Kate and Wills will tie the knot on Friday, witnessed by two billion of their closest friends. Westminster Abbey is ready. The Archbishop is standing by. The trumpets have been polished for the fanfare, and the guests have bought their outfits. The cake (only slightly smaller than Buckingham Palace) has been made, and the dress – oh, the dress! – is under armed guard.
I hope she didn’t want a quiet wedding. Wouldn’t it be awful if Kate decided that all the fuss is not for her? What if she turned to Wills and said ‘I’ve changed my mind. I want to get married on a beach - barefoot and wearing a white bikini - with just a couple of witnesses and a plastic ring out of a Christmas cracker.’
It’s not as crazy it sounds - such a wedding could be profoundly romantic. If, for the sake of argument, the happy couple had found the ring in a cracker on the night they fell in love - it could be a moment full of significance and romance.
Don’t worry, she won’t cancel on us – we’ll get our Royal Wedding, fingers crossed. When the engagement was announced, Kate assured us that her hubby-to-be is ‘a true romantic’. But is he, really and truly? Well, avid romance readers, let’s take a long hard look at Prince William, and see how he measures up!
The story of the courtship is certainly the stuff that fairytales are made of. Our hero had the pick of any number of princesses and heiresses and yet, he didn’t. Instead, he saw the extraordinary beauty in an ‘ordinary’ girl – his college sweetheart, Kate. So far so good. The prince has wealth and pedigree that puts Mr Darcy in the shade. And like the much-loved hero of every romance novel he has more than a little twinkle in his eyes and a slightly rakish air. But the archetypal hero – is tall, DARK, and handsome, and our hero, Wills, is fair? Did you know that the vast majority of the men on the covers of romance novels have dark hair? It’s a miracle Kate gave him a second glance!
However, she looked and she loved, and pretty soon we got used to seeing images of the young couple here, there and everywhere. So much so that many of us were stunned when they had their ‘black moment’ and everything seemed to be lost. Pictures of Kate, looking wan and bereft, appeared in all the glossies and the tabloids, and the tight-lipped prince refused to comment on the split. The nation held its breath. The fairytale looked grim. No wonder there was much rejoicing when love conquered all.
So now we wait, impatiently, for the spectacle to begin. Waiting to see the prince to pledge himself to his lovely bride. Hoping for a wedding full of beauty and romance. Is the prince a ‘true romantic’? I think so, and here’s why: in a world where love is fragile and often doesn’t last, where relationships often end in heartbreak and anguish, and even William's parents split up – he is still saying he wants to spend the rest of his life with her. There’s the romance. A man who hopes that love will last. A radiant couple vowing that their happy day will usher in their happy ever after. I for one will be watching the wedding, tissue box at hand, wishing them the best. Lucky things!
