17th April 2011

So, Wills and Kate are soon to be married. What a quandary everyone's in.  Should the people celebrate uproariously as in the past?  Or should they follow William's lead:  keep everything low key, don't be seen to be affluent when so many are struggling.  But isn't spectacle, wealth and glamour what the royal family's all about? Isn't it diminished to the point of absurdity without it?
And what do the French think about it all? Magazines such as Paris Match have tried hard to show that the French are fascinated by the British Royals. Indeed, 3 years ago polls showed that  24% thought that having a King as head of state was a good idea. And yet, around me here in rural France I see general indifference. Perhaps there's still a deep guilt complex centuries after the atrocities of the Revolution.
I wondered even whether any of the top brass in France had been issued with a must-have invite.  But then, who?  Should it be the (republican) President and his glamorous wife?  Or should it be the 2 main pretenders to the French 'throne', Henri d'Orleans, descendant of Louis Philippe, or Louis de Bourbon, descended from Charles X? In practice, I doubt whether any of them have been invited. By doing so, the Queen would be seen to be making diplomatic considerations.
Him indoors just shakes his head, saying it's likely to be a very sad affair - even the cake's in tiers.