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THE ROYAL WEDDING
The royal wedding of Prince Harry and his glamorous fiancée, American actress Meghan Markle was a moment of relief for a Britain weighed down by political, social and economic woes. With an economic growth rate of 0.1 percent in the first quarter of 2018, and the government riven over Brexit, Saturday’s wedding could provide a boost to the country and its people.
It is a moment of national unity and for the country to celebrate. It gives the British public a chance to leave behind the deep divisions that have emerged over Britain’s future outside the European Union.
With uncertainty dominating headlines, it is heartwarming that the marriage of the actress Meghan Markle, 36, and Prince Harry, 33 who is sixth in line to the throne, has captured public imagination. Meghan and Harry who met last year on a blind date and fell in love in a tent in Botswana tied the knot at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle that has been the home of 39 British monarchs since 1066.
The 15th-century chapel has been a sanctuary for royal rites of passage. It is more intimate than Westminster Abbey where Harry’s older brother, William, married Kate Middleton in 2011.The wedding ceremony brought together the British monarchy, the bride’s mother, Doria Ragland and several American celebrities including actor George Clooney, business mogul Oprah Winfrey and tennis star Serena Williams to name a few.
Markle’s divorce status would have barred her from marrying Harry in a Roman Catholic church. Today, a royalty can marry a divorcee. The fact that the Royal Family welcomed Markle, a biracial, divorced US television star has changed thousands of years of Royal tradition and heritage. This is the closest a black person has ever got to the throne lineage. It is a striking evolution of the British monarchy.
In 1955, Princess Margaret, the Queen’s late sister was not allowed to marry the divorced Peter Townsend. Had she married Townsend, she would have had to renounce her royal rights. She eventually married someone else whom she later divorced. Prior to that, King Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson.
Under clear skies and glorious sunshine, a military band played as Markle entered the Chapel unescorted, dressed in a flowing white gown and wearing a veil and a diamond tiara. Prince Charles accompanied Markle to the altar from the middle of the Chapel. Cultural and racial diversity— concepts rarely associated with the British monarchy were on prominent display at St. George’s Chapel where Bishop Michael Curry of Chicago delivered his electrifying sermon. He was relentlessly uplifting and inspiring when he spoke of the resilience of faith during times of slavery and eradicating poverty.
In contrast with the typically stoic nature of a formal royal wedding, Bishop Curry’s amused the audience with a few jokes that elicited laughs from the guests, but some appeared surprised by his performance.
Reverend Curry’s moving sermon was followed by a stellar performance of the splendid rendition of Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me” by an all-black British gospel choir.
After an amazing and colourful ceremony that combined modernity and the ancient rituals that date back to 1066, the newlyweds sealed their marriage with a kiss before a global audience of billions in the medieval chapel packed with royalty and celebrities.
Prince Harry’s marriage to a bi-racial American commoner should be an example to the U.S. and other countries where class divisions, racism and exclusivity are pronounced and disguised.
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