photo: The royal couple as they announced their engagement. credit: Corbis
Tired of Will and Kate fever? I've just returned from a few days in London where that fever is reaching a high pitch.
Everywhere you turn, TV crews have set up cranes and stages -- some of the stone lions at Trafalgar Square are covered by stages, the meticulously flowered gardens in Hyde Park and in front of Buckingham Palace have been obscured by more stages and cranes for hoisting cameras.
The city was packed with people streaming in from around the country and the world in advance of the Royal Wedding.
It seems we just can't seem to get a good enough view of the Big Day. Some have questioned the point of such a lavish event, particularly when the world economy is so lackluster.
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But not Mary. I never caught her last name, but Mary was standing outside our hotel in central London to watch, as my five-year-old daughter and I were, a procession to the wedding of two clearly well-to-do Indian families.
The colorful saris and drumming and fancy cars had caught all of our attention.
"I hear they're like the 'William and Kate' of the Indian community here," Mary said, leaning over to me with a smile.
We struck up a conversation and it turns out Mary was from just outside of London, although now she is working as a school teacher outside of Dubai. She wasn't going to be able to stay in town for the Royal Wedding the following weekend, but she was excited for it and was planning her own Will and Kate party when she returned.
"Some people want to sabotage the wedding, but I don't understand that," Mary said. "They're a sweet couple," Mary said. "They met at University. Let them have their day. Let us be proud."
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In fact, back in 1649, a big critic of the monarchy, Oliver Cromwell, managed to temporarily get rid of the royals. When King Charles I couldn't work out terms with the English Parliament, Cromwell led a successful revolt against the Crown and, for nine years, England was without a King or Queen.
Cromwell disapproved of extravagance. He sold off or destroyed the works of art from the throne. He even went so far as to destroy the country's crown jewels, melting them down and distributing the wealth among the people.
But by the time Cromwell died in 1658, the English people had grown sick of his strict ideas. They wanted their king back. And so Charles II was crowned in 1660 and kings and queens resumed their reign -- all the way to the current Queen Elizabeth II.
Let them have their day.
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I stocked up on Will and Kate souvenirs while we were there. That's mostly because every time I mentioned to a friend that we were heading for London, I was requested to bring back something adorned with the toothy young couple.
Tea towels for my mom, Will and Kate press-on nails for a friend, Will and Kate plates, mugs and cups. The list goes on.
And, yes, I'll be keeping a few souvenirs for myself. I'll probably even wake up early on April 29 with my daughter and turn on the TV to see what all those cameras, set up now for weeks, capture.
After all, they're a sweet couple. They met at university. Let them have their day.
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