Royal wedding cheered us all in these difficult times
HI AGAIN everyone. Been on holiday for my birthday, long-planned. So how miffed was I when I realised that on the day of the royal wedding I’d be thousands of miles away in the USA.
These wonderful national celebrations bind us in such a joyous way and I was sad to miss watching it all live from my living room with a bottle of champagne.
But I actually did manage to see it live, even though we were in Santa Barbara and California is eight hours behind UK time. Though Richard thought I was mad, I set my alarm for 3am and, leaving him snoozing in bed, I snuggled down in the sitting room of our cottage with a glass of sparkling wine and watched the lot – exchanging live stream emails with my kids back home. (Actually one was on holiday with friends in France, where they decorated the garden with balloons and bunting and iced buckets of bubbly).
Just one of my four offspring was uncontactable. The darling daughter was actually right there at Windsor Castle, invited because her fiancé James Haskell is an England international rugby player and as such has been a friend of rugger-mad Prince Harry for years. Still, though I knew Chloe was going, I nearly fell off my seat when I saw her on the TV screen, wearing a hat for the first time in her life.
Of course I was tickled pink as her fascinator to see her there. But quite apart from maternal pride I did think the whole ceremony was practically perfect in every way. The weather! How God-given was that! Azure skies and brilliant sunshine – the ancient stone of Windsor Castle glowing with archaic beauty, looking like a fairy tale drawn by a Disney animator.
And Harry and Meghan’s obvious love for each other was as enchanting as the venue. That moment when he lifted her veil and she gazed at him with such glowing adoration made me want to cry. And indeed Harry, lovely Harry, the boy that every mother in the country has longed to cuddle and comfort ever since he walked behind his mother’s casket when he was just 12, looked himself completely overcome. I’ve never seen a groom so moved.
It was surprising how many Americans watched the wedding live. Of course Meghan is a California girl and the Yanks we talked to were hugely impressed by the beauty and pageantry. The whole day was great PR for the UK. And a lovely, healing balm to the heart in these difficult and fractious times.
not so much who’s a pRetty boy then