What’s our Obsession with the Royal Family?

With all the media coverage on the Royal wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (aka Prince Harry and Meghan Markle), it made me ponder the world’s obsession with the Royal family. I can confidently write the “world’s obsession” as I’ve been in three continents in the 10 days leading up to the Royal wedding and far too many airports to count. All of which had magazines, newspapers and television coverage on Prince Harry and Ms. Markle, with topics ranging from their key life events to a timeline of their relationship and even predictions of their future together.

As I landed in London a couple days before the big affair, I continued to ponder the question, what is our obsession with this family? To answer this, I started by investigating the history of the British Royal family. When it started in the year 1066, they governed the land and people of England, eventually unified the United Kingdom and later colonised numerous other countries leaving us with the Commonwealth of Nations. The King or Queen was in charge of all decisions. Everything from war, economic and even religious decisions for the lands their empire reigned. Back then, the King or Queen even had the power to publicly shame you or cut your head off if something was done in their kingdom that went against their laws. Since this was the case, I think it is fair to write that not everyone was always ‘obsessed’ with the Royal family, or even liked them for that matter. Therefore, I believe that the obsession isn’t historical or passed down from generation to generation. However my experiences lead me to believe that this obsession with British Royalty stems from overseas citizens and the current events are the reason so many in ‘awe’ of them.

As most of us know, now days the British Royal family doesn’t have any political power and can’t go cutting peoples’ heads off. They are merely just a figure head for the country. But maybe they are more than just a figure head for Britain, maybe in some way, they are a figure head for all of modern day society. Think about it, they always look happy, beautiful, fashionable, charitable, and most importantly in love and dedicated to their family. Don’t we all wish we for a partner that walks hand in hand in front of strangers to showcase to the world that ‘we’re in this together’, despite old school gender roles. Or have our future husband whisper ‘you look amazing’ as you meet him at the alter before you vow to spend the rest of your days together. Or have your white 75 year old father grab the hand of your African-American future mother-in-law to walk her into your wedding ceremony. Or to have your grandmother so proud of your hard work and for believing in yourself that she publicly announces your feminist status to everyone she meets.

These are all real examples of the Royal Windsor family in just the last month. Unlike the support that we see within this family, lately I’ve seen the opposite back at home, in America. Families flighting during dinner over Trump’s latest tweet. Or squabbling over how to prevent the next school shooting. It seems that the gap of supporter vs non-supporters only continues to widen, fostering sadness and misunderstanding amongst family members. I’ve heard even a supportive mother tell her daughter that these feminist movements are ‘just silly’ and a waste of time. And I’ve overheard a loving father advise his children to racially profile for their personal safety.

But it’s not just within families, the negativity surrounds us 24/7 by news from the media covering the latest Trump drama, North Korea, school shootings, terrorism attacks and other acts of hatred. It has been a relief for us all to have the media cover the Royals’ celebrations. So that for just a moment in time, it feels like we all had permission to celebrate the most important part of life, true love, instead of wallow in fear for whatever crazy thing is going to happen next.

Say what you want about the British Royal family, but personally I think the next generation of British Royals, Prince William & Prince Harry and their wives, have reminded the world what truly is important – family and love. Maybe, just maybe they have even provided a glimmer of hope to a future world led by Millennials.

So what is our obsession with the Royal family?

I don’t think our obsession is actually with the Royals themselves, but rather with the values they represent. By focusing on the value of love, we have less time to dwell on hatred. So, let’s continue this obsession with love by encouraging laughter and storytelling at the dinner table, taking the time to hold your loved ones’ hand in public, praising your son or daughter for standing up for what they believe in, and dedicating more time and energy to bringing love back into our society.

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