The Royal Wedding

I don't know why or exactly when it started, but I have been a royal fanatic for as long as I can remember. I'm pretty sure that I have read every book on Princess Diana that exists, and I've read a bunch about the British Royal Family in general. I am fascinated by them. I know their family tree. I know the names of Diana's bridesmaids. I know the names of some of Queen Elizabeth's bridesmaids. The day Diana died my friends came to tell me the news with the care and concern befitting a death in the family.

I'm not totally sure why I am so fascinated by them, but I know a lot of it has to do with Diana herself. She drew me in, as she did many people. I am fascinated by her story, her life, her death, and now by her son and his new bride-to-be whom I love. I love that Kate is a "commoner." Di would have been so proud of him for following his heart rather than protocol. I love that Kate is smart, educated, and so loyal to Wills. I love that he loves her and wants her as a partner in life even though she doesn't have a title or the proper blood lines.

Look, I know it's stupid, but it's one of my guilty pleasures I guess. I just love the British Royal Family.

It's funny, I can actually remember sitting in Heathrow on multiple occasions as a teen thinking that maybe William would just happen to be there at that moment also and we'd bump into each other, start talking, fall madly in love, and live happily ever after. Crazy, but true. In case you're wondering, it never happened.

I have been recording every bit of the prewedding footage on TV and watching it as I have time after the kids are in bed. I can't get enough.

I try to explain to Jon what this event is like for a serious royal watcher like me and the best I can do is to say that the royal wedding taking place this week is as big for me as it would be for him if there hadn't been a World Series, NCAA tournament, NBA championship, Wimbledon, or a Super Bowl for 30 years. Not only would you watch the game but you would watch every moment of pre-game coverage. That's really what it's like. I mean, yes, there have been royal weddings since 1981, but not like this one. We haven't seen the likes of this since Chuck and Di wed on that fateful day in July.

Will I be up at 4 am to watch the wedding live? Of course. Are you kidding? Will I continue to follow the lives of Will and Kate with great interest? Of course. Are you kidding? Do I still wish that I had bumped into William during one of those trips through Heathrow? Sure. It would have been interesting. But I wouldn't really have wanted to marry him. I wouldn't want to touch the life Kate is embarking upon with a ten foot poll. And besides, if I had married William I would never have met my true prince charming. For real, who needs a British monarch when you can have Jon Schrock.