The wedding of Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton is described as the biggest media event in history. Lady Diana’s son tied the knot in style, no doubt. May the couple live happily ever after!
The mega event had something for everyone. Children found it more interesting than a Disney production. Women picked on costumes and ornaments. Men fell for selection of cars. From poverty-stricken shanty towns in Mumbai, India, to blood-letting elite in Libya, the wedding was seen live. The London wedding attracted global TV audience of two billion while 400 million tuned online. Yet the Queen Elizabeth II never smiled.
The wedding brought up many angles, the most interesting one being a row over an invitation to ambassador of an Arab nation. In generous act of sympathy with pro-democracy citizens of the country, the invite was withdrawn. For Christian population of the Middle East, Easter Monday and for its Muslims, every next Friday turns bloodier than the last.
The wedding coincided with post-Friday processions in many Middle Eastern nations, some of them turning bloodier and darker. The autocratic rulers, for a day, hid behind the cover of Royal wedding, airing it live to keep their ‘subjects’ indoors. For some the trick might have worked but only for one day.
While the British royal wedding attracted billions on television sets, millions continued protesting for dignity against monarch and autocratic rulers in the West Asia. Both happenings can be interpreted nothing but bizarre. If monarchy or autocracy is declining in the Middle East, is it on the rise in the United Kingdom? Or it was only the media acting lousy by covering a staged story instead of more complex and riskier one in the Arab world.
For Britain and its newly-wed nobles, honeymoon would not last forever. Reality is staring into its face in the wake of weakening national economy, worsening international image and failing policy of air strikes in Libya. Kate Middleton, Prince William’s wife, wears the shoes of her legendary late mother-in-law Lady Diana who broke all barriers of royalty to become queen of hearts. Diana’s will for two sons was no different than her own lifestyle: “I want my boys to have an understanding of people's emotions, their insecurities, people's distress, and their hopes and dreams.”
The oppressed people hope that the new royal couple would make a real difference in their lives, at home and elsewhere. By ‘understanding’, Diana meant more than its literal meaning.
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