Middle-aged romance and circumstance
Despite all the false starts and hindrances, the freshly-married Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles have just completed a walkabout at Windsor Castle following a touching religious service that was preceded by a civil ceremony. Good luck to the two of them, we say! Whatever one thinks of the groom or the bride, they are entitled to their share of human happiness and maybe they'll have it.
And now, a darker cloud hovers over our keyboard and it's prompted in a way by what we witnessed in Rome yesterday. The thing is that what we've just seen televised from Windsor was a rather average affair, especially when one thinks back the 1981 royal wedding of Charles and Diana. At that time, the centuries-old trappings of the realm were used to inspire awe among the subjects, and it worked. Elation was widespread; the kingdom was content. But as soon as the dysfunction of the royal family became public, first through Sarah Ferguson and then through Diana, the mystique eroded, and it's been downhill since then. Only the Queen retains a semblance of respect now.
Contrast this with another institution, the Vatican. What was going through Charles' mind yesterday in Rome as he sat through a ceremony defined by a mass outpouring of love and conducted using just the right amount of pomp? Was he aware of what he has thrown away? Seeing that he's an educated man, it must have been clear to him what was obvious to John Paul: Even in today's dress-down culture, the paraphernalia of office can be immensely powerful, but only if used with maturity and wisdom.
Compared to the papacy, the British monarchy has become a soap opera, with all that that implies. Today, Charles and Camilla; yesterday Ken and Deirdre. Our best wishes go out to both couples.
