Royal Wedding Preparations

Just about 30 years ago, I was excitedly awaiting the 29th of July and the Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. I remember the night before the wedding so clearly. We had a horrible thunderstorm the night before. My mom was working the night shift in the ER. So my dad and my brother and I huddled in the family room with no electricity as the storm raged. I'm not exaggerating. The thunder and lightning were right over top of the house. With every strike, my dad would sink lower and lower into his chair. Until that night, I thought I was the only one in the family who hated thunderstorms.

It finally passed sometime after dark and then my dad and my brother went off to bed. The electricity was still off, so I refused to go to bed until it came back on. I did not have a battery powered alarm clock and the wedding was starting 11am GMT which is 6am in Virginia. I was gonna be up no matter what. So I sat alone in the candlelight and dreamed about the fireworks they were supposedly having in London that night and I waited. And waited.

I must have gone to bed at some point because the next thing I remembered was daylight. I ran downstairs to see it was after 7am. I had overslept and missed the whole thing! When I turned on the TV the new royal couple were leading the recessional down the aisle of St. Paul's. I was crushed. But back in 1981, 24 hour news stations and cable TV with hundreds of stations did not exist. So the networks, bless them, played the wedding footage all day and then had specials on all night. My mom and I laughed the other day about how I refused to let anyone change the channel all day!

So now, here I sit getting ready for Wills and Kate's big day. Deja Vu. The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for our area of the state. I have just heard the rumblings of thunder. And now the rain has begun. The storm has already screwed up the satellite signal. So I can't even watch the pre-wedding coverage on TV. But we still have electricity, so far. The storm is supposed to pass after midnight, so I will continue my Royal Wedding preparations.

Kensington Palace is lit up for the night.

My Princess Diana mug is ready for Earl Grey tea in the morning (along with Richard's bottles). I did not have the foresight to buy or bake scones, so we will have some Bisquick garlic and cheddar biscuits for brekkie instead.

And now Sir Richard is bathed and dressed especially for the 4am wake up call. One of my longtime friends was in London recently. She couldn't resist buying him this onesie and bib from Harrod's and I am glad she did. So adorable.
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And now I wait. Hopefully with electricity!

Rule Britannia!

Here's a confession: I am a Britophile. I can't explain when it first occurred to me that I was. It has a lot to do with my Dad's family's English roots. But specifically I became enamoured of all things British beginning with the announcement of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer's impending nuptials in 1981. I have been following the British Royals ever since. I remember the Wales' wedding day like it was yesterday. For better or worse, I couldn't keep myself from reading the gossip during the Windsor soap opera when they separated and divorced. And, of course, I was heartbroken for Diana's sons when she died in the crash in Paris in 1997.

So when I awoke this morning to see the breaking news of William and Kate's engagement, I felt I had come full circle. It's silly and I know plenty of folks in Britain who wish the Monarchy would go away. But I love it. And when I found out today that William presented his fiancee with his mother's engagement ring when asking for her hand in marriage. Well....waterworks!



Congratulations to the happy couple!