D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A marriage of Will and Kate, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, since viewing began so early in the morning (or way past my bedtime) here in New York. Although I did see quite a few videos from the British papers online—the Daily Mail, the Telegraph, the Guardian—and I found they all left me with a smile on my face, as well as in my heart. It was, as you know if you saw any of it, a pleasure to see these two young people—a really beautiful bride and a handsome, proud young groom—emerge from Westminster Abbey. The operative word is “hope.” I did watch the wedding of Charles and Diana thirty years
ago. I was living in Los Angeles at the time and the eight-hour time difference made it a lot easier. I don’t recall much of it except the crowds and her splendid entrance to St. Paul’s Cathedral with all that white silk taffeta trailing behind as she, just turned twenty, made her way up the red-carpeted steps. Looking at photographs of those moments today, I’m struck at how “young” both bride and groom, especially groom, looked then, compared to the sagging, jowly Prince Charles today. I was also struck by the far from tender irony that followed in their years ahead. I thought of Diana throughout those videos, as did
many others, I’m sure. After all, we grew up with Diana and her boys, and there was a sense of closeness between children and parent that we did not see when it came to Charles and his parents. The two young princes (William and Harry) are definitely her boys—outgoing, open-faced and bright-eyed—unlike their apparently stuffy, beleaguered, and uptight father. All of this is my imagination, mind you, since I know none of them. It should be noted that Diana’s successor (and nemesis), the Duchess of Cornwall, is said to be close to her stepsons and enjoys. This is not surprising considering the Duchess, too, is a mother, and
one who appears to relate with affection to younger people. In the new duchess, the former Miss Middleton, you can see a natural aptitude for ambition, which some pundits trace to her mother’s side of the family. Mother married up, and so, it followed, did daughter. Ambition is always found in the definition of a strong (and wealthy or powerful) family. It is a trait found in both men and women, although in couples it is more often found in one than the other. Basing my assumption on photos (which can be highly inaccurate), it would seem that the new duchess, with her dazzling smile, has the ambition in the new family. However, the
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