Royal Threads

This summer for the opening of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Queen Elizabeth II made what is considered her first acting appearance by appearing with Daniel Craig as James Bond in a short six minute sketch promoting the new Bond movie Skyfall. The sketch was about Bond escorting the Queen to the Olympics via helicopter.

You can catch that here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AS-dCdYZbo&sns=em

Princess Diana died on August 31st, 1997. I remember being extremely angry about it, as the news said it was a senseless car crash caused by a chase with the paparazzi. The idea of that still makes me angry. When it happened, Lorie and I were in the months before our wedding and undergoing preparations. Marriage and responsibility and commitment were high on my mind at the time.

In July of 1981 we were at Ocean City, New Jersey with my grandparents, aunts and uncles on my father's side. My mother made such a big deal about getting up in the middle of the night to watch the Royal Wedding between Prince Charles and Lady Di. I didn't really quite understand it at the time. But my mom was excited so I was excited. Plus... we were at Ocean City. So everything was perfect. When I got up that morning, Mom had been crying. Not sad or upset, but the girly kind of tears that women like my mother are likely to burst into during fairy tale weddings.

I was on the treadmill at the gym on Friday listening to the Jack Benny broadcast from December 5th, 1948. During the broadcast, Mary turned to Jack and told him that Princess Elizabeth had called. Jack got all excited until he learned that it was to refuse his offer of a diaper service.

"Why are you running a diaper service anyway?"

"I grew out of them and realized I had all these diapers that were just going to waste. So..."

Queen Elizabeth didn't ascend until 1953. In fact, hers was the first coronation that was televised. So in December of 1948 she was still a princess. Not only that, but Prince Charles was born on November 14, 1948, just a few short weeks before the broadcast.

I feel no connection to the Royal Family at all. Yet it's neat to see them intertwine through history and make themselves into benchmarks of life and entertainment. They have staying power much more than any celebrity or politician. Comedians start making jokes as soon as they're born, we celebrate their marriages, judge their divorces, and mourn their deaths. And when they stroll out to see the opening of the 2012 Olympics, the crowd in London goes absolutely freaking crazy; more so for the queen than for the fictional super-spy from fifty years of movie-making. They’re part of our culture.

Thanks,
DCD