No, no one died. Not that succumbed. Succumbed as in "gave in to temptation".......the temptation to watch The Royal Wedding.
I was unable to view the RW (Royal Wedding) as it transpired, live, Friday morning. Friday evening, I spoke with a woman who habitually stays up ridiculously late every night and she simply stayed up through the night to begin watching the media coverage at 3 a.m. Each to their own.
I pooh-poohed the RW as the media frenzy around it grew to a fever pitch days before the event. Reading about RW parties, I declared it was all silly and I would have no part it in. Sophomoric, I thought. Then, I arose early this morning, had some discretionary time and decided to search out pictures on the Internet. I found a few, then thought I'd scope out YouTube to see what there was to see. Wonder of wonders, the BBC had the RW coverage posted, in its entirety, on YouTube......all three-plus hours of it. I'd seen enough post-wedding pictures on the national news to satisfy my curiosity so I knew I didn't need to see another RC (Royal Couple) ride in the Cinderella-type carriage, Princely kiss or Princely ride in the vintage Aston Martin convertible, but I was interested in watching the ceremony itself. Consequently, I found myself clicking on the "start" arrow.
I had watched the ill-fated wedding of Prince Charles and Diana in 1981 but this time, after years as a musician who has performed at dozens of weddings and as a still-active choir director, I watched this ceremony with different and experienced eyes. What I observed fascinated me.
Cars in royal motorcades must be trained to follow each other with precise distances between each vehicle. The Church of England must be a male bastion. The official frocks of the male celebrants reminded me of the aviary world. The men were dressed in ceremonial finery, much like male peacocks, while the two token women - nuns, I guess - were dressed in the finest drab attire possible.
There is an assistant for everything. Even the Archbishop of Canterbury (I presume.) had an assistant step forward to hold his "hat", which he removed during a prayer segment. Important people are not immune to "hat-head" when they remove their hats. And, speaking of hats, personally I thought the hat "fetish" was a bit absurd in some instances. I felt sorry for wedding guests who would have had to sit behind the haberdashery choices of many of the women. There were hats that more resembled "dish" antennas I see in my neighbors' yards than chapeaus. Let's face it......not all women were born to pull off wearing a hat in any stylish fashion. Yet, there were many women who carried off the whole "hat thing" magnificently.
Westminster Abbey is huge. I knew this fact but I didn't remember that detail from the wedding of Charles and Diana. Yesterday's television coverage demonstrated not only that Westminster Abbey is huge, but that there was certainly a tier-effect regarding the guest list. A-list guests could see the ceremony. B-list guests were within shouting distance. C-listers could hope for a processional sighting as the participants moved down the long center aisle. D-listers and below could only brag that they received an invitation.
When Kate and her father stood at the alter area with Prince William, did anyone else notice how tightly she gripped her father's hand? I found this to be a charming reminder of how even one so outwardly poised might be inwardly quaking a bit in her soon-to-be royal slippers. Later, as husband and wife, I was relieved (for Kate) that she had a relaxed yet confident grasp of hands with her new husband.
Lastly, I cannot conclude this posting without mentioning the absolutely exquisite music that occurred throughout the entire ceremony. The royal brass players sent shivers up and down "me" spine. As a church choir director, I found the whole thing to be a choir director's dream, with the splendid singers - both young and not-so-young and hearing the abbey resonate with congregational singing while the pipe organ thundered, must be akin to what heavenly music would be like. The organ sound was literally to die for. Just seeing the elaborate pipe system gave me chills and the instrumentalists were equally matched in skill with the vocalists.
It was great to see the tympanist get a few close-up shots as he played.
I'm glad I succumbed......to temptation, that is.
Ancora imparo
