America has nothing to match the British monarchy and royal family.
I’ve mostly ignored the royals, and I doubt I’m getting sentimental in my old age; I’m getting cynical. Never watched a royal wedding before, but Saturday I watched the entire ceremony in the cathedral, and a bit of the endless processionals before and after.
It was a well-choreographed show, with generally excellent execution, a splendid display of nationalist symbolism that has been perfected through centuries of practice. Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and Meghan Markle, now Duchess of Sussex, had the starring roles, and St. George’s Chapel was the setting.
But the royal wedding was about something far grander than one young couple. Harry is only sixth in the line of succession to the throne, after all. And where is Sussex?
The pageantry of the royal wedding generated strong and genuine emotion for millions of Queen Elizabeth’s subjects throughout the British Isles and the Commonwealth. Such symbolism and emotion, and the patriotism engendered, are of inestimable value.
The Queen and Prince Philip and the monarchy provide amazing spine-stiffening support for the British people and the British nation state.
By the end of the wedding, was there anyone in Britain who would take issue with the words “God save the Queen?”
— John
Living Simply And Still On The Grid 
Here in the Cayman Islands, the Queen is very important. I personally worry about her, being 92 years old. Long Live The Queen, I don’t want her to die.
I didn’t see the ceremony, but there’s all these jokes going around about her scowling the whole ceremony. Is that what you saw?
LikeLike
I just thought she looked old. But then, she’s been doing an excellent job in a difficult role for a long long time. I think William will make an excellent king, but I’m a little bit worried about Charles in the meantime.
LikeLike
Everyone feels the same about Charles!
LikeLike
While I feel a little awed by the history that Elizabeth has lived through and represents, I don’t know if I’m quite in the “God Save The Queen” corner. Though it must be a cumbersome life with everyone goggling at you and yours all the time and being vilified by some as a relic of a feudal past. Having been engaged to a Briton for about five minutes (actually I spent a total of about two months in England) I got a solid whiff of how lots of people feel about “The Royals.”
What I loved about that ceremony — which I only saw bits of in newsclips — was the spectacle of a bunch of titled Brits trying to deal with an AMERICAN BLACK PREACHER MAN laying it down as if he were in a pulpit in Atlanta or Birmingham. And him an Episcopalian! My friends, there is nothing at all in the world like a black preacher when he gets going, and those dead spots that would have been call and response in any A.M.E. or Baptist church had me howling. Did you see Camilla’s face? “What on earth is happening here?” He left them gobsmacked — recalling the first ever post on my blog https://sledpress.wordpress.com/2008/07/16/phoenix/ “What the hell was THAT?” (Though there were a few subversive smiles.) It was a pretty good sermon too.
I swear, this old agnostic with a pagan heart would have been on her feet shouting AY-men. And the hats weren’t bad either.
LikeLike
Amen sister!
LikeLiked by 1 person