By Mary Alford-Carman
The closest I ever came to Royalty was in my Mother's womb. When she was expecting me, my Mama and Daddy were in Canada at the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. (I'm not mentioning the year; you can Google it at your own risk!) They stayed at the same hotel where Queen Elizabeth II was and Mama was lucky enough to be in the lobby when The Queen entered. I used to love hearing that story. The Queen stopped when she saw my Mama (huge with me) and gave Mama time to snap a photo. I figure I come by my love of all things English honestly, having been so influenced in the womb. With that, I have to admit, "My name is Mary and I am an Anglophile."
With the wedding of Will and Kate coming up this month, I'm beside myself with happy anticipation of the event. I have the morning planned. I'll be up before the crack of dawn with the TV. Not only will I be watching the event, but while I'm watching I'll be recording it. Knowing my girlfriend Evelyn like I do, we'll both be on and off the phone with each other during the ceremony and after, loving every moment of it.
My book collection has a large section of all things English. The Six Wives of Henry the Eighth, A History of the Monarchs of England, and then the lite reads like The Other Boleyn Sister, along with every magazine that had Diana on the cover, just to name a few. I watched Princess Anne's wedding, Charles and Diana's, Fergie and Andrews, Prince Edward's and what little was shown of Charles and Camilla's. These types of events are the ultimate escape from Mommydom and the recession. During the depression, the golden set of Hollywood and the outrageous gilded movies were the ultimate, elevating the dreariness of the day to day grind and in many cases despair. While I'm lucky to have a roof over my head and all of the things our family needs, it's still been a penny-pinching time, especially with the rising price of gas. Why not enjoy the wedding? I know it's frivolous. I know it will never be my reality, but for a little while I can pretend to be a guest at the most fabulous of weddings before I have to go and clip more coupons. In my mind, what's not to like?
