Yet another historic wedding

Abdel-Moneim Said , Wednesday 11 May 2011

Don’t hold your breath: this royal wedding could well go the way of others we have known recently

I was not one of those people who locked themselves up to watch the “legendary wedding” that took place in London, starring Prince William —who is third in line for the British monarchy —and the starlet Kate Middleton. Neither was I one of those people who fastened their seatbelts in preparation for a romantic sojourn where the happy couple floats up to the stars happily ever after.

Life is much more complicated; marriage and fate do not always play out how people had planned or desired, or how viewers had hoped as they held their breath and buckled up. My wisdom comes from watching the previous legendary wedding between Charles, the Prince of Wales, and the young girl, Diana Spencer, in 1981. Some 750 million people watched the momentous event, as if humanity was about to enter a new age.

The new age was not new at all, and soon it was revealed that it was built on betrayal, treachery and deception where all forms of malicious tactics were used, whether news leaks, photos or recordings. While Scene 1 played out in full view of the world, and the US television stations I was watching played the theme music from the famous movie Camelot; Scene 2 was acted out on the pages of the tabloids and in paid memoirs as scandal after scandal piled up.

Ironically, both protagonists of the legendary marriage came out of the storm in relative victory, even if it was a big deception. The prince took the woman he wanted from her husband and became famous for his intellect and search to bring religions closer; Diana became “the queen of hearts” because she visited several times the victims of landmines, which were perhaps manufactured by super powers of a superior civilisation. And at the moment of her dramatic demise, the international media played military funeral music.

Things are not always what they seem; the legendary wedding may not contain much legend. The “wedding of the 21st century” may not differ much from the one that took place in the 20th century. Don’t hold your breath long or fasten your seatbelt. The plot may turn out the same.

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