Royal Wedding - Postlude

OK, I kind of have to admit to sustaining some post ROYAL WEDDING euphoria after witnessing the nuptials of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, now known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.  

I did not get up Saturday morning explicitly to watch the ROYAL WEDDING but as is my want, on a day when I don't have to get up early, I nonetheless still did. Remembering that, hey, I think the ROYAL WEDDING is going on, flipped on the TV here in the Fortress of Ineptitude and decided to check things out for a minute or two. 

I stayed longer. 

When I tuned in, the groom and his best man, Prince William, were sitting patiently but a bit anxiously I would presume at the front of St. George's Chapel. Meanwhile, cameras outside were tracking a specific plum hued Rolls Royce that was transporting the bride, catching glimpses of a white veiled Meghan waving to the well wishers thronged along either side of the route.   

I settled in to my sofa. A lot going on to cover not much going on. I was struck by the absurdity of so much effort being put in to show us a car driving someone to church. I decided to settle in to see how far this would go.  

But when the purple Rolls Royce arrived at St. George's Chapel and Meghan Markle ascended from the vehicle like some snow draped ethereal spirit, I was drawn to the beauty and the elegance of the moment. Her long white train billowed out behind her, as if it were her own personal cloud, bearing her aloft from the utter mundanity of walking upon the Earth as the rest of us do.  Flower girls and page boys followed her like cartoon animals frolicking about a Disney princess.  

As she makes her way up the aisle, floating an inch above the floor, Meghan is joined by Prince Charles who is filling in for her father, to take her to the betrothed.  I am overcome with the emotion of the moment. With her own father unable to attend the wedding, Prince Charles' gesture makes for a most touching welcome to the family.  

At the front of the church, Harry sees Meghan and he whispers, "You look amazing. I'm so lucky." Meghan smiles and the luminescence of the whole world got just a bit brighter.  

Seriously, Meghan's smile is just so... so...

Words just plain escape me.  

The ceremony was filled with the various elements one might expect from a ROYAL WEDDING but a couple of things really stood out from the usual expectations of rigid royal protocol. 

The sermon by Bishop Michael Curry, an African American preacher who spoke to the power of love to change the world. He quoted Martin Luther King Jr and slave era spirituals. He spoke with passion and optimism. He spoke with a power that the more staid English persons present were likely not used to. His words so moved me that I looked up a transcript and added them to a blog post (click here).  

Or you can hear it here (until You Tube takes it down).  

And the performance of Stand By Me that I felt stir the inner workings of my heart and soul.  

And if I am rhaposodizing a bit too eloquently about all this, well I am as surprised as anyone. I am stunned by my responses to this wedding. 

Not only did I watch the ROYAL WEDDING Saturday morning, I've watched it again. BBC America has it on some kind of perpetual loop. (There are a couple of times where the constant showing of the ROYAL WEDDING had been interrupted by episodes of Killing Eve.)   

Thanks to the ROYAL WEDDING of Harry and Meghan, my worldview has been transformed into one of optimism and light.

Which is terribly out of character. 

My inner snarkiness cries out for release. So here are some photos I messed with a bit.  

There. That seems more like me. 

But still...

This event reminded me that love can be real and it is a power that can make of this old world a new world. 

Remember to be good to one another.