found to be rather... ungrateful.
The majority of Britain scores a day off work and then people turn around and bitch about the reason? Mental!
I count myself as a modern girl. Sure, I'm a Romantic and a bit old fashioned but the thing is, I don't revere tradition purely for tradition's sake. It has to mean something, it has to be relevant in the modern world or it won't survive in this day and age.
I happen to think that our monarchy is a fantastic tradition and brings something to a world that would otherwise be a little less special.
We could get rid of our monarchy but then what? We'd be a little more secular and little more of an American mini-me. We'd lose out on the FORTUNE tourists spend on our Royal attractions, lose quite a few dedicated ambassadors and committed representatives for our lovely wee nation, cut off a direct line to history, stab patriotism in the back and on top of that, we'd have to get a new national anthem.
(I heard someone opine that our national anthem resembles a funeral dirge... I disagree, I LOVE our national anthem. That said, I would like some to do a nice, Amazing-Grace-style version of it. Maybe I could belt it out on YouTube and become famous. Or I could just lob a packet of bacon across the room.)
One of the most fantastic things about Britain is the rich tapestry of history that not everyone else has. America has a few things that are seriously old but I have a friend who was flabbergasted that when living out there someone told him that they had just moved to a different church and it was great because it was really old. He asked how old, genuinely curious, and was told that it was fifty years old. Fifty. I graduated in Canterbury Cathedral which goes back to 597AD. The sixth Century, that's fifteen hundred years. The small church in my village was built in the twelfth Century. Tell me that that isn't an amazing piece of history right there, but I can promise, I won't believe you. I'm not saying that America doesn't have any history, I'm just saying, not every other nation's ideas of 'old' aren't the same as British 'old'. New Zealand has the same deal, they were invaded by the white man comparatively recently in the history of the world and so they don't have the same kind of historical architecture etc. We're all different and we should acknowledge those differences and rejoice in the awesome bits.
We should appreciate what we have, that's one of the best ways to be happy in my opinion. And to me, appreciating what we have includes our Royal Family.
People can whine that they have a charmed life living off our tax money but you know what, I wouldn't swap my freedom for their lives at all. I'd rather choose the career I want and pay tax on that than be raised with Duty to my country and have to spend my life smiling and nodding and shaking hands through countless opening ceremonies and meetings that must become dull with repetition, no matter how glamorous. As the heads of the Church of England, do you think they have the freedom to choose their own religion? The freedom to fall in love with whoever they want? Look at King Edward and Wallis Simpson, they had to put up with so much crap just to be with the person they loved. Do you think they can fall in love without wondering if the person they love truly loves them or just their title? Let's face it, what girl wouldn't want to be a Princess? I know I just said I wouldn't swap lives with any of them, but if I honestly had the opportunity, I don't know if I could actually say no to that. It's not what I'd choose for myself out of everything in the world but given a genuine chance... I don't know. I flatter myself that I wouldn't drop my life, my principles and individuality for it but if I loved the guy? I so would. This hypothetical situation is of course based on the premise of my bloke not being in the picture; I know I couldn't drop the man I love for some stranger with a title.
Somebody told me that the Royal Family have it easy because even if they get divorced it's no big deal because they don't have to worry about selling the house, educating the kids, affording to live on a single income. Instead they have to worry about whether they will still be protected from a media frenzy that will eventually kill them.
It's true they don't have the same problems as normal people, but the things they must worry about are both smaller and larger. They don't have to worry about money but they do have to worry about paparazzi and they can't just ignore what the press says about them; they have to cultivate a positive public image. Any bride will worry about stuttering her words or stumbling down the aisle, but Catherine Middleton had to do it in front of millions of people and worry if anyone was going to try to kill her that day. They have great security sure, but if someone really wanted to, I'm sure they could manage it. Look at JFK, Martin Luther King (Jr), Alexander Litvinenko, Lee Harvey Oswald, John Lennon, Robert F Kennedy, Malcolm X, Lincoln, Caesar or Franz Ferdinand.
Never mind people talking crap about your family. Most of us can handle what other people say about us, but insulting the people you love is a sure fire way to strike a nerve. Imagine not being able to say anything back. You have to bite your tongue and let the PR people defend you, or not. Every single thing you do is documented and studied and Royal heirs have to grow up through their childhoods and teenage years and twenties - the times when we are meant to make mistakes and learn from them. Having your mistakes and problems splashed all over the headlines can't be fun. Nor can making true friends be, or falling in love.
No, for all their money and status and glitzy glamorous lives, I don't envy them. I think waking up when the shine has worn off would be too harsh a come down from that Royal cloud.
No comments:
Post a Comment