Queen of Peoples Hearts By: Caroline Creeden I am taking a break from my normal duties as being sports writer here

at Gatorati to talk about that event which fascinated me and another two billion people last month. Unless you have been living under a rock for the past six months, you are sure to have heard about the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. I watched, enthralled and captivated by the event. My eyes focused on the television as my heart raced seeing the future Queen of England wave to the crowd of people who had gathered to watch her journey to Westminster Abbey for her wedding. Why the royal wedding has fascinated so any people is a question I am unable to answer. Perhaps, its the pomp and pageantry the British monarchy pride themselves on during ceremony. The need to watch the late Princess Dianas son all grown up so many years after her death. Maybe it was to catch a glimpse of Prince Harry. Or maybe because after all the destruction and hate that has filled the world, people want to watch two people in love getting married. A joyous occasion, tears shed as the couple express their love for one another in front of their family and friendsand the two billion watching on television. Manylike myselfwork up early to watch the wedding and everything coming beforehand. The five months of excitement from waiting for April 29th to come to an end after the couples engagement was announced in November of last year. In Britain, people lined the streets of the procession as members of the royal family made their way down the mall and to Westminster Abbey. An image very similar to an event thirty years previous when Prince Williams mother, Lady Diana Spencer, made her way to St. Pauls Cathedral in a horse drawn carriage to marry Prince Charles. People had cheered for their new Princess as the twenty-year-old Diana made her way out of the carriage, her dresses twenty-foot train following her. A year later Prince William was born, immediately thrown into the spotlight. Fame he never wanted and worked to avoid. He grew up watching his parents argue and fight, watching his mother lock herself in the bathroom, crying as he pushed tissues under the door. The young Prince

vowed never to marry for any reason but love. He would not put anyone through what his mother faced when she married a man who did not love her and flaunted his affair with the woman he began loving before he had met Diana. Prince William met Kate Middleton when they were both studying at St. Andrews in Scotland. They began a relationship in 2002 without the media following them, as it had been with his parents. They seemed genuinely in love with one another, not in the relationship to please Britain or produce an heir. By 2005 the relationship had gone public and the press hounded Middleton. It seemed like a repeat of late Princess. Press following her and making it impossible for her to have a private moment. The overexposure that led to Dianas early death. No doubt, when Prince William made his way down the mall waving to the gathered crowd he thought of the last time he came down this street for an enormous event at Westminster Abbeyhis mothers funeral. Prince William was only fifteen when his mother died in 1997 following a car crash in Paris as paparazzi were following her vehicle into a tunnel. He walked the street alongside his brother, Prince Harry, his maternal uncle, father, and grandfather. His hands clasped and head down he followed the casket of his mother in silence. The streets were silent. Only the occasional sound of grief or shout of Diana was heard. Can anyone ever forget that image of two young boys watching their mothers casket past by them?

That long walk to Westminster Abbey must have been an emotional time of the young Princes life. His parents divorce a year earlier and now his mothers tragic death. For a young man already in an unwanted spotlight, it certainly was not lessening. Getting over a parents death is difficult enough in privacy, let alone with the world watching. Fourteen years later, a balder, older Prince William walked up to Westminster Abbey beside his brother. Identical to their appearance at the Abbey years previous during that dark day. Both looked at the crowd and waved, smiling. Prince William walked into the Abbey for a joyous occasion for the first time. The Abbey will always be a reminder to Prince William of the women he loved. His mother and his wife. The wedding to Middleton will ease the memory of those dark days in 1997. The pain of his mothers death will never leave him, but the sight of the Abbey will be more bearable with this happy occasion. We watched his mothers wedding in 1981 and her funeral sixteen years later. And now, we watch the Prince whos life has been shaped by tragic events and who billions watched grow up, marry. Once Prince William and Prince Harry had entered the Abbey, they greeted members of the church and those proceeding over the wedding. They both looked incredibly like their mother as they shook hands and spoke to the men. Both men walked down the aisle slowly, as they had done when they were children following their mothers casket. Both dressed in military uniform, they entered a private part of the Abbey to calm the nerves before the bride arrived. Outside the crowd buzzed with excitement as the countdown began. Only twenty minutes until the bride would arrive and the world would see her as a commoner for the last time. Members of the royal family arrived in their cars, slowly entering the Abbey for the service. The grooms father, Prince Charles arrived with his wife the Duchess of Cornwall. The Queens car arrived shortly after her sons. Her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, removed himself from the car followed by Her Majesty the Queen. She wore an Angela Kelly designed single crepe wool primrose dress with hand sown beading at the neck in the shape of sunrays. Matching double crepe wool tailored primrose coat, as described by the official royal wedding website. Her hat was an Angela Kelly designed matching crepe hat with hand made silk roses and matching apricot colored leaves. A hat that reminded manyincluding myselfof a piece of cake. Minutes later under a large, white tent in front of the Goring Hotel, Kate Middleton entered a Rolls Royce for her journey to the Abbey and her first steps to becoming a

Princess. Under the tent, no one could see exactly was Middleton was wearing. At precisely 10:55 am in London, Middletons car began moving towards the mall; Middleton waved to the crowd with her left hand the car bouquet in her right. This simple expression was Middletons first step in becoming a Princess of the people. Her waving signified a change in perspective over a monarchy that lost its greatest asset nearly fourteen years ago. The car moved slowly down the pat; Union Jack flags waving in every direction, some printed with the faces of the Prince and future Princess on them. In that moment, Kate Middleton belonged to everyone; every citizen of the United Kingdom, of the world. She became a part of all of us watching. With her sister walking towards her on the red carpet leading to the Abbey, Middleton stepped out of the car and gave the world a view of the dress that millions speculated about. The crowds cheered at the sight of their beautiful, veiled Princess. Sarah Burton for the late Alexander McQueen designed the dress. The lace appliqu for the bodice and skirt was hand-made by the Royal School of Needlework, based at Hampton Court Palace. The lace design was handengineered (appliqud) using the Carrickmacross lace-making technique, which originated in Ireland in the 1820s. Individual flowers have been hand-cut from lace and hand-engineered onto ivory silk tulle to create a unique and organic design. Hand-cut English lace and French Chantilly lace has been used throughout the bodice and skirt, and has been used for the underskirt trim. With laces coming from different sources, much care was taken to ensure that each flower was the same colour. The whole process was overseen and put together by hand by Ms. Burton and her team. The dress is made

with ivory and white satin gazar. The skirt echoes an opening flower, with white satin gazar arches and pleats. The train measures two metres 70 centimetres. The ivory satin bodice, which is narrowed at the waist and padded at the hips, draws on the Victorian tradition of corsetry and is a hallmark of Alexander McQueens designs. The back is finished with 58 gazar and organza covered buttons fastened by Rouleau loops. The underskirt is made of silk tulle trimmed with Cluny lace. Dress design information from Official Royal Wedding Website As Middleton walked down the aisle towards her Prince, billions watched this young woman gracefully take her last steps as a commoner. These steps were hers to take but we all watched her take them. Like our own child, we watched this girl grow into a beautiful woman as the cameras flashed in her face. The long shot of the Abbey filled with tall trees, as Middleton walked down the aisle with her father and her sister following leading the young children involved in the ceremony, was one of the greatest shots of the ceremony. The beauty of the Abbey was seen as its future Queen walked towards her King. As Middleton reached the alter, her train rested on the steps as everyone in the church watched. The future of the monarchy rested the shoulders of this twenty-nine year old woman. Her actions will determine the survival of the oldest institution in the world. The ceremony lasted less than ten minutes. Prince William and Kate Middleton became the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as crowds around Great Britain and around the world cheered. As each spoke their vows, cheers could be heard inside the church voiced by the people outside the Abbey.

The

cheers spreading through the air differered dramaticly from the silent scene fourteen years ago when Princess Dianas casket sat still on the marble floor where Prince William and Kate Middleton stood. Prince Harry stood beside his brother during the ceremony, as he did during their mothers funeral service. Over that time they never left each others side, growing to become friends and protecting each other from the pain and anger caused by their mothers death as well as the family difficulties they faced. A friendship Diana would certainly have been proud of and a day she would have loved to be a part of. After the couple has spoken their vows and the marriage part of the ceremony had completed, Prince Harry and Middletons father stepped down from their positions beside their kin. For a moment they both stood on the bottom steps and looked up at their future King and Queen. In that moment they knew the future of their country and their place in it, as the father of a Queen and the brother of a King. The ceremony continued as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took their seats on the alter, looking down upon the people that would live in their country and the current monarch. Music was played; a choir sang classic pieces of British music that was projected on loudspeakers around London. The music played into the homes of those watching, making the viewer feel as if they were at the Abbey watching the event instead of sitting on their couch wearing pajamas. I satlike billions around the worldwatching this massive event on my couch before getting ready to go to school and facing reality, leaving behind the fairytale of a royal wedding. I had to watch the complete ceremony later that day with my friends as we celebrated the royal nuptials and my birthday. After the ceremony had finished and the official wedding registrar had been signed, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge walked down the aisle for the first time as a married couple. The Duchess, now a member of the royal family, smiled the entire way as she passed guests while the Dukes face remained serious. He appeared very nervous, perhaps concentrating on not to step on his new wifes expensive and historic wedding

gown. As they emerged from the church, hands joined, a roar arose from the crowd as they saw their Prince and Princess for the first time. A happily married couplethe fairytale the people had waited years for had officially come to be. Once the Duke and Duchess had taken their place in a1902 State Landauin horse drawn carriage, they slowly moved back down the path both had taken on their way to the Abbey on their way to Buckingham Palace. Slowly, the couple made their way down the street as hundreds of supporters and wellwishers crowded the sidewalks waving Union flags and cheering at the appearance of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Thirty years previous on a hot summer day, Prince Williams mother and father, Prince Charles and Lady Diana married at St. Pauls Cathedral in London and rode back to Buckingham Palace in the same carriage that carried the Duke and Duchess Cambridge on a cool spring afternoon. These similarities will no doubt cause fear amongst members of the public who see to many similarities between Kate Middleton and the late Princess of Wales. Despite the eerie similarities between the two weddings, the couples reaction to one another could not have been different. When Williams father married Diana in a lavish ceremony he kept looking up, as if praying for a way out of a marriage he did not want and to a women he did not love. Prince William, however, had difficulty not looking at his bride during the ceremony. Cameras caught the young Princes eyes wandering numerous times during the event on his brides face. It was clear that he had married for love and not duty as his father did.

The carriage slowly moved along the Procession Route as the Duke and Duchess waved to people who had gathered. Some of who had slept for days to have prime spots for the procession after the wedding. It was the Duchesss first learning experience as a royal. Her husband spoke to her softly as they rode in the carriage, telling her that she had to wave even if she was tired. She smiled at the crowds and waved to the people, who excitedly waved back at the couple. Other carriages carrying the highest-ranking people in the royal family and members of the Middleton family followed the Duke and Duchess carriage. Directly behind the newlyweds was a carriage holding Prince Harry, two young brides maids and a pageboy. Behind them, the brides sister Pippa Middleton with two young brides maids and a pageboy. The next carriage carried the Prince of Wales, his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, and Mr. and Mrs. Middleton. The final carriage carried the Queen and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh. The procession lasted nearly fifteen minutes as each carriage passed the fountain dedicated to Queen Victoria. Crowds attempted to break the barriers of police who were attempting to keep the people from entering the road where the carriages were driving through. The police barriers lasted the needed duration as all the carriages had entered Buckingham Palace before the crowds of people forced the police to slowly move towards the palace gates in hopes to get a perfect view for the appearance on the balcony and traditional kiss. Inside the palace, the Duke and Duchess slowly left their place in the carriage and walked inside the palace wallsa building that would one day belong to them. Other members of the royal family followed the young couple in the palace to prepare for the balcony appearance.

Outside the palace gates, spectators pushed each other to claim a better spot for the next scene of this well played production. Many who could not find a place near the gates took to standing in the fountain in front of Buckingham Palace, giving them a view of the balcony and space to move unlike those in the streets backed closely with one another.

As the minutes slowly passed the crowds increased in anticipation for the climax of the daythe balcony scene. At every royal wedding the most anticipated event has been watching the wedding party walk out onto the balcony and wave to the thousands who have gathered to catch a glimpse of the bride and illusive royal family. The crowds, members of the press and viewers on television waited patiently for the couple to emerge from the curtain covered white doors that hid the members of royal family from view. Shadows were seen on the curtains and a few minutes before the grand entrance a hand could be seen lifting the curtain to sneak a peak at the growing crowds who had begun chanting for the couple to emerge from the doors that hid the royalty from the commoners. While the billions of people waiting for the balcony appearance, the couple and wedding party were taking official wedding portraits.

The official wedding portrait featuring the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

The Duke and Duchess in a relaxed pose with the young brides maids and pageboys at Buckingham Palace.

The official family wedding portrait featuring the Duke and Duchess center with members of the royal family on the left and members of the Middleton family on the right.

At exactly 1:25 in Britain, the doors to the balcony opened and the Duke and Duchess emerged, their hands clasped together, smiles gracing their faces. The Duchess expression of astonishment and amazement was obvious to viewers as her eyes bulged at the sight of all the people who had gathered to see her and her husband on their wedding day. The crowds gathered in front of the Palace and in the mall roared with excitement, flags waving steadily as the sun appeared from behind the clouds. The couple stood on the balcony alone for a few seconds, waving to the people below. Other members of the royal family and Middleton family emerged slowly from the doors and took their positions on the balcony. The newlyweds stood in the centerthe most important people of the days eventswith the Queen and other prominent members of the royal family beside them. The Middleton family stood at the end of the balcony, their place in this family as outsiders displayed for the public. The crowds anxiously waited for the kiss. Except for the actual ceremony, the kiss was the most anticipated moment of the day. After egging on from the crowds, the couple kissed; a short peck on the lips that disappointed many watching on the television. Nonetheless, the crowds still cheered at the affection shown by the couple. The couple resumed there waving, marveling at the crowds that had gathered for a glimpse of them. Kiss again. The crowds again, chanted kiss, as they wanted more than one kiss. They had waited hoursand for some daysto see the royal couple, to watch their first kiss as a married couple and the peck did not satisfy them. Turning to each other, Prince William whispered to his bride that they should give them another one. He leaned in and said I love you to his wife before he finally kissed her sending the crowds below frantic at an unprecedented second kiss. The couple smiled at one another and continued to wave to the crowds until the Queen left the balcony signaling that it was time to go inside and attend the official banquet celebrating the marriage. The couple stood alone for a moment and waved before they turned their back to the people and began tot walk inside. The Duchess turned back for one more look before she finally entered the palace and the doors slowly closed.

An event, a day that millionsif not billionshad waited years to come. A beautiful wedding day for the young couple to celebrate their love for one another. A day they shared with the world and allowed everyone to join in on their celebrations. No one knows what the future holds for this couple. Like any other couple, they will have their challenges and strains in their marriage and relationship. But their years together will prove to be the most important part of their foundation. This couple is the future of the British monarchy and will have to modernize it to make the establishment remain in Great Britain Nonetheless; Britain is certainly in the hands of two very respectable, normal people. A Prince and his commoner.

Photo Credits: BBC British Monarchy Flickr