Do I have a Queen crush?
I’ll be the first to admit I am not a royal watcher. I had the chance to spend $3,000 and fly to London to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee but I graciously declined.
I will confess to being fascinated by all the festivities during the week-long party across the pond. I was surprised at how interested I was, but also by the reaction from our neighbours to the south. They love Queen Lizzy for some reason.
Last year I was up in the middle of the night reporting on William and Kate’s wedding. I had no sleep and the dog and I were wearing goofy hats I spent hours making the night before. Why? It ended up being an entertainment story for Americans and that is my radio audience so I gave them what they wanted.
I understand the appeal of William and Kate: a young, good-looking couple. It makes sense why Yankees paid attention to them. But Queen Elizabeth II. Come on. She’s not sexy, she’s not risqué or edgy (like Prince Harry). She just waves. What’s the appeal?
The problem is I don’t have an answer for that and I am one of the people that was glued to the TV watching the coverage from Europe. In total I watched about 15 hours of it and wasn’t bored. Sure, I might have been distracted by my BlackBerry a few times but I actually focused on what was happening.
I started wondering if I had a granny complex. Was I in need of some grandmotherly attention? No, my grandma lives a few blocks away from me. I just saw her a few days ago and sat on her lap at my brother’s birthday party.
We learn about the Queen in school, we see her on the money. Maybe it’s drilled into our minds that she is a big deal and we feel brainwashed into believing it. I hear the Brits question the purpose of the Royal Family so it does seem odd for us so far away to be fixated on their alleged importance.
While I love having answers to my own questions, it drives me crazy when I feel a certain way and can’t pinpoint why. As the old saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” I’ll just adore the Queen for my unknown reasons.
