With two days to go before the Royal Wedding, the whole country is gripped by wedding fever. Or so the media would have us believe. Every magazine and newspaper, every news programme and chat show, seems to be dominated by it.
Well, of course, I wish the young couple well – they both come over as sensible, level-headed and mature 29 year olds. And at least, like most couples these days, they’ve lived together for a few years now before deciding to make a commitment to each other.
Hopefully, therefore, their marriage will survive the pressures put on it. Of course, all marriages have their own pressures, although William and Kate won’t have any financial worries or the problem of buying their own home or the threat of redundancy/unemployment. But living one’s life in the media spotlight must bring its own pressures (which fortunately most of us ‘ordinary’ folk don’t have to experience).
Royal marriages since the middle of the 20th century haven’t a very good track record. One only has to think of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones, Princess Anne and Mark Phillips, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, and, of course, Charles and Diana. Of the Queen’s children, only one, Prince Edward has (so far) remained with his first marriage partner.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed for William and Kate – and I must admit, like thousands of others, I’m dying to see ‘that’ dress on Friday!
