OT: I’m not gonna gush
Well, maybe just a little bit.
Ms. Doria Ragland and Ms. Meghan Markle (as was) arrive at the wedding.
One of the pre-service selections, Elgar’s Chanson de matin, is a personal favorite of mine (played this in university orchestra). Prince Charles definitely loves his English composers.
(Looks like they also had Vaughan Williams’ Prelude on Rhosymedre, another favorite of mine, although this was not televised.) And they sang Lord of All Hopefulness. (Mom would have loved this wedding.)
Man, did he look into her. HE was the one who teared up.
And they looked like they were enjoying themselves.
Ms. Ragland was as emotional as befits the occasion.
And this was probably my favorite part: the sermon. Song of Solomon 8 will be seen by some as an edgy choice for a wedding sermon — but both parties seemed moved — and the sermon was SPECTACULAR.
The Most Reverend Michael B Curry (presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church USA) preaches the wedding sermon.
You can just tell he wanted to say “can I get an AMEN?”
A black reverend preaching to British royalty about the resilience of faith during slavery is 10000000% not what I thought I was waking up for, the royal wedding is good
— Elamin Abdelmahmoud (@elamin88) May 19, 2018
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He referenced “Hark the Voice of Jesus Crying” during the sermon (another teary moment for me).Mom would have loved this. Did I say that already? (sniff)
By this point, dad was up and we were watching ABC because he has a minor thing for Robin Roberts — and even HE teared up when this song made its appearance.
WATCH: A choir sings “Stand By Me” for the 600 guests in St. George’s Chapel for the #RoyalWedding https://t.co/OvLScRZ1ps pic.twitter.com/am19iU8ihL
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 19, 2018
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And then there was this:
Me, too, kid.
The printed order of service had “honi soit qui mal y pense” printed on its last page. I’m sure this is because St George’s Chapel, Windsor, is the home of the Garter Service. Still, it seemed like a really great sentiment for the day over all.
Me + Richard Armitage 
Oh you know I enjoyed the service AND THE SERMON. I was grinning all over myself. Critics predicted she would play down her black heritage (read: make it disappear) and she absolutely did not do that. I’m sure many in the audience had never heard an animated sermon like that, much less in that setting. Kudos to Rev. Curry who didn’t edit his words for the royal audience. BWAHAHAHA! My respect for Meghan has increased immeasurably.
Her Givenchy dress was understated, elegant and right for her figure. Quite the opposite of Diana’s which resembled an overblown tea cosey IMHO. I only wish it had a little more bling for the occasion. Maybe that cut but done completely in lace?
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Also, I did feel sad for Meghan that the only one there to represent her family was her mother.
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I was mostly sad that her father was not there. Her siblings, though … whew.
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At some point the camera was on Ms. Ragland while she was listening to the sermon and she was nodding, and I thought, yeah, she’s restraining herself for the benefit of the Brits!
I liked the dress a lot, too — the kind of thing you could pass on to a daughter, although of course it will go into a museum. Diana’s dress does look a bit blowsy in comparison — but it was the 1980s. They were like that.
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i think the dress needed a belt, or maybe she needed a necklace of some sort. I loved the cut of the dress but it did seem a little plain
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What kind of jewelry does one wear with a bateau neck? It’s a bit hard, I think. I heard on TV that she has a reputation for preferring extreme simplicity.
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I love the Stand By Me rendition! Haven’t watched the wedding, yet… maybe later tonight.
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They also had “This Little Light of Mine” sung as they left the chapel. Very cool. It was a relatively short ceremony, I thought. They started late and they were done in, I think, about 40 min total.
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I just went downstairs and found that my husband was watching the recording and wiping tears from his eyes. Aww. I noticed they both said “love, honour, and protect”, which was nice.
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For some reason this was one to make guys cry, too.
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Das war eine wirklich schöne Hochzeit und die Predigt hat mir ausgesprochen gut gefallen. Ich glaube kaum, dass diese heiligen Hallen jemals eine solch lebendig und emotionale Ansprache gehört haben. 🙂
Das Kleid war wunderbar und das Paar wirkte verliebt und so, als ob beide tatsächlich den Moment genießen konnten, was bei Diana damals absolut nicht der Fall zu sein schien. Die ganze Zeremonie hatte eine sehr persönliche Note und ich habe des Zuschauen nicht bereut.
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Definitely guessing that sermon was NOT what the congregation expected to hear.
They are definitely in love. (And it’s still earlier days in that relationship than it was when Kate and William married.) Something the commentators here kept reminding us of is that Meghan Markle is now the age Diana was when she died. It seems to me like they are both more mature than Charles and Diana were when they got married.
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Jetzt habe ich mir nochmal eine Zusammenfassung angesehen und musste tatsächlich ein Tränchen verdrücken. Ach, schön wars. ❤
Es ist vielleicht kein Nachteil, wenn man als erwachsener Mensch mit Lebenserfahrung eine solche Ehe eingeht. Die Anforderungen sind schon besonders und die Schwierigkeiten sind nicht zu unterschätzen. Ich drücke den beiden die Daumen und glaube, dass mir nur die Hochzeit von Victoria von Schweden besser gefallen hat. (Oh, und Haakon und Mette Marit von Norwegen hatten auch eine sehr bewegende Trauung.)
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Those were both beautiful weddings, too. Although: maybe as an American the English weddings seem more weighty to me than the Scandinavian ones do?
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Das mag stimmen, aber die skandinavischen Königshäuser waren schon seit längerer Zeit herzlicher und eher volksnah. Das englische Königshaus hat sich erst in den letzten Jahren in diese Richtung entwickelt. Als Haakon seine Mette Marit (und ihre Vergangenheit samt Sohn) geheiratet hat, war ich so gerührt und hätte mir das damals für die Windsors nicht vorstellen können.
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Yeah, it’s true: Mette Marit was truly unique.
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I teared up. The whole thing was lovely.
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[sniff, dabs at corner of eyes]
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Lol. I guessing you did too.
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[blinks rapidly]
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I thought her walk down the aisle seemed a bit hasty but the whole thing was so lovely and beautiful!
Her mother looked a bit lost and I was glad to see Charles (who I am not really fond of) took care of her when they accompanied the couple behind the scenes.
And I loved how some of the royals looked during the sermon – priceless!!!
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Sein Temperament hat sie leicht überfordert – Kulturschock.
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I imagine that some of those people don’t go to church all that often anyway, so to go and then be confronted with a sermon like that must be a bit of a shock!
I think they started late — maybe she wanted to try to catch them up? 🙂
I never know how to think about Charles. I mean, what I’ve read about him suggests that he is clueless, pretentious and self-centered. So I guess it’s good when we see him doing nice things.
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Charles wird leicht unterschätzt. Er hat seine Qualitäten und hätte ganz einfach niemals Diana heiraten sollen. Die Queen hat einer Verbindung mit seiner Camilla aber nicht zugestimmt und das Unheil nahm seinen Lauf…
So viel ich weiß, setzt er sich sehr für den Umweltschutz ein und für eine ökologische Landwirtschaft. Außerdem hat er sich, wie es scheint, zu einem recht guten Vater entwickelt, aber das kann man natürlich nicht wirklich wissen.
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I definitely agree he shouldn’t have married Diana (and she shouldn’t have married him); a lot of that was Prince Philip’s fault. My general impression is that the Queen’s parenting was not particularly strong — she was busy; times and families were changing in ways she didn’t understand; she had a somewhat antiquated picture of both royal men and in general the social position of her family. On that level Diana’s death was a huge wakeup call.
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Ja, ist schon schrecklich, dass so ein Unglück geschehen musste, um hier ein Umdenken in Gang zu setzen.
Andererseits gäbe es William und Harry nicht, wenn es diese unglückselige Ehe nicht gegeben hätte.
Ich glaube, dass im englischen Königshaus William und Kate das erste (Thronfolger-) Paar sind, das sich ganz selbstverständlich auch selbst um seine Kinder kümmert. Diana musste da noch sehr kämpfen und Charles war sicher zunächst eher irritiert. Aus seiner Kindheit kannte er das nicht.
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I think that plays a huge role (I always remember the picture of Diana and Charles exiting the hospital with baby Harry and him looking so standoffish, like, what is this baby and why is it here?). I also think they realize that it matters more what people think of them; that they now know they have to do a job like anyone else, i.e., advertise (and if possible, live up to) a particular image of the country.
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It was a lovely wedding, with a personal touch. I liked the sermon too. The couple looked really happy and in love. I am sorry, maybe I am the only one, but I don,’t like Meghan particularly. But nevertheless I raise my glass to the young couple and wish them a lucky future
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I suppose the question is whether she’s likable. I like some of the things that she does, i.e., pursues her own goals and stands up for herself (stuff that might become a great deal harder now than it used to be). Beyond that it’s hard for me to say. She’s pretty and has a pleasant smile, but that’s more or less a requirement to be a princess.
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I hope she will find her place in the royal “company” and can stand the pressure. Harry is a great popular figure and I wish him a wife who will support him in his projects
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I was saying to someone today that given the demands of the job, which relate heavily to looking nice, saying the right (scripted) thing, and always being gracious no matter the situation, it almost makes sense to get an actress for it. So I’m sure she’ll do the right thing for the cameras (maybe moreso than Kate has).
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I thought the dress was perfect. I’m not a huge fan of hers, but I try to be fair, and must admit that she looked incredible and put herself together in the most elegant way possible. I don’t know anything about her, but based on what I’ve heard in the Toronto “scene” is that she is a bit of a player, and loves the celeb life. Living in a fish bowl will be right up her alley, I don’t think anybody needs to worry about her being crushed by unwanted attention. I think Harry is much more uncomfortable with the media than she is. This might sound really nasty but I was wondering if she deliberately didn’t have a maid of honour, not because she “simply couldn’t choose one” but because she wanted the spotlight all to herself.
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He picked the right girl, then, I suppose. I hope they stick together, as he seems to be very in love.
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P.S. I hope they are happy, too, and that they stay happy. There is something so terribly vulnerable about Harry. His heart is on his sleeve in a big way. And I just love his adorable hair!
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I thought something similar — all his life he’s been observed in public and yet Meghan is the one who looks like she has a stiff upper lip. I suppose it’s the stage training she has. And maybe he’s just a person who can’t act.
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It was lovely.
Her gown was so elegant in it simplicity. I figured it wouldn’t have much in the way of lace/beading/etc in traditional embellishment but I gasped when I first saw it.
Harry looked to be deliriously in love. I hope they have a good, long, and happy life ahead.
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Watching her mother’s emotions play out like that was incredibly touching. Charles came through this weekend for Meghan. Walking her down the quire when her father backed out at the last minute and making sure that Doria Ragland was taken care of like when he reached out to her with his hand when on the way to sign the registers and then giving her his other arm when walking out of the church. She, herself, seems to be a very impressive person. She lives an ordinary life like so many of us but she has managed to conduct herself so well on the world stage with grace.
Also, the music was wonderful especially the cello by Sheku Kanneh-Mason. I had never heard of him before the royal wedding but I will be looking for recordings by him now.
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I agree about Charles. He’s not my favorite royal but he did what he needed to do. I wonder if he’d have liked to have had more children (=girls).
I hope the paparazzi leave both her parents alone now. If you’re happily living a normal life, there’s a level on which your daughter marrying a prince of England could b a serious problem.
Totally agree about the music.
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Yes — a really deft combination, I thought. She had all the excess of the long veil, but it didn’t bog the dress down, and otherwise it was one beautiful long line of white.
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[…] I said it back then and still feel that way after watching this interview. Aside from a few bombshells (a family member asked Harry what their child’s skin tone would be? Seriously?) there were two overarching themes: (a) the decisive issue for the Sussexes was the need for personal security, which Buckingham Palace was allegedly unprepared to provide to their child even when they were still fully active participants in royal work and (b) the way that the Palace will throw anyone not in the direct line of succession into the maw of the tabloids if it suits their purposes. The latter allegation is strongly corroborated in both of the recent books I’ve read that touch on this situation. Who can blame them for wanting out? And needing to figure out how to finance their future? […]
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Honi soit qui mal y pense remains a great motto | Me + Richard Armitage said this on March 8, 2021 at 5:00 am |