When it was announced that Prince William and long-time girlfriend Kate Middleton were engaged, I had a mini freak-out. Immediately, I wanted to find out every single piece of useless trivia about their relationship that I didn't already know and call all my friends to whine about why I wasn't the next in line to the throne. My friends, however, most of whom had only just heard of "Waity Katie" Middleton, find the engagement as commonplace as any other piece of celebrity news. It is not.
This is not a spur-of-the-moment, blink-and-you-miss-it wedding between two airheads with nothing to think of apart from their careers and fame. The importance of this marriage is massive - the woman William is marrying is the future queen of countries in three continents. Growing up in Europe, I read magazines such as Hello! and Tatler, and I quickly became intrigued by the photo spreads of Duchess of York Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie at various horseback riding shows and, of course, Harry and William out and about after their mother's death. One might ask why I even cared about reading about these blue-bloods who had no direct involvement in my life - or my country for that matter.
To be honest, if I was asked that question on the spot, I probably couldn't come up with an answer that would sway the scornful Yanks. But upon further meditation, I realized it's not just a celebrity obsession. The history and decisions that the royal ancestors had to make in the name of the British Crown are not matters you can ignore. Today's monarchs are the spawn of historical figures who in turn have the ability to make history in their own right. The royals aren't your standard brainless Hollywood starlets; although they don't hold official political positions, the job of figurehead for not just the United Kingdom but for Canada and Australia as well is not something to be taken lightly. My question is: How can people not care?
Of course, the average American takes pride in the fact that the U.S. was able to rid itself of the "silliness" that is the monarchy long ago. On the other hand, isn't it much more enjoyable to watch this interesting human phenomenon from a safe distance? Is it that Americans are too scared to get emotionally involved lest they be considered "reactionary," or are they simply satisfied with the celebrities that Hollywood manages to produce for public consumption? Personally, I am sick of Brangelina and their passel of six that they drag with them around the globe - seriously, that can't be good for their education. Reading about a lavish yet refined group of privileged individuals is a nice way to escape the cheap and almost mundane celebrities that have bombarded the pages of People, Us Weekly and InTouch for decades. It's much classier to read about the latest royal scandal - such as the Duchess of York being caught on video allegedly trading access to ex-husband Prince Andrew for money - than chatting about which Teen Mom "star" attacked who last week.
So, why do people judge me for reading about the royals? Yes, people should care that William is getting married, and they should care about to whom he's getting married. Maybe if he had gotten engaged to a trashy celeb, more people would have taken an interest. Taking this into account, the problem is not the royals but rather the cheap celebrity culture that consumes American society. The royal wedding takes place April 29, and everyone should tune in.
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