A lesson in tolerance at the Royal Wedding

Hundreds of millions of people around the world were tuned into the Royal Wedding last weekend. Many eyes were watering as Prince Harry married his older, bi-racial American divorcee.

Normally I wouldn’t throw in all those descriptors but since the stuffy Royal Family isn’t known for its progressive views it was an issue leading up to the big day.

It’s comical to me that those are things we know about Meghan Markle. We know she’s a former Hollywood actor and that her family made tabloid headlines every hour leading up to the weekend nuptials. Other than that, a regular TV viewer or news follower doesn’t know much about Markle.

What we know, obviously fed to us by the media — though if we really cared we would do our own research — is that Markle is everything a royal shouldn’t marry. But why?

Because she’s not a pure white Brit. That’s the takeaway I got from the endless discussions and screaming tabloid headlines about the royal couple.

I understand there is the debate about the continued need for Britain’s Royal Family. (“What exactly do they do?” my nephew asked me last week. Truthfully, I don’t really know.)

My bigger question was, “Who cares if they don’t like his bride?” If they’re in love, they’re in love.

While we heard about the resistance in the royal ranks, it was refreshing that history and tradition were pushed aside for Harry to have a special day the way he and his gal pal wanted it.

The cynic in me wonders if this was the Royal Family’s attempt at remaining relevant and necessary. Maybe it’s a turning of the tide that the younger generation of royals is the future and one that people will look towards.

Nevertheless, I congratulate Prince Harry and Meghan, and hope that they continue to breakdown those uptight barriers and help people become more open minded in a society that doesn’t witness enough tolerance.