Sunday, April 24, 2011

William and Kate

Like most Americans, I'm fascinated by the British Royal Family. Meeting a friend in Britain I asked her about the Royal Family and she said, "Oh that's something we do to attract American tourists. Here we don't really follow the queen and all that rot". Americans every year put millions into the coffers of our British friends visiting sights involving the House of Windsor or Stuart.
And it's true, on trips to England I've seen Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London, where Mary Queen of Scott got hanged. The tour of the Tower of London was a high point of my trip that year, where a witty Beefeater led a tour and we got to see where Mary Queen of Scotts got her all.
In America, when you enter a city you might see a sign with the population of the place and, out west, the elevation of the town. In Britain you are likely to see a sign that says, "Here Lord Souchmouch was hanged in 1566". Britain is full of morbid history. Royals got that way with shootings and hangings, not by photo shoots in People Magazine.
And so we are being inundated this week with the upcoming wedding. It's a shame William and Kate are so dull. Harry would have made a more exciting groom. Only the most dedicated Royal watchers will not get bored this week with the fuldorol surrounding the Royal wedding. For a week we will take our eyes off of the economy and Qaddafi and be glued to the tube while buying overpriced tea cups to celebrate the event. I have an egg cup from George's coronation of 1937. I'm waiting for it go go up in value.

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