Treated like royalty
Friends, if you've been living away from the media for a while you wouldn't know this, but there's a big hullabaloo in the British royal family right now.
It seems that the younger son of Prince Charles, who is not technically in line to assume the throne, is, with his wife, the American actress Meghan Markle, about to "step back" from his primary duties as a senior member of the Royal Family.
And people are going bananas.
I agree with so many folks online and elsewhere who question the American fascination with the Royal Family. I suppose I'm intrigued, but mostly from an historical perspective. I've enjoyed "The Crown" on Netflix as well as "Downton Abbey" in its various forms, and Winston Churchill is one of my favorite historical figures to learn about and study.
But back to my posit--why do Americans have such a curiosity about the Royal Family? Is it because we don't have the same system here--a monarch who rules because of bloodline, but has no true authority (except, we're reminded by history, to direct the leader of the majority party following an election to form a government in the monarch's name)? Do those who find this so interesting secretly wish that we had a royal family? Or do they somehow equate our President and his family (whomever the current President happens to be) with the British Royal Family? Certainly the fact that an American-born individual has now married into the Family has a great deal to do with this, but this level of interest has existed for quite some time.
I really don't know. I know that since Prince Harry and his wife Meghan made this announcement, there's been a lot of half-baked analysis written and posted online. Perhaps the biggest culprit here is an undercurrent of racism in the British media and society that has surfaced with consistency since the wedding of Harry and Meghan. The most insightful pieces have been authored recently by people of color who live in Great Britain and they certainly have the perspective necessary to understand what's happening here.
What I know from my home base here in central Kentucky is that racism is alive and well here, too, but that similar sentiments have swept across Europe in recent years, as more and more refugees from war-torn countries in the Middle East and elsewhere seek refuge in various parts of Europe. Most of the responses to the wave of immigration have been political, where anti-immigrant conservatives have been elected in numerous countries to leadership positions.
In Great Britain, the Brexit initiative to separate the United Kingdom from the European Community was spurred in large part by politicians tapping into the nativist sentiments of those citizens who wanted to check the flow of additional immigrants into their country. It was only after it became clear what the economic impact of Brexit might be that there were some second thoughts among some who initially supported it.
So, returning to my original thought, it's been reported that Princes Charles, William and Harry will be meeting in person with Queen Elizabeth in the next day or two, with Meghan joining by phone from Canada. Suppose we'll know more when the Royal Family feels that related information can be disclosed.
Perhaps then we in America will go back to having some passing interest in their doings.
It seems that the younger son of Prince Charles, who is not technically in line to assume the throne, is, with his wife, the American actress Meghan Markle, about to "step back" from his primary duties as a senior member of the Royal Family.
And people are going bananas.
I agree with so many folks online and elsewhere who question the American fascination with the Royal Family. I suppose I'm intrigued, but mostly from an historical perspective. I've enjoyed "The Crown" on Netflix as well as "Downton Abbey" in its various forms, and Winston Churchill is one of my favorite historical figures to learn about and study.
But back to my posit--why do Americans have such a curiosity about the Royal Family? Is it because we don't have the same system here--a monarch who rules because of bloodline, but has no true authority (except, we're reminded by history, to direct the leader of the majority party following an election to form a government in the monarch's name)? Do those who find this so interesting secretly wish that we had a royal family? Or do they somehow equate our President and his family (whomever the current President happens to be) with the British Royal Family? Certainly the fact that an American-born individual has now married into the Family has a great deal to do with this, but this level of interest has existed for quite some time.
I really don't know. I know that since Prince Harry and his wife Meghan made this announcement, there's been a lot of half-baked analysis written and posted online. Perhaps the biggest culprit here is an undercurrent of racism in the British media and society that has surfaced with consistency since the wedding of Harry and Meghan. The most insightful pieces have been authored recently by people of color who live in Great Britain and they certainly have the perspective necessary to understand what's happening here.
What I know from my home base here in central Kentucky is that racism is alive and well here, too, but that similar sentiments have swept across Europe in recent years, as more and more refugees from war-torn countries in the Middle East and elsewhere seek refuge in various parts of Europe. Most of the responses to the wave of immigration have been political, where anti-immigrant conservatives have been elected in numerous countries to leadership positions.
In Great Britain, the Brexit initiative to separate the United Kingdom from the European Community was spurred in large part by politicians tapping into the nativist sentiments of those citizens who wanted to check the flow of additional immigrants into their country. It was only after it became clear what the economic impact of Brexit might be that there were some second thoughts among some who initially supported it.
So, returning to my original thought, it's been reported that Princes Charles, William and Harry will be meeting in person with Queen Elizabeth in the next day or two, with Meghan joining by phone from Canada. Suppose we'll know more when the Royal Family feels that related information can be disclosed.
Perhaps then we in America will go back to having some passing interest in their doings.
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