The Pains of Wearing the Crown

The drama with being a member of the royal family has been expressed over and over again. Media critics have all the time to wait for reporting on even the most mundane of royal events. Their eagerness abounds to hop on a story that for most any other member of society might seem absurdly trivial.

But with the means to disseminate these often half truths that the public is indolent enough to savor, sometimes makes such stories rank as if they were biblical truth. The most glaring example of this type of schefranaude is the circus that surrounds Britain’s Prince William and wife Kate Middleton.

Certainly all Brits as well as most American females and many of us blue blooded men remember the charade amidst the royal wedding back in April, 2011. The multi day coverage of the ceremony entailed interviews with picinsiders about the personal background of the bride. Discussion about her decade long romance with the groom after meeting one another at St. Andrews University then an intermitent break-up period in 2007, were all talking points.

Plus details surrounding all that might have gone into planning of the event and the proceeding newlywed getaway to the French Riveira for their honeymoon made incipient coverage.

I have slight recollection of the marriage coverage, not so much because I cared but because at the time I worked in a small bank office where my manager and co-worker seemed to have turned into British royal wonks over night and insisted upon making it a topic of conversation for a few days. With that event being in the spotlight for the weeks and months of mid 2012, the public was made aware how such seemingly innocent bliss can soon take a scandalous turn.

Of course leave it to some eggregious media outlet to be the first to break such controversial stories that will have the public doing double takes shortly after an otherwise immaculate event such as William and Kate's conssumation. This aforementioned, disruptive piece, which many within the more respected news outlets referred to as sleaze, included revealing photographs of the new bride.

The perpetrating organization known as 'Closer' has previously been coined as an ill regarded French tabloid.pic They surely paid a hefty sum of money to someone of the Paparazzi for topless photos of a carefree, sun soaked Kate out on the beach. Upon release of the photo’s online, an immediate uproar emerged from all those associated with the royal familial outfit.

Threats to the tone of shutting down the publication, removing all dissemination of the lude photos and criminal charges waged against the tabloid. But such discussion only seemed to bring more attention to the story, garnering more publicity to the perpetrating website and exposing the images even more until they were eventually removed yet the publication continued to operate.

Soon though the frenzy subsided and it was believed that the royal family may return to a life of somewhat slightly exposed but high profile normalcy. But wait not so fast. Two months later, the next major public event in the couple’s life was that of the initially speculated and soon confirmed pregnancy of Kate. How news of the pregnancy was made public in the first place became a story for the ages albeit one with a bit of an unfortunate ending.

Before any physical indication, rumors surfaced as to whether the recently wed couple might be expecting a child. What began as unsubstantiated gossip soon turned into another controversy that had some members of the public questioning the consequences which the media caused by interjecting upon the early confirmation of pregnancy.

The precipitating story began with news that Kate had been admitted to a London hospital for symptoms of early stage 'morning sickness'. The media had already been under low profile coverage of such a possibility. On the same day as Kate's hospital arrival, an Australian radio show initiated a hoax by calling the facility's switchboard, disguising themselves as Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles. The nurse operator who answered the call promptly transferred the seemingly genuine King and Queen to Kate's private nurse who soon provided a live, on air revelation about their 'daughter in law's' symptoms and a good time for a visit to be arranged.

The sudden revelation of such information which until that time was still unbeknownst to the general public caught massive attention. It seems quite funny really but the humiliation suffered by the nurse who was partly to blame for transferring the call expounded as significant news discussion continued along with finger pointing at who was to blame. Public vexation rang out as to how the generalpic3 public might become privy to such information prior to an official announcement.

The spotlight was shone upon the hospital and the mistakenly mislead operator, named Jacintha Saldanha in the hours to follow. Apparently the personal remorse and the weight she felt as being partly responsible for facilitating the release of such coveted information was simply too much for her to live with as she tragically decided to end her own life the following day.

To any rational individual, the nurse's action sure seemed to be an overly drastic response to a flubbed mistake. But maybe something more personally troubling was at play that allowed the drama of the circumstances to get the best of her.

Fast forward eight months later, when the time finally did approach for an imminent birth. Cameras were stationed outside of the hospital doors with constant coverage for the new born's pending arrival.

Now I'm not certain how much of a habit standard members of British society might possess over such gossip regarding news of the expectant child. But based upon my understanding of pop culture over there, it likely was quite a faddish affair. For months, daily headlines were likely popping up concerning gender speculation, maternity plans and the like. Even here across the pond, news of the couple's first child, if only for a few days, was sensational as many US citizens obviously found a sense of intrigue and excitement over the saga.

But now a few years have passed since all of that. Many story updates along with official photos and some not so official ones have been accompanied alongside news reports on media channels across the globe of the happy couple with their adorable baby boy, George. For example, a recent story about the royal family that grabbed American attention was when the three of them made a White House visit pic4around the Holiday’s last year. Apparently the clothing that the child was wearing had so much of an effect on the watchful American mothers that the companies who made the shoes, sweater and baby pants soon had their internet orders ringing in at quantities never experienced before.

Well now it seems that again, time has returned for some breaking news, or tabloid gossip as I prefer to call it, in regards to updates of the royal family. William and Kate have been recently expecting their second child, as for months she has been showing signs of late stage pregnancy. It is likely within a week that a newest member of the British royalty shall make it’s way into the comfort of their throes among their residential vestiges like Buckingham Palace, opulent townhomes and country side manners. So close is the likely delivery date that the parents have been in and out of St. Mary's Hospital for several days ongoing.

Throngs of seemingly supportive English people have been stationed outside the hospital's entrance in rather preposterous anticipation along with many a media reporters just waiting for some breaking news to report. The latest that I'd heard on the topic is that a bouquet of boxed croissants were sent by the Prince to the crowd with wrappings of pink ribbon as a sign of appreciation for the public’s support. That effeminate coloring might just reveal the fact that their second soon to be delivered baby would in fact be a girl. pic5

*updated May 2nd...

In fact it is was confirmed that on Saturday May 2nd that newest addition to the British royal family was born.

Well brace yourselves all half interested media folks because the airwaves will likely be captivated for a few hours a day in the coming weeks particularly as the infant's yet to be declared name is made public. May this rather cheerfully solemn event though not be riddled in the adverse circumstances that have often occurred before.

 

        Brief Recap of William and Kate's Wedding Ceremony

        

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