Harry & Meghan

                         Harry & Meghan

               Like millions of other fascinated viewers, around the globe, we watched the Wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle. We had been fortunate enough to visit this storied venue a few years back and admire the millennium of British tradition displayed there. It is a story book setting for a Royal Wedding.

              The Princess to be is an adorable American actress with all of the vivacity poise and charm of someone born to the cloth. And the Prince? Harry, arguably one of the more popular members of the British Royalty, has the infectious grin of a rascal. Years ago, he was declared adorable by the female half of the planet’s population.

               Although the American philosophy of government is somewhat antithetical to the age-old system of divine right monarchies, there is still a fascination with the pomp and ceremony surrounding the British Royal Family. That is not so surprising really in that our own roots are English.

              What I find most remarkable is the ready acceptance of the British Royals for the lovely young Miss Markle. American by nationality, Jewish by religion and biracial, one would think the Royal Family would have sternly frowned on such a match. “She is so different from the rest of us” they might have opined. With no disrespect intended, all of the various European Royalty are class conscious to the max and selective in their breeding partners. But there appeared to be nothing but unbridled enthusiasm for the match.

             Perhaps it is simply the power on an engaging young Royal like Harry who simply said “This lovely young woman will be my wife.” And though his smile be impish, there is the steel of his Mother, Diana, in the young man’s makeup. I don’t think he would have backed off for anyone in this matter. Meghan is his soul mate and that is that. That kind of temerity I have to admire. It is easy enough to stand up against those who dislike you. It is a different story to stand up to those who love you and offer 1,000 years of tradition as their rationale for why you should do what they ask.

            And Queen Elizabeth herself did not just fall off a hay wagon. More than any other member of the British Royalty, the Queen knows the eclectic makeup of the British Commonwealth and that of her home islands. They have become a modern portrait of cultural and racial diversity. In that regard, America could learn a few lessons from our British Cousins.

            The pomp and circumstance of the wedding were sheer eye candy and fun to watch. It is a reenactment of a time and a tradition fast slipping from our awareness. It was a time when knighthood was in flower. Gallivanting young Lochinvars fought for honor, goodness and civility. And that may be the attraction for Americans, a longing for the concept of “truth Justice and the American that way once more ascendant on our national stage.

            Health, happiness and a long-lived union, to the happy couple, from those of us across the pond.

                                             -30-

                                          (526 words)

                                Joseph Xavier Martin