The Royal Wedding

It was amazing.  Just being in the crowd and being in the middle of London was exciting. 

Kim and I took the tube to Charing Cross station and had no trouble getting there.  We walked over to Trafalgar Square where it was starting to get busy.  The bells at St Martins were peeling and would continue to do so right up until the ceremony started at 11a.  We took in the atmosphere and excitement and decided to walk closer to the route.  I had hoped to get a spot near the Banqueting House since I thought it would be a lesser landmark and possibly less crowded.  I was probably right since we had no way of getting there except to go all the way around the route and approach from the south.   Along the way, we would ask the nice security guards or the bobbies if there was a way to get over there.  No.  Turns out - they weren't from around here.  Just about everyone we talked to was imported security for the event.  We Americans knew the city better than they did.  So back to the Square we went.

Kim found a nice spot where we could see most of the jumbo-tron.  We settled in time for the big guests to arrive.  We yelled and waved our free flags courtesy of Hello! Magazine each time the Queen (Elizabeth or Elton) appeared.  The moment Kate appeared for the first time, carefully slipping her dress into the car, the whole crowd sighed.  She was perfect.  I suspect most people had something puffier - more Diana-like - in mind.  Since after all this wedding is meant to be the happy ending to the fairy-tale started 30 years ago, derailed by the horse woman and crashing to an end that night in Paris.  Everyone was thinking of Diana and how proud she'd be.  And happily, Kate wasn't a cookie cutter replacement for Diana.  She is her own person; the perfect Princess to take the Monarchy into the Modern Age, something Diana started, but wasn't able to finish.  She appeared poised, confident and aware of the shoes she is about to step into. 

As she walked down the aisle, there wasn't a dry eye on the square.  And there was an audible chuckle when Harry stole a cheeky, backwards glance.  When she arrived at the alter with William, still holding her father's hand, not linking arms as you so often see, there was a calm sense of joy.  These two really love each other.  They are comfortable with each other.  Oh yes, Diana would be proud!  Her son married for love and friendship.  And that made everything seem all is right with the world.

Toward the end of the ceremony, we headed over to a local pub for fish and chips and more HD viewing.  We passed people dressed in wedding dresses, outrageous hats, Union Jacks, painted faces.  The whole of England was just so....happy!  After Guinness and fish, we watched the kiss on the balcony.  And then they announced the fly-over of the RAF guys.  At that very moment, we heard the low roar of the planes as they passed us overhead just seconds before appearing on screen.  SkyTV missed the second kiss, having the cameras on the planes at the time.  So there was confusion as they played back footage of the second, longer, kiss.  And as they disappeared back into the Palace, we ventured out onto the streets of London.  There weren't that many cars around, as many streets were blocked.  It gave this sense of being able to just run around the town which was different and amazing.  You usually can't walk three steps without fear of being run over by a cab.

We decided to make our way to the Palace to see the aftermath but only after checking out the selection of cheesy souvenirs which included Special Kate and Will's Royal Os breakfast cereals and Kate and Wills condoms.  Once to the Palace, we wandered around as people started packing up their campsites and slowly drifting out.  We got to a crossing and suddenly, couldn't go any further.  We had been stopped.  We asked what was going on - no one knew for sure.  Suddenly everyone was calling their "phone a friend" at home to see what was happening on TV.  Funny how the people watching from far away sometimes have more information than those on-site.  We all learned that they were on the move.  But we didn't know who "they" were.  So we stayed at the ready.  And then they drove by.  I heard the crowds and set my camera to movie mode and held it as high as I could.  I am far too short to see anything in a crowd.  But on my little movie, you can clearly see the Aston Martin convertible they drove to Clarence House.  YAY!  I was that close to royalty.  Cool.  A few minutes later, Kim saw Harry leave.  Again, I have a photo of it, but I'm too short to see over a crowd.  We walked around a bit more and by now it was past 4pm.  A full day of royal watching.  And well worth it!