100 Days and Counting

Only 100 days until the Royal Wedding!!! I CAN'T WAIT!

I have long been a pathetic, dorky Anglophile. This can be traced back to when I was in junior high and, using my trusty set of Encyclopedia Britannicas, I spent an entire summer tracing the lineage of the British Royal Family backward in time, from Queen Elizabeth II to Egbert, King of Wessex. My love of all things Brit has continued through obsessive reading of Jane Austen, the Brontes, Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Nancy Mitford, Evelyn Waugh, Lady Antonia Frasier and countless British mysteries as well as obsessive viewing of "Upstairs, Downstairs", "Monty Python", "Doctor Who", "Absolutely Fabulous", "Mystery!", "Torchwood" and all things BBC America.

And this whole Royal Wedding thing excites me in a really embarrassing and irrational way. William and Kate. Kate and William. SO romantic.

 

On the morning they made the announcement I burst out into big, sloppy tears because I recognized it right away! He gave her his Mama's engagement ring! Excuse me while I stop for a brief cry...

I knew this without being told because I am a big, dorky, Anglophile. And I could never forget that ring...

 

...and his Mama is gone now and can't be there for her boy's wedding (another brief tearful interval), but the fact that he made her part of his engagement with the ring is beautiful. Sigh...

I have always felt a kinship with Princess Diana.  Because we were both 5'10", both had big feet, and because we were the same age. Yes, she would be turning 50 this year. I'm guessing she would be looking fantastic.  

I was one of those 750 million nuts who got up predawn on July 29, 1981 to watch Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, the Prince of Wales, marry Lady Diana Frances Spencer. Actually, that's not technically true. I didn't get up predawn, I stayed up all night the night before playing Dungeons and Dragons, so hadn't actually gone to sleep. Okay, I just really let my freak flag fly, didn't I?

I'm afraid I also got up and watched her funeral. Crying through it all, as her ex-husband and precious sons followed her coffin on foot, and Sir Elton sang an updated version of "Candle in the Wind". Boo hoo.

This wedding, however, will be a joyous and uplifting occasion, and I plan on getting up in the middle of the night, making myself a pot of tea and a few biscuits, and revelling in the romance and pageantry. Pomp and circumstance, after all, is a British specialty. Or should I say speciality?

And this Kate! Doesn't she seem to be a smart, thoughtful and together sort of young woman? With a fabulous yet practical sense of style? Just look at that dress she wore when they announced the engagement. That blue matched Diana's ring to perfection! And you gotta love that it wasn't a new dress, but something she pulled out of her closet. So sensible! And, by the way, she is also 5' 10", and I'm assuming therefore has big feet.

What we know so far about the big day:

• The nuptials will take place at Westminster Abbey on April 29th at 11:00 am. Err...that would be hmm...8 hours...uh...3:00 am California time. Okay, I may have to just turn on the TiVo. We'll see...
• Kate will arrive at Westminster in a car, which I find a bit disappointing, but at least she and William will be leaving in a totally Cinderellalike carriage.
• Said carriage will then take the newlyweds through the cheering, teeming streets of London to Buckingham Palace, where they will make an appearance on the balcony, and almost certainly give photographers and royal-watchers the obligatory kiss shot.

 

•  
   

 

• Grandma QE2 will then host a reception for them.
• On the night of the wedding, Prince Charles (and mmm...Camilla) will host dinner and dancing at Buckingham Palace.
• Rumor has it that Sir Elton John will be performing a new song for the wedding!
• The designer of Kate's wedding gown have NOT been announced, though rumors abound. The top of the list is British designer Bruce Oldfield. Check out these stunners.
• They have recently released what is possibly the ugliest commemorative coin in history...

 

I'm hoping they do a better job with the commemorative cups and saucers and commemorative tea towels.

I have a friend going to London on the day AFTER the wedding, who I am forcing to get me a commemorative tea towel.  It will make my year. Oh hell, it will make my century.

Will any of you be watching the big event? Or am I the only dorky anglophile this side of the pond who cares at all?

Comments

[Kristine]

I was up all night for Diana's wedding adn Fergies too and don't even get me started for Diana's funeral. I will be awake all night for Wills' wedding too. How can I not?

Have a great day!
Another 5'10" big footed chick from Canada eh?

[Michele]

I probably won't be up all night but I will watch the highlights and I'll come here for the REAL highlights.

[Jan]

You are not the only Anglophile, I was up at 5 a.m. (I was still in Dallas then) to watch Diana and Asshole's wedding. I'm sorry - the way he treated her during their marriage was simply awful; I can't stand him and you don't EVEN want to know what I think of Trigger, er, Camilla. I was watching television the night she died, and just sat in the living room and cried and cried.

I won't be up all night for William's wedding (unless, of course, insomnia decides to strike), I will record the nuptials. I hope Kate's dress is a suitably wrinkle resistant.

[Michele Renee]

I can relate! I watched the Diana wedding way back then. My mom bought me their commemorative plates and mug. I remembered exactly where I was when Hubs brought in the paper with the headlines that she died. Last May there was an exhibit in town (sponsored by her brother) that displayed her wedding gown and shoes and tons of her childhood memorabilia and her dresses. I was fascinated by her flat shoes that she wore.
And I love those two boys of hers. I remember once how she slyly stated that Wills got his height from her. I got all choked when Harry recently expressed his happiness at their engagement as how he always wanted a sister…and how the bros agreed to use their mom’s ring for whichever of them got engaged first. I think it is sweet, and certainly not the last piece of jewelry he will ever give her.
I love how their pairing seems so much better than past Royals….she is educated, they have had years past college to live their lives, she is older than he is by 5 months (she just turned 29), they picked each other on their own, he adores her family, etc. Diana raised them to be normal—she would be so proud!

[Sarah at themommylogues]

My sister was a huge Diana fan. I will probably Tivo the Big Wedding.

Holy cats - what an ugly coin!

[Ginny Marie]

My cousin was SO upset that we were on a family vacation when Diana and Charles were married, and we didn't have access to a TV! I have a photo book of the royal couple's trip to Australia soon after they were married...I looked at it all the time. And of course I watched Diana's funeral...so sad. When you get that tea towel, you will have to share a picture of it with the rest of us!

[Aimee @ In THIS Life]

I am an Anglophile, totally, but not so much a Royal watcher. (The Anglophile bit comes from my two years living there as a teen. Sniff. I miss London.)

However. I AM SO excited!! I wish we had Tivo...that's a school day. Grr...

[Elizabeth]

Uh -- I'm not sure, now.

In all seriousness, I'll probably tape it and catch a bit.

I love your posts.

[Becky]

I love it when you let your freak flag fly. And it was flying high when you said you stayed up all night playing D&D and then watched the royal wedding.

Come here let me hug you.

And can I place an order with your friend for a tea towel??? You know how I feel about tea towels.

[only a movie]

That summer was also my D&D summer...
Also a big royal fan. Got to see Diana (from afar) when I lived in Oxford in early 90s. Definitely watching the wedding.
:-)

[Meg]

You're definitely not alone. There are lots of us "Royal Fan(atic)s" out here. I got up and watched Diana's wedding, and at the time I lived in Alaska, so it was super early in the a.m.

I got up (in Oregon by then) to watch her funeral, too. I remember saying The Lord's Prayer along with the service, and thinking how people all over the world were watching and praying the same prayer at the same time.

Forget DVR; I'll be up to watch the wedding, and pre-wedding festivities on TV. Might have to take the day off work! -- Meg