Monday, April 20, 2015

Q is for Queens, Princesses, and Royals

Okay, I admit it. I follow the British Royals. I'd like to say that I'm not interested in such an unimportant thing, but that wouldn't be telling the truth. I don't know if it's because they are a fairy tale come to life or if it's just because they have way better clothes than I do, but I read most of the stories I see about them.

Princess Kate Baby How princess kate is preparingI can tell you that Princess Kate (or Duchess of Cambridge, I think) shocked the fashion world when she wore panty hose during her trip to Canada. I can tell you that Prince Harry has served in Afghanistan and his father might be Diana's groomsman. I can tell you that the Queen rules the family with an iron hand and likes brightly colored, tailored suits. I can tell you that Camilla has always been Prince Charles's love and that he champions environmental causes. And I can tell you that Kate is due to have her second child any day now. Which brings me to my story.

The other morning Ward and I were eating breakfast. He was checking his work email to see what disasters were waiting for him when he made it to the office, and I was watching one of the morning news shows. At one point, the show did a teaser about how the hospital was preparing for Kate's imminent delivery. Ward poked his head up and said, "She's popping them out really fast, isn't she?" I know he didn't follow the details of the royal life, so I said, "You don't mean a third child, do you? She's only on her second." I proceeded to question him and found out that he had no idea that Kate was pregnant and ready to deliver the second in line to the throne. Not that he didn't know when she was due or whether or not she had morning sickness this time, he had NO idea that she was even pregnant.

And here's why I found that so amazing. This man can tell you every world situation and the backgrounds behind them. He can tell you the latest medical study and the pieces missing from the research. He can you about every presidential hopeful and their views on important issues. All of this means, that he does pay attention to what's going on in the world. It amazed me that somehow while he was paying attention to what was important, he hadn't noticed the constant stories about Kate's pregnancy. He said that he wasn't interested in that sort of thing. I totally understand that. What amazes me is that he was able to filter out the stories totally. (OK, maybe not totally. He did know who Kate was.)

Are there any others of you out there who didn't know Princess Kate is pregnant with her second child?
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And as long as we're on the subject of royals, a book recommendation:

The Uncommon Reader: a Novella by Alan Bennett

The is a fun little story about the Queen after she borrows a book from a bookmobile in front of the palace. That book leads to another and she starts reading a wide variety of books that change her views on life and the world. I don't know if the descriptions are correct, but it also gives an idea of what it must be like to be a royal and always on display.