1923, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and King George VI wedding marked the very first filmed royal wedding though silent. In 1947, their daughter, then Princess Elizabeth's wedding to Lieutenant Phillip Mountbatten, who was dubbed "Duke of Edinburgh" the day of the wedding after the ceremony, was the first to feature sound with the video footage. And of' course, who could forget how nearly a billion people watched on live television as Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer married in 1981.
I guess you had to grow up in the era of Princess Diana to appreciate the sentiment of such traditions as the balcony appearance and kiss. Having stood in places like the Abby, St Paul & Edinburgh Castle as they were preparing for the Queen's arrival, (to know that such history that played a part in who I was) was extremely meaningful to a young teen. Therefore to be able to share that with my daughter today, at the same age I was, was something that I hope one day she will be able to share with her children and hopefully help them not be as disrespectful as some of the comments I viewed, stated mostly by the younger generation of today.
Princess Diana changed so much of the definition of "ROYALTY". She took the traditional archaic meaning of "being served" to a life of "service to others". Growing up in the 1980's was a brand new world of fear with an unknown factor called "AIDS". Princess Diana's greatest strength was her compassion in which she fiercely showed, without hesitation, especially at the orphanages and children's hospitals, which she was so frequently noted for holding children with AIDS and caring for patients with leprosy without concern or fear for herself. She brought tremendous support to the International Campaign to ban landmines and brought great visibility to forgotten remaining active landmines, a campaign that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 after her death. I'm certain while she wasn't physically present to share in the glory, although would have done so in her usual manner of grace and humbleness, she certainly was present in spirit with complete joy. The Princess was also notable for her other many charitable acts with various organizations for the elderly, homeless, drug addicted population and youth in need.
One of Princess Diana's pride and joys was her Presidency of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children from 1989. I'd like to share a bit of fascinating history regarding this particular hospital. It first opened it's doors in London at 49 Great Ormond Street on Valentine's Day, 1852, with only ten beds. What has allowed this incredible hospital to grow and save so many children's lives has been it's main benefactor, JM Barrie, the novelist / playwright, who gave ALL rights to "Peter Pan" to Great Ormond Street Hospital in 1929. Even though the copyright expired in 1987, the UK successfully proposed an Amendment in 1988 that gives the hospital the rights to all royalties.
Though regrettably the monarchy did not embrace Diana's vision and the new path she was independently carving out for herself, it did open up a new world for future monarchs, including her two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, who actually were her whole purpose for being so direct in the choices she made, which were so notably different from the ways both she and Charles were raised in their royal lives. In fact, it gave the ability for the first "commoner" to marry a prince so close in proximity to the throne in more than 350 years. Even then the marriage took place in secrecy while the Royal Family was in exile during the revolution between Anne Hyde and the future King James II, who was reluctantly forced to marry Anne by his elder brother, prospective King Charles, II due to the fact that James had seduced Anne, who was a maid of honour to their sister and was now with child. This is the very first time that a Prince, Future King was allowed to fall in love and choose his own bride, even a true commoner without any connections to court. Again, while Princess Diana is not here to share this special day, I have to believe that she stood right next to her son and knew that every tear she shed and for every single tissue that Prince William so infamously handed to her, was worth the pain to see the rainbow that she created for her children to dance under and rejoice in their lifetime and hopefully never endure the sadness she had to.
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| Duke and Duchess of Cambridge ~ A living "CINDERELLA STORY" | April 29, 2011 |
I invite you to read my blog and my view point on the Royal nuptials of last week and the history of the monarchy. Some of the comments I viewed on FB prompted me to write on the traditions and hopefully would shed light and more respect on just how far the Royal family has come and what Princess Diana's legacy contributed to not only to the future of the monarchy but to ALL little girls out there who can now once again believe in the fairy tale of "Cinderella".
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