Yesterday I was amongst the well wishers gathered outside Westminster Abbey and along the parade route from Buckingham Palace to celebrate the marriage of HRH Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton. Soper rode the train from Edinburgh, Scotland to London, England with a friend and former classmate of William and Kate from St Andrews University, which is where the couple met.
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| The Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace |
I opted to stand in front of the Palace, as opposed to the Abbey, as that vantage point provided more views of the Royal Family along with witnessing the pinnacle moment when Will leaned over to kiss Kate – twice! When the balcony doors opened and Prince William and Kate emerged, waving at the gathered crowd, all I could think was wow, this is surreal! It very much felt like being part of something special, a celebration of the best of humanity. What is there not to like about a wedding, is it not the Aquinian pursuit of what is good in life – knowledge, procreation, society, reasonable conduct and celebration of life and peace itself?
Keith Drake, a family friend of mine who has since passed away last year, reminisced about standing outside Westminster during the Coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II on a sunny Thursday, 2 June 1953. Drake was in the military, stationed in Germany and had been granted leave to attend the historic event. Mr. Drake always said that if I was in Great Britain for a coronation or a royal wedding that I shouldn’t miss the opportunity to witness the fanfare and historical traditions. Those words came to mind when considering whether or not I should attend the Royal Wedding.
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| Big Ben |
Before the ceremony begun, HM The Queen had given the couple their first wedding gift by bestowing on HRH Prince William of Wales the English title of Duke of Cambridge, with the result being that once the Archbishop of Canterbury pronounced the couple man and wife, Miss Middleton became HRH The Duchess of Cambridge. Other gifts from the Monarch to the couple include the Scottish titles of Earl and Countess of Strathearn and the Northern Irish titles of Baron and Baroness of Carrickfergus.
At 05h00 GMT, I was walking through Hyde Park towards Buckingham Palace in the hopes of finding a good location to stand. I found a great spot in-between the palace and the international media reporting booths. Right after witnessing the balcony moment, I was interviewed by a journalist from People magazine – which was pretty crazy – as I was asked my impressions of Kate’s dress, the kiss and Prince William. I recall telling the People jounalist the first kiss was a bit rubbish and barely counted as a peck on the lips, but the second one was more appropriate.
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| HM The Queen |
Kate is a beautiful girl and the style of dress was a good choice, as it had elements of moderness blended with a regal tradition. Prince William, who looked brilliant in his Colonel of the Irish Guards uniform, is someone to look up to as a role model. He has his head screwed on right and has worked hard as a student, military officer and patron of numerous charities.
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| Everyone was in a celebratory mood |
Over two billion people watched the wedding via Internet, radio, and television broadcasts, making this the single most watched news event in world history. Inside Westminster Abbey, some 1,900 guests observed the exchange of vows, however, only a couple hundred guests had a direct view of the nave, where the nuptials were exchanged. More than 1 million people gathered either along the parade route or at viewing sites in Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square, where jumbotrons had been erected for well wishers to view the wedding. Throughout the parade route, a speaker system had been set-up to allow the crowd to hear the service from Westminster. When the Abbey Choir began to sing there was all of a sudden an eerie silence which fell over London as the masses listened to the Heavenly music.
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| This man embodied the meaning of British |
The future king kissing his princess in adoration of admiring subjects and observers from around the world was a perfect capstone moment to the day which felt a bit like a fairy tale. It was an awesome day one which had a spirit lifting sensation, which is something not seen lately as wars, economic woes, and terrorism continue to plague the world. I wish the future king and queen all the best as they begin a life together.
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Gwinn, L.J., ‘Delta High School Graduate in London for wedding’, Mountain Valley News, 4 May 2011, p. 1 <http://www.mountainvalleynews.net/home/17-front-page/1778-delta-high-school-graduate-in-london-for-wedding-5411.html> accessed 4 May 2011
‘Austin man among well wishers at royal wedding’, Delta County Independent, 4 May 2011, Neighbours <http://www.deltacountyindependent.com/neighbors/people-in-the-news/21117-austin-man-among-well-wishers-at-royal-wedding.html> accessed 5 May 2011
‘A witness to history’, Grand Junction Free Press, 6 May 2011, Community Snapshots, p. 10 <http://grandjunctionfreepress.co.newsmemory.com/loadPage.php?token=1sbG0dLL69fEtKvQ4MjX08zfxsrW4ZComZJxcpaimJTPl6CEksrU0aOZlnB4k6KTlp2XnISSk5uRpZk%253D> accessed 6 May 2011
