The things that make Britain great

This retrospective from the Independent is a couple years old, but I just saw it this weekend and thought you'd like to see some of the things that make Britain great ... from alcopops and Cornish pasties, to "readers' wives" and "dogging." Let me just say that dogging does not involve walking purebreds out on the moors, LOL. I had no idea!

Burning questions about the royal wedding

I've been thinking a lot over the last 12 hours, since hearing about the royal engagement, of how much time I want to spend writing about this subject on Hail Britannia, and the answer that feels right to me is Some. I mean, I can't ignore it, but the truth is I'm not very interested in British royalty, except a. to discuss the pros and cons of a monarchy; b. to look at it through the lens of history and c. to gossip about salacious and scandalous escapades some of the colorful members of the family seem to fall into. Prince William and his fiancee seem like a nice, pleasant young couple and I wish them all the best in their marriage, but beyond that, I'm just not interested enough to turn this blog into a breathless series of posts about what Catherine (what Kate prefers to be called) will be wearing on her wedding day and who Prince Harry's date will be. So sorry -- if you've come here for that, you won't find reams of it.

That said, occasionally I'll post about small details that interest me. For example, I'm very curious what Catherine's title will be once she marries Prince William. She'll get the HRH title, of course, and she'll become Queen Catherine if William ever takes the throne, but what will she be called until then? It looks like it's up the Queen, but until then, links here and here have some ideas.

Commentators have made much ado about this wedding boosting tourism to the UK, perhaps as an argument to the republicans (that's republicans in the British sense, not the guys who sit across from the Democrats) who are grousing about how much this wedding will cost British taxpayers. Certainly it will put the spotlight on Britain, but I'm doubtful it'll motivate droves of tourists to descend upon the country. Which leads me to another question: who will pay for this extravaganza? Both William and Catherine come from wealthy families -- how much will they contribute, given that the British economy is about as bad as the US economy? I can't imagine how pissed off Americans would be if they'd had to foot the bill for, say, Chelsea Clinton's wedding ... indeed, there was enough grumbling of how much it was costing taxpayers to provide security for the wedding party in Rhinebeck that weekend. Any ideas, or will this be a "state-supported" wedding as decreed by law and/or tradition?

It's official! Prince William and Kate Middleton to marry next summer

Here's the link to the BBC story.

I only found out because our local PBS station asked if I was available to talk about this tonight.

Let the wedding hoopla begin!

Knitting the Union Jack

Whenever I travel, I like to bring something home with that nation's national flag on it. I guess I have this thing for flags. To wit: my writer friend Alison can attest to my excitement finding a roadside stand in southern India covered in hundreds of cheerful red communist flags.  That said, I'm not one of those yee-haw Americans who goes around waving the red, white, and blue every chance I get, although I do think the American flag is a thing of beauty and the national flag I find most aesthetically pleasing. (Ok, so I'm biased. Throw tomatoes.)

The Union Jack is my second favorite flag, naturally, and I get excited whenever I see it on a pillow, poster, bunting, or dress. Unfortunately, these pieces are usually fairly expensive -- some of the Union Jack pillows I've seen are close to $500! -- so I've been thinking about making one myself, and indeed, just found a pattern for a Cath Kidston-like one in last month's issue of the British craft mag, Sew Hip. (Photos of completed project TK.)

But what I'd really love to make is this sweater-dress from British yarn company, Rowan. They've done theirs in gray, but I'd go all-out crazy-Anglophile on this and knit it in dark blue. (Right now, they've only got the pattern for the scarf, which is probably more within my skill level, but whatever.) They've also had a pattern up for a knitted Union Jack pillow. The key is to keep checking back every couple days because they switch things around.

T-Mobile welcomes travelers back to Heathrow

Many, many thanks to Hail Britannia reader Bash for alerting me to this T-Mobile commercial (advert!) filmed at London's Heathrow. Oh, how I would love a welcome like this.

A royal wedding in the works?

Yeah, yeah, I know ... every couple months, there's a new story about Prince William and Kate Middleton finally marrying. In the last couple weeks, though, the talk in the media -- including more-or-less reputable news sources -- has reached a new pitch. Today I noticed that CNN.com's (the U.S. version) main video story was an interview with Daily Mail writer Katie Nicholl, who was certain of a forthcoming engagement announcement. Her reasons for thinking this:

1. Middleton is having a bespoke wardrobe made for a "special round of events." The designer, Daniella Helayel, designs for one of Middleton's favorite labels, Issa.

2. The Royal Mint is working on a top secret project, which can only mean a royal engagement. (Or the 2012 London Olympics?)

3. Most significantly, Middleton's parents were recently invited to shoot at Balmoral. An invitation such as this is a sure indicator that the Middleton family is being welcomed into the Windsor fold.

I admit, I'm kind of looking forward to some kind of announcement because I think it'll generate more interest in England and everything British, just as Charles and Diana's wedding did nearly 30 years ago. What about you? Interested, mildly interested, or couldn't care less? Add your comments below.

Someday My Prince Will Come (or will he?)

Several weeks ago, a publicist at Penguin Books asked me if I'd be interested in receiving a copy of Someday My Prince Will Come: True Adventures of a Wannabe Princess, about a young American woman whose goal, for most of her life, was to marry into the British royal family ... specifically, to marry Peter Phillips, Princess Anne's son. I'm not enamored of the royal family, but I do have to admit, my curiosity was piqued to read about how one goes about snaring a Windsor.

Jerramy Fine, the author, was raised in Colorado mountain country, a place where rodeo, not polo, ruled, and where she spent her first 18 years convinced she'd been switched at birth. Her parents were bona fide hippies, but she imagined her real parents were English aristocrats on vacation in Denver. From her earliest years, Fine was fascinated with England -- specifically, the British royals -- and when she was six or seven, she saw Peter Phillips' name in the line of succession and decided he'd be her prince someday, never mind that technically he's not a prince. Thus began her quest for princessdom.

Ok, let's stop. I  just don't get princesses. At. All. Although I loved reading about queens and princesses when I was a child, it was because they tended to get their heads lopped off (Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, Marie Antoinette), survived awful childhoods (Elizabeth I), or became pawns in intricate political intrigues (Mary Stewart, Jane Grey ... both of whom also lost their heads. Literally.)  I've never wanted to be one, and instead, fantasized about a life in letters. I don't like fluffy pink frou-frou. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I spotted a penis on the ultrasound at my four-month pregnancy checkup and thought, "Thank God -- no princesses!" Sure, being a princess looks glamorous -- lots of designer clothes and jewels, first-class travel, gorgeous digs -- but the price for all this seems to be a loss of privacy and a highly restrictive life where you can never just be "normal." No thanks.

In the first few pages of the book, Fine admits that everyone in her life knew she wanted to be a princess. She never hid or shied away from her intentions. When people told her she was living in a fantasy world, she writes, "My question was this: What's so wrong with living in a fantasy world? Seriously. What's so wrong about ignoring the conventions and practicalities of the so-called real world, and actually pursuing your childhood dream? Sometimes I think the 'real world' is just a phrase invented by adults to give credibility to the miserable lives they've created for themselves. Feel free to call me delusional, but I was someone on this planet who, no matter how silly it seemed, was actually listening to my heart -- I trusted it, believed it, and followed it. And in my opinion, there was nothing more 'real' in this world than that."

Hmm. As someone who'd frequently heard growing up I should give up on my dreams of becoming a writer for something more "practical," I could identify. So I kept reading.

Unlike most girls who dream of becoming a princess, Fine's desire never waned. All through high school, and even college, she kept a tattered picture of Peter Phillips taped to her mirror, and immersed herself in everything British and royal. Fine brilliantly contrasts her interests with her "real" life ... a father with long hair who eventually becomes a cannabis priest, a mother who refused to wear a bra and rails loudly in supermarkets about food additives (my kind of woman), a skateboarding younger brother named Ezra. And it's hilarious. As well as frustrating because I think we all know the horror of being young and stuck with family who just doesn't get you.

Fine eventually makes it to England during a junior year abroad program, and sets the wheels in motion to meet her future husband. She makes a few friends in aristocratic circles, actually meets Princess Anne (her future mother-in-law!) at an event, and feels even more certain that the path she's chosen is the right one. She returns to England as a graduate student, and this is where things get interesting. Fine begins to see that the England in her fantasy life doesn't quite measure up to the England she's living. First off, she's at the London School of Economics, a haven for foreigners, not Brits, so she finds it hard to meet the natives. Then she discovers how very different Brits are from Americans ... whereas Americans tend to welcome new friends, the British are far more reserved and prefer to hang out with people they've known for ages, interlopers need not apply. Yet Fine does manage to ingratiate herself into an aristocratic Oxford set, and participates in some hi-jinx with British men that further confuse her. During her stay, she experiences some highs and lows in her pursuit of Peter Phillips: she discovers he's got a girlfriend (low), but she's American (high), which means there's hope for her.

Since we know that Peter Phillips ends up marrying a Canadian (and is, in fact, about to become a father and make Queen Elizabeth a great-grandma), we know that Jerramy Fine doesn't get her prince. Or does she? You'll have to read the book to find out. I thought Fine's single-minded pursuit of her prince a little ... well, mercenary. When she's in England, she refuses to hang out with anyone who doesn't have a British accent; then when she realizes variations in accents are indicative of social class, she becomes even more discriminating. But since the book has a satisfactory ending and I felt that Fine had learned something during her journey, her earlier behavior didn't bother me. Indeed, what I liked about her was her refreshing honesty. She never hid her intentions from people who were sure to knock her down. And even if you have no interest in royalty or princesses, this memoir has enough commentary on Britain and British life to appeal to most any Anglophile.

Have you read Jerramy Fine's memoir? What did you think? Add your opinion to the comment section below.