With the upcoming Royal Wedding, you can bet I’m EXTREMELY excited to watch it. I’m trying to convince Steve that we should go to Windsor to see it. I’d like to say that he’s slowly caving, but no. WHATEVER. I’ll watch it on television – IT’S FINE.
As an “outsider”, per se, it’s fascinating seeing how the British public perceives ol’ Queenie and her family. From what I can tell, there’s mixed reviews on certain members of the family (the Queen? LOVE; Charles & Camilla? Not so much). But I won’t lie that I’ve been keeping tabs on the Royals more, since the annoucement of the Royal Wedding. With Meghan Markle marrying into the Royal Family, it’s pretty much every American girl’s dream come true.
There is definitely a difference in the way Americans view the Royal Family, versus how the Brits view them. For starters, most Americans don’t realize that the monarchy doesn’t actually make the rules around here – that’s Parliament’s job. I’m gonna try and break this down for you the way I understand it. Basically, Parliament makes and passes every single law in this country. The Queen doesn’t get involved in the day to day politics, or what’s involved in running the government. She’ll leave that to the Prime Minister, thank you very much. What the Queen does, however, is sign off on every law that Parliament passes her way (which, apparently, she never refuses them anyway).
But I’ll spare you the politics lesson. (The fact that I’m even able to tell you the difference is amazing to me, since I’m completely useless when it comes to things like that. Kudos to me!)
Americans look at the monarchy (and anything over here, for that matter) through an almost “fairytale-like” lens. We tend to base British culture off of how they are perceived in films – disgustingly rich and posh. There’s something “magical” about them. And then we see them in the media, and we think the same thing again. Yet, somehow, with all the references to the Royals in the media, they still have an air of mystery to them that intrigues us Americans – I think it’s because we, as humans, are always fascinated by things we don’t entirely understand. But for British citizens, the monarchy is something that they’ve all grown up with – it’s deeply rooted in their history. While we may dabble a bit in British history in school, we don’t learn literally every aspect of it, like they do- we tend to focus mainly on things that involve us (probably why we’re so obsessed with WWII…).
I think it’s great that an American is marrying into the Royal Family. Is it a bit of a shock that a common American is marrying into such a high-profile family and legit living every little girl’s dream? Obviously. But it’s something new and different, for Americans and Brits, alike. And It’s a way for us ourselves to become rooted in the ages-old history of the monarchy. We will become part of the history that this country is so proud of, and maybe gain a better understanding of things like the monarchy, Parliament, and the Royal Family. Plus, Meghan Markle seems like a great addition – she’s self-made, educated, and her philanthropy speaks for itself, and also speaks volumes about her character as a person. With this Royal Wedding, I see a lot of good things in the future for Americans here (well, if Trump hasn’t RUINED everything by then).
You can bet I’ll be saving the date of the Royal Wedding, and I’ll probably have loads more to say on the topic as time goes by.
xx Lauren
