Andrew and Sarah together again? Never Say Never

I recall July 23, 1986 vividly. Staying up all night to watch the royal wedding, setting the VCR on top of that so that I could replay the ceremony later.

Andrew and Sarah's wedding was the first royal event that I actually took an interest in. Charles and Diana's wedding, despite being a global event, wasn't even on my radar. It would take the birth of Prince William to spark my interest. And after that I was hooked.

Although I was only 14 at the time, I always thought that I would marry Prince Andrew one day. Suffice to say my disappointment when his engagement to Sarah Ferguson was announced. But I avidly paid attention in the run up, prepared myself to stay up so that I could watch the wedding live. And I wasn't disappointed.

I remember how lovely Sarah looked in her wedding dress. How her wedding dress shone and her eyes flashed at various guests as she walked up the aisle of Westminster abbey towards Prince Andrew at the altar. They looked so happy together. Unlike Charles and Diana. After the ceremony I watched them on the balcony at Buckingham Palace waving and laughing and looking gloriously happy. As the crowd called out for them to kiss, they jokingly pretended not to hear. When they finally did kiss, the roar of the crowd said it all. This was a marriage to celebrate and to last.

Sarah Ferguson, Fergie, was lauded as a breath of fresh air to the royal family. The antithesis of the thin and increasingly sad looking Diana. And then it all started to go wrong for Fergie. Not helping matters by not being as perfect or fashionable as Diana, gaining weight, and most glaringly of all, being herself. Leading to embarrassing herself and having affairs. Her autobiography details her downfall in raw detail. But despite all of these events, one thing seemed to be clear. Andrew still loved and supported Fergie. And almost 30 years later, continues to do so.

So it is no great surprise when there are rumors that they will get remarried. The rumors come about every so often. I personally think it is only a matter of time before this happens. Whether it be in the near future or once the present reign ends is hard to say. But I do think that Andrew and Sarah make each other happy, and always have.

The idea that they might get remarried is met with criticism, even derision. "Look at how foolish she has acted in the past!" "the lack of judgement during and after her marriage", "How can Andrew continue to enable her?" Yes, her history is unforgiving isn't it? But let's also remember that she isn't the first royal to have an affair (unfortunately, not the last either). At the same time, Charles was carrying on with Camilla and embarrassing the royal family in his own way. And most would agree that his position in line is far more important than Andrew's. Yet why the double standard? Why do people forget and forgive the past with one brother and not the other? If someone had suggested Charles and Camilla get married in the 1990s, how much scoffing and derision would that have met with? Yet they did get married and look at them today. Why is it different with Andrew and Sarah?

Regardless of what 'royal sources' would have people believe, we will never really know what goes on behind closed doors with Andrew and Sarah. We can only speculate. I hope, for their sakes, they do find happiness together. Regardless of public opinion, I think it is only a matter of time before they do get remarried.

I may not have a VCR, but should it happen, I look forward to staying up and watching it all over again.


© Marilyn Braun 2013

Thank you for enjoying this article. If you use the information for research purposes, a link to credit the work I've put into writing it would be appreciated.

Is Catherine a Duchess or a Princess? Kicking a dead horse is fun, but someone has to do it

It should have been simple and straightforward. Registering Prince George's birth. The first of many bureaucratic events he will have stay awake for later in life. His father Prince William, listed his occupation as  'Prince of the United Kingdom' on Prince George's birth registration. No one argued with that. It was listing Catherine's occupation as 'Princess of the United Kingdom' which got the 'drama' and 'mess' started.

Confusion abounded on twitter. Is she a princess or isn't she? At the time of the royal wedding the powers that be at the royal palace were insistent that Catherine was NOT a princess. Case closed, end of story. Personally, I accepted their word and got on with my life, even though deep in my heart of hearts a little voice told me they were wrong.

So the powers that be said Catherine isn't a princess. Certainly there was disappointment. Why wouldn't there be? Princess sounds so much more romantic than Duchess, doesn't it? Disney doesn't have a line of Disney Duchesses now do they? No little girl says 'I want to be a Duchess for Halloween'. Dammit! Catherine should be a princess. Women with 'Princess' fantasies suddenly had to switch gears to 'Duchess' fantasies instead. Oh the horror!

And then Prince George's birth registration came along, confusing everyone in the process. Had William elevated his wife to 'Princess of the United Kingdom' hoping the Queen, the fount of all honor, and other sharp eyed royal watchers wouldn't notice? Foolish Prince! How dare he go play polo at a time like this?

I admit it. I'm not above the fray. No one loves a good, meaningless royal discussion to distract me from the day to day hum-drum of my existence, more than I do. So I grabbed my popcorn. But after a day or so, when do we stop beating the dead horse? Facts are important, duly noted. But look, the poor horse is dead! Or did it wisely escape to greener pastures? Thankfully unable to read the twitter one-upmanship and royal reporters being beaten to death with dusty textbooks before starting an 'inquest' with their last breath. The Powers that be have 'mislead' the public for the last two years! Lies! Incompetence! The Republican movement nod their heads in agreement "See how we feel now?"

For the love of cheese and crackers, what is the world coming to when Buckingham Palace and Clarence House, the official of all official sites, can't even get this minor point, which has been blown out of all proportion, right?

Discuss amongst yourselves. I'm off to get some more popcorn.

© Marilyn Braun 2013

Thank you for enjoying this article. If you use the information for research purposes, a link to credit the work I've put into writing it would be appreciated.