Sunday 1 May 2011

2060 The Royal House of Middleton

The 29th April 2011 will be remembered as the day the British Monarchy was taught a lesson in how to behave in public and in private by a middle class family called Middleton. But then one has to remember who taught the Middleton’s how to behave as head of state of Royalty? It was a brilliantly organised ceremony drawing a good crowd estimated to be I million supporters lining street and with over 100000 in Hyde Park before large screens with another large screen in Green Park. There were said to be two billion viewers world wide although no one provided any information on how these estimates were being calculated and later the British figures were put at 24.6 million with the BBC drawing 19 million with the addition of tens of millions watching elsewhere.

I was up at 5.30 am getting myself ready, arriving at the Marriot Leisure around 6.15 am and enjoying a great swim of 750 meters, over three quarters of which was on my own. I was home around 8.30 am played some chess and Mahjong on the computer, with a light breakfast of a nut, fried fruit and oat cereal and coffee, before turning on the Television and watching the wedding of the eldest grandson of the Queen of the British Islands and head of the Commonwealth of nations to Ms Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, his consort for an undeclared period of years, since first meeting in 2001 at Edinburgh University from which they both graduated, she with a degree in Art History, and with one publicised break in their relationship in 2007. They have lived together in Anglesey where HRG Prince William in serving with the air sea rescue service.

As befits the potential future Queen Wikipedia has provided a short circumspect article on the still twenties something young women who yesterday became Princess William, Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strahern, and Baroness Carrickfergus. She was born 9th January 1982. Her mother and father worked for British Airways. Mr Middleton has a commercially orientated family background from Leeds when her paternal great grand mother was member of a wealthy mill owning family who were also involved with local government. Her mother came from a family of working class Labourers and miners from Sunderland and County Durham.

Because of their work Catherine and her younger sister both preschool children travelled with their family to Jordan for two years and then attended two schools in Berkshire before attending the independent the now co-education Marlborough College in Wiltshire, a boarding school and then obtained her 2.1 degree at St Andrews where she met the Prince.

While at St Andrews the British press had maintained a distance from the Prince to enable him to grow up without the constant media intrusion which had been the life blood and also downfall of his mother, agreeing to a once a term photograph and interview session although this was not adopted by the internal paparazzi from Europe. It was not until both left the University that the media attempted to pursue Catherine on a daily basis attempting to define the nature of her relationship with the Prince and if an engagement prior to marriage had become a possibility. Speculation was fuelled when Ms Middleton was allocated 24 hour security by the Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department.

It was in 2007 the media reported that there had been a break up in the relationship with friends of the Prince reporting that he had felt too young to marry and he was seen in the company of a several other women of his generation. However it is understood that the Catherine and William accepted the invitation from a mutual friend to a social gathering and that from that point the relationship became official. Following the announcement of their formal engagement last year there was no denial that the couple were living together on the Island of Anglesey where the Prince was stationed.

In the weeks before the wedding there had been a concerted effort on the part of the British media to equate celebrating the wedding day with being patriotic British, in the context of a national census which will reveal the extent to which Britain has become a multicultural group of four countries with Muslims, Catholics and other faiths combined forming the majority of the population and the Church of England with Her Majesty the Queen remaining a political and social anachronism since it wad formed by the unchristian fornicating and murdering Henry VIII. While recent surveys indicate that the overwhelming majority of the population support the reign of the constitutional monarch of Queen Elizabeth II, I suspect that a similar independent polling or referendum would not find the majority supporting the continuation of the Monarch after her death or abdication retirement if this meant accepting Camilla Parker Bowles as Queen or having any role while the Church of England remained the established Church, retaining its position on adultery and divorce.

The religious nature of the service yesterday at Westminster Abbey and the address of archbishop of Canterbury in particular underlined the gulf between the doctrines and teachings of the Church of England and the majority of the children of the Queen, and one suspects several of the invited guests to the service.

While the media in the build up to the marriage ceremony concentrated on the dress to be worn and other trivia which has become associated with such a solemn and spiritual event I was interested in the extent to which the couple were going to have a wedding of their choosing or one overwhelming controlled by constitutional requirements with the Prince being second in line to the heredity monarchy who is also head of the Commonwealth as well as the Church of England.
In addition to the presiding Dean and Chapter of the Westminster Abbey, the choir, musicians and escorts and the Archbishop, my interest was in the balance achieved in 1900 or so invited guests of the couple, their parents and the requirements of the State.

What was noteworthy is that apart from the those directly involved in service and the Archbishop of York together with the heads of the sister churches of Wales and Scotland the other Church of England Bishops were absent but there were over twenty representatives of the other religious faiths evident in the UK thus underlining my point about the need to disestablish the Church of England and alter the Act of succession. This would enable a Catholic or a Member of another faith to become the Monarch without the problem of them being the official head of the Church of England.

The Royal House of Windsor, his Royal relatives were all present. In addition to the Paternal Grandparents, that the Queen and her husband, and his previously divorced father and divorced step mother, there was the divorced Princes Royal and her second husband, and her two children by her first marriage, Peter, the eldest grandchild (and not given any title other than Mr by the choice of his parents), and his wife, together with Zara and her fiancée, the International Rugby Union football player; The divorced Duke of York was present and his two Princess daughters by his marriage, both wearing extraordinary hats, but not their mother, the Duchess who was not invited. The daughters did not look happy. The Queen’s youngest son also attended- the Earl and Countess of Wessex and their daughter.

There was also all the other surviving members of the Windsor family: Viscount and Countess Linley (Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon) and their son; Lady Sarah and Daniel Chatto sons (daughter of Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon) and their two children; The Duke and Duchess of Gloucestershire, the Queen’s cousin and eldest in the line of the House of Windsor with their three children and marital partners, the eldest of which is the Earl of Ulster; The Duke and Duchess of Kent and their three children including the Earl and Countess of St Andrew and their son Lord Downpatrick and his two children (which therefore prevented this title going to William and Catherine); The Princess Alexandra and her son and his wife and her daughter. The Prince and Princess of Kent and their son and his wife together with their daughter and the Lady Saltoun of Abernethy who was married to a grandson of Queen Victoria.

It is my understanding that apart from members of other Royal Households who are related to the House of Windsor no other members of British Hereditary Peerages were invited of which in total there are 700 who in other eras would have been expected to be invited to such an event. There were five Kings and four Queens, two dozen Princes and Princess and one Tsar and the Royals from other countries. It is noteworthy that the media gave little attention to the arrival and presence of these individuals as if there was a decided policy to downplay the heredity peerages and feudal aspect of the marriage and focus on the background ordinariness of the bride and her family.

It also tends to be forgotten that Prince Diana belonged to a British Aristocracy significantly older than the House of Windsor. Her brother and two sisters and their families were present and it was noted that that William and Harry spent time saying hullo to these relatives immediately on arrival at the Abbey which differed from the media advance which suggested they would want to talk to their contemporary friends. It had been the practice of Royal brides married at the Abbey to leave their hand held bouquet of flowers at the tomb of the unknown soldier but she held onto hers and it would be a nice touch if it was left at the grave of Diana or perhaps the grandparents of Catherine.

There were 13 Governor Generals and their partners together with 26 representatives of other countries and British Territories including Gibraltar, Pakistan, North Korea and Germany but not India South Africa or Italy I assume there was some kind of ballot among embassies otherwise the choice is bizarre! There were two Civil senior servant from the Cabinet office and the Foreign Office There were some 20 British Politicians and their Partners including the Speakers/Presiding officers and First Ministers from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and while several Members of Coalition government were present together with former Foreign Secretary Douglas Herd and former Prime Minister John Major (Baroness Thatcher was invited but too ill to attend), but Former British Prime Ministers Tony Blair who saved the Monarchy after the death of Princess Diana and Gordon Brown were not and this is extraordinary and demands explanation.

There was an excellent carefully selected group of representatives from the armed forces including the sister of a bomb disposal officer killed in Iraq who had been a friend colleague when the Prince was at Sandhurst. The widow of another officer killed in Afghanistan who had been William’s platoon commander at Sandhurst and a Lance Corporal severely injured in Afghanistan, together with the founders of Help for Heroes and senior officers from services and regiments with which the Prince has connections. It was also noted that the Prince, his brother, Prince Phillip and others worse military uniforms this underling the relationship between the armed services and the Monarchy constitutionally. Elsewhere along the route from the three establishments where the principle guests under TV scrutiny were staying (Buckingham Palace for the Queen and other Royals, Clarence House the Home of Prince Charles where Prince William and Harry were staying, and the Goring Hotel for Kate, her family and friends) and the Abbey and the return to Buckingham Palace there a number of Guard Bands as well as horse guard detachments in their resplendent red uniforms and headgear as well as some 5000 police and emergency service personnel. However this was an important day for reminding the British people and government of the importance of the military to the nation and of those on active service throughout the earth world.

The Prince and from now on his wife are and will be associated with a number of Charities and welfare organisations, presently of their choice, but increasingly over time, those presently which the various generations of Royal Members are associated as Patrons but which will be shared. I have not seen the list of these but they will form part of the weekly functions which the Royals are required to support and are listed in the daily Royal circular of completed activities.

Then there were the guests describes as celebrities and notables not included in the list of close friends. They form an insight into the lives of the future couple and Prince Charles who will have borne more of the cost of this extravaganza than the traditional father of the bride.· Gregory Allen (yoga teacher). The Hon. Brian Alexander (Managing Director of The Mustique Company and future Earl Alexander of Tunis). Joe Allbritton (former owner of Riggs Bank) Rowan Atkinson. David and Victoria Beckham (he wore his medal and on the wrong side and she was very darkly dressed and appeared miserable. Sir Trevor Brooking. The Rt Hon. The Viscount Bridport. Dr. Michael Bunbury (doctor at Mustique). Basil Charles (owner of Basil's Bar). Manuel Colonques (Chairman of Porcelanosa). Marquess Vittorio Frescobaldi (wine magnate and head of the Italian noble family Frescobaldi). Andrew Gailey (Vice-Provost of Eton College, who was Prince William's Housemaster. Rear admiral Sir Donald Gosling (co-founder National Car Parks) and Gabriella Di Nora (former Princess Diana's personal shopper) Edward Gould (Master of Marlborough College between 1993 and 2003) Amy Huberman (Irish actress)· Sir Elton John and David Furnish Count Tibor Kálnoky (Romanian nobleman and landlord who manages Prince Charles' properties in Transylvania) Timur Kuanyshev (Kazakh tycoon) Sir John Madejski (Chairman of Reading Football Club)· Hugh Morrison (horse trainer) and Mary Morrison Philippa Naylor (designer) Ian Thorpe (Australian Olympic gold medallist swimmer) Mike Tindall (rugby player and fiancé of Zara Phillips)[ Tara Palmer-Tomkinson he once notorious socialite and self publicist who looked stunning in the best possible way and about who one could write a book, having been photographed giving Prince Charles a kiss and flashed her boobs at Prince William at a Skiing party! Pedro Pesudo (Director of Porcelanosa) Juergen Pierburg (billionaire, art collector and philanthropist) Roger Pritchard (Managing Director of The Mustique Company) Guy Ritchie and Jacqui Ainsley Matthew Vaughn Lily Safra (Brazilian-Monegasque philanthropist) Richard Schaffer (tennis coach at Mustique) Lucia Santa Cruz (daughter of former Chilean ambassador; friend of Prince Charles) Joss Stone[. Mario Testino (fashion photographer who took the engagement photos).Martyn Williams (Welsh rugby player) Sir Clive Woodward and Lady (Jane) Woodward Jon Zammett (Head of public relations of the German car manufacturer Audi) Sir Anthony Hopkins Mark Price (Managing Director of Waitrose) Richard Attenborough. Mustique is the private island hideaway in the sun made famous by its use by the Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret and I was not aware that the association gad continued, presumably by Charles and his wife. The other aspect of this list which struck was the information on family interests in Transylvania.

Also revealing is the list of personal friends of the Prince and his bride which included Olivia Bleasdale, Oli Baker, and Fergus Boyd, former roommates at St Andrew; Tom Bradby (ITN political editor) and wife Claudia Bradby (jewellery designer, worked with Middleton when she was an intern at Jigsaw). Sir Richard Branson, Lady (Joan) Branson and daughter, Holly Branson (a close friend of the couple). Sir Henry Cheape.Alice van Cutsem (Mrs van Cutsem's husband, Nicholas, has been a family friend since the Prince's childhood) Hugh and Lady Rose van Cutsem (parents of the bridesmaid, Grace van Cutsem; Mr van Cutsem has been a family friend since the Prince's childhood). Edward and Lady Tamara van Cutsem (family friends since the Prince's childhood; her mother, the Duchess of Westminster, is the Prince's godmother) Chelsy Davy (friend of Prince Harry)Rupert Finch (friend of Catherine Middleton)Hinesh Parmar (a close friend of the couple) Ben Fogle (TV presenter) and wife Marina Fogle Alicia Fox-Pitt (sister of William Fox-Pitt; Middleton's friend); Virginia Fraser (neighbour of the couple while at St Andrews)Astrid Harbord David Jardine-Paterson and Emilia d'Erlanger (banking heir, Prince William's friend; the couple attended their wedding last year) James Jardine-Paterson (banking heir; Prince William's friend)Arthur Landon and Katalina Landon (millionaire; friend of Prince William), with his mother Captain Jack Mann (polo player; Prince William's friend) Willem Marx (high school boyfriend of Middleton)Harry Meade (Old Etonian; friend of the couple)Richard Meade (Olympic gold medallist; Prince William's friend)The Hon. Money-Coutts (magician)James Murray Wells (entrepreneur; Old Harrovian)Guy Pelley (friend of Prince William) Earl Percy, Lord Max Percy, Lady Melissa Percy, and Lady Catherine Valentine (The 12th Duke of Northumberland's children)[. Anand Shimpi (American computer businessman; Prince William's friend) with family. Daniel Snow (historian), and his wife Lady Edwina Snow (her mother, the Duchess of Westminster, is the Prince's godmother)Thomas van Straubenzee (friend of Prince William since Prep School) Luke and Mark Tomlinson (friends of Prince William).Ben Vestey (polo player), Jake Mulley and Chloe Vestey (friends of Prince William).Sam Waley-Cohen (English jockey, and childhood friend of Prince William). Susanna and Jake Warren (grandchildren of the Queen's former racing manager, the Earl of Carnarvon).Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe, Jecca Craig, Davina Duckworth-Chad, Olivia Hunt, and Arabella Musgrave (friends of Prince William).Shriman Maharaj Sahib Shri Raghav Raj Singh Shisodia, 8th Maharaj Sahib of Shivrati (friend of Prince William), and his wife.

Then there was the personal family of the bride, restricted to immediate relations rather than every known living member of the extended network as a television company tracked down for a programme during the preceding week. And this brings me back to my opening paragraph and how the family stole the show so to speak in the best possible way.

I first single out James Middleton, the younger brother who read the lesson with all the studied precision of a seasoned actor. He is reported to have dropped out of University to commence the first business venture and is planning to commence others Nice Cakes, Nice Wine and Nice Group. He lives with his sister in a flat in Chelsea purchased by his parents. He is now likely to become a hot young man about town.

As agreed with every commentator, the younger sister of the Duchess of Cambridge, Pippa looked stunning and carried out her role as the maid of honour with distinction. She is romantically linked with Alex Loudon, former captain of Eton and Durham University Cricket teams and had a promising professional career getting to the fringe of the English team. However he “retired” from the game in 2007 to concentrate on a business career. Although not in the international limelight until this week she has quietly been noted as having a role in the London society of her generation as well as playing an increasing role in the business of her parents. She has been able to work hard and have dun without the he responsibilities and media interest which her sister has attracted. It will be interesting to see if this now changes.

From their days working for British Airways in Jordan with pre school young children, to their position now as potential parents of the Queen of Great Britain, one wonders how the Middleton’s have coped although from the way they conducted themselves at the ceremony they clearly possess the strength and normalcy to continue to do well, and however much their life has and will change there was visual evidence that they are an asset to the House of Windsor and could prove instrumental the maintaining the monarchy as a heredity head of state. This then raises the question if I am about to change from my life long position of being a republican intellectually but a monarchist at heart. I suspect not.

It has always struck me since being a gauche teenager and successfully studying the British Constitution at advanced level GCE, Cambridge University examinations Board that for a Parliamentary democracy to retain a heredity aristocracy with a full and extended Royal Court with the monarch also head of the Church of England was not just inconsistent but wrong. On the other hand as a child during the Second World War and the way King George VI and his way and eldest daughter conducted themselves throughout the rest of my life to date and as I learned to question and evaluate what was presented by the media my support and loyalty although shaken at times has remained constant. I was struck last night by the conversation taking place during the interval of a live relay of Il Trovatore from the Metropolitan Opera House New York. Those participating commented on the Royal Wedding and expressed approval for Kate although as one male of my generation said, she should not have been wearing white, used as the symbol of virginity. The kisses on the balcony of Buckingham Palace were not those of newly weds but of a season married couple. I mention the conversation at the theatre which I observed without participating because the woman sitting closest to me said that she could never forgive Camilla, to which someone said it was the fault of Prince Charles to which someone added, she should have said no. Thus speaks the opera loving provincial middle class of the UK of my generation who I can add from the conversation on arrival as church friends came to greet those sitting next to me, they were also part of the declining congregation of regular attendees of the C of E.

I was impressed switching during the day and yesterday between the news Broadcast coverage of the BBC, Sky, ITV, CNN, Fox and other satellite news stations that there was no attempt to repeat the presentation of the Diana and Charles fairy tale wedding which I watched with my family at a campsite across the channel. One woman asked why she was out shopping while not watching the wedding said she had watched the others and they had all ended in divorce. She hoped by staying away this one would last. There was also speculation about the event having significance for the future of the monarchy. This was the approach taken by Fox who suggested that it had already been decided that the Queen would after the Olympic Games and that the Prince and his Duchess would take over, overstepping the position of Prince Charles. This was roundly rejected by Paul Burrell who was the guest commentator at Fox, Piers Morgan did CNN. He said emphatically that the Queen will continue until her death and that given her present state of good health and the longevity of her month the reign was likely to continue for another decade and more. He went in that Charles would continue for his remaining life time which would mean that it could be mid 21st century before the reign of Queen Catherine commenced and by then the nation could have celebrated the marriage of their eldest son.

This therefore is in fact the point of the marriage ceremony of Friday, the obvious decision of William and Catherine to try and have a family and in doing so provide an heir to the throne. I wish them well in starting a family but question the likelihood of Charles being accepted if he persists in the wanting Camilla to be Queen. The recent incident in Oxford Street on the day of the TUC protest against he reductions in public expenditure on local and national government direct services, demonstrates how quickly the media will combine to attack the Prince if given the slightest opportunity.

There was a more balanced discussion about the impact of the wedding on the future of the Monarchy with Kristy Walk on Newsnight which included another realistic republican as I term myself, Will Self. The conclusion of the night and my conclusion for the day is that it was a good and joyous day for all those directly involved, a great day for Prince William and Catherine which at least a third of the nation thoroughly enjoyed and perhaps up to another third were impressed, some against their better judgement. In the era of Coalition government and election won with less that 40% of those voting I guess that even Charles and Camilla would make it on a referendum while William and Catherine would walk it by a resounding majority.

I still want to know why Tony Blair and Mr Brown were not invited. PS Prince Harry also did well and looked as if he was having a great time.

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