Journalism of Courage
Kate Middleton: Being the Lady In White
Fairy tales can come true. An ordinary middle-class girl,pretty enough,but certainly not what you call drop dead gorgeous is marrying the future king of England. I was a kid during the last big royal wedding but I distinctly remember seeing a fairy-like Diana on Doordarshan waving to the crowds from a chariot,a real princess. Fascination for the British Royals continues and,like the rest of the world,I plan to watch the Kate-William nuptials live on April 29. An excellent show on BBC Entertainment right now,MonarchyThe Royal Household at Work,provides a rare glimpse into the Queen of Englands daily life at Buckingham Palace,her routine and engagements. Its all pretty mundane stuff,involving lots of hand-shaking and polite smiling,and endless meetings and appearances. In the TV show,the Queen,doing a shoot with celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz,is dressed in the regal costume of England,complete with the Crown Jewels. Its clear: she doesnt like dressing up,Leibovitz is told you dont have much time.
India has no equivalent of the royals,besides the Gandhis perhaps,who have shown a preference for extremely low key and private weddings that can be summed up in five photographs and three paragraphs. There was a media frenzy for the wedding of actors Karisma Kapoor and Aishwarya Bachchan yet it was hardly a matter of national significance,forgotten pretty much the following day. The last big talked-about Indian wedding was Lakshmi Mittals daughters,but more because of the sheer opulence of the celebrations in France,and Shahrukh Khans performances. (Back then,Khan didnt dance at every wedding for a fee). The most anticipated union of the year,meanwhile,has given London a business boost,with a huge demand for copies of Kate Middletons sapphire ring,and even knock-offs of the very ordinary blue dress she wore for her engagement.
Im not sure its much fun being Middleton right now: every square inch of her will be under scrutiny on her wedding day,with endless analysis of her choices of hair,make-up and style. God help her if she puts on weight. She already has to live with the discomfiting souvenirs that have cropped up right before she begins life as a Duchess or whatever royal title she gets (No More Waity Katie nail polish,for one). Shes also probably uncomfortably aware that the bedtime stories of the prince marrying a princess and living happily ever after just dont apply to this royal family,where almost every marriage in the last 30 years has been a disaster.
Becoming a princess doesnt guarantee a happy marriage,unfortunately,but despite the history of failed relationships and ugly divorces that have plagued the British Royals,even anti-monarchs and cynics cant resist the power of live television to draw them into a fairy-tale wedding. Observers predict that 88% of British people will tune in to watch the celebration,live. The only event that could put 88% of Indians in front of a television set is a World Cup cricket final. As for the wedding dress,Lady Diana looked very girlish,but very 80s and delectable,like a puffed white pastry. Middleton,who seems to play it safe fashion-wise,shops at high street brands like Warehouse,but has kept her wedding dress designer a closely guarded secret. Whatever it turns out to be,its bound to set off the wedding dress trend for the year to come. hutkayfilms@gmail.com
