It was like a movie sequel titled "When Harry Met Meghan". The royal wedding was the most awaited, most written about, the most talked about and the most viewed wedding in a long time. It was fairy tale stuff. The reluctant rebellious Prince Harry of British Royalty ensnared by the charms of the American actress Meghan Markle.
It was fascinating by many counts. Firstly, it was a marriage between two similar yet very different cultures. The prim and proper British vs the open and improper Americans. Prince Harry was red haired and red faced, Meghan was black haired and olive skinned. But then opposites attract. However, opposites clash as well.
The addiction to dream and drool over royalty has not waned since monarchies have come under fire by communists, socialists, capitalists and democrats alike. Record number of people watched the royal fanfare on TV and social media. Compared to the mammoth viewership of William and Kate's wedding of nearly 20 million viewers this was even more massive as the ceremony was viewed with 29 million people glued to their screens to watch every step, every guest, every dress, every hat and every word being uttered during the day long event.
Nearly 18 million viewers turned in to watch the royal nuptials, with the BBC securing the lion's share of TV coverage at nearly 64 percent between 9am and 2pm. Twitter saw massive interest in the wedding, with 3.4 million tweets sent during the ceremony itself. This peaked at 40,000 tweets a minute when US bishop Michael Curry delivered his bold address on love and race.
The most re-tweeted picture was of Meghan Markle sitting across Buckingham Palace as a teenager looking wistfully at the Royal abode with stars in her eyes. The message underlying this picture was that little did she know she will be one of them years later. The millions of re-tweets of this picture show how human nature still loves the Cinderella story to become real. However, the story is rarely a happily ever after ending.
The case in point being Lady Diana never was a princess more feted, more followed, more loved in the British Royalty. Never was a princess more miserable, more restless, more tragedy prone. The price of being part of the royalty is the price of letting go your individuality and being part of a picture prefect pose on the balcony and in the Royal sitting room. But that, many times, alas is, a picture and a pose only.
The Royal family has evolved over a period of time from the stiff lipped stern rehearsed by the book conduct of the line of heirs to a more relaxed behavior. Harry and Meghan wedding is an example of some deviations from the tradition. From attire to behavior the royal couple are defying royalty in their own way. The fact that Meghan was older to Harry, an actress in America, biracial and divorced was the starters.
She wore off shoulder dresses, a frowned upon royal rebellion, and he wore a marriage ring, a too common ritual for the uncommon people. Meghan walked down alone without her father expressing her feminist instincts and the couple for sake the traditional 8 layer fruitcake for the tart and butter cream confection. These may look too small for ordinary people like us to bother about but for the royal people these are mega Meghan statements of defiance.
As they say all that glitters is not gold. Even with all the red and black rebellion of the couple there are some things that are forbidden to the royalty. Again, they may seem minor but in the context of their background they can become huge irritants. For example, a "No Selfie" royal policy for an actress who is perhaps bred on the selfie world this may seem illogical but that is how it is. No more autographs. Again, for an actress her flamboyant flourish penning her name is her signature brand.
She will not be voting also. The Queen is neutral and doesn't vote and there is no written policy on it but the family follows. For Meghan who is such a firm opinion person on many social issues that have a political implication, staying politically correct may be difficult. The Queen ultimately rules over the rules. Yes, if you are staying with the Queen you are just her follower. You can not have your own bedtime hours till the Queen is up and around and of course attending all the functions is a given.
Perhaps the most difficult decision for Meghan is giving up her career. Both Harry and Meghan will have to be title and palace bound and forgets about pursuing flying our acting passions. For such a career minded feminist as Meghan this may take a lot of restraint and adjustment.
To the millions of onlookers it is a mixture of awe and envy at this wedding made in heaven. But to those going through it, it may become hell with the passage of time. Lady Diana was the classic fairy tale princess of the palace. But when she was tragically killed she was known as the princess who ruled the people's heart.
For her the price she had to pay to live up to the rigid standards of the palace was too much. She felt imprisoned by the royal chains to conform to the ritualistic living of the high and mighty. She became depressed and was a chronic patient of bulimia.
She was so deprived of the ability to be ordinary and normal that after her divorce she was constantly seeking security of men who were different and more ordinary. She fell in love with Dr Hasnaat and was willing to let go of her life and country and settle in Pakistan. Her desire to escape her past life in the palace was so great that she was constantly in search of a life that was real and fulfilling.
The hope with Meghan and Kate is that their respective husbands are not the sons of a Queen but are the sons of a woman who became a victim of the royal rituality. In memory of their mother they would ensure that their wives are able to retain their individuality and reality beyond just being honourable members of royalty. (The writer can be reached at andleeb.abbas1@gmail.com)