I know it is naïve, but I am a hopeless romantic. I don’t fall in love with everything that moves, but I believe in real, deep, everlasting love. Perhaps because of my parents’ great love story, when my 13-year-old mum met my 16-year-old daddy and to this day they still like each other.
Perhaps because I love to defy the odds. Or perhaps it has to do with the great role models and examples I had in my life growing up.
Apart from my parents, my world was filled with strong role models and great examples of unbreakable love and lasting marriage. My childhood was not influenced by Britney Spears, but was filled with royalty, from Roman kings to Princess Diana. My aspirations were to become worthy of a Prince. So, it comes as no surprise that many of my role models for my “hopeless romantic” hopes and dreams come from the lines of the sangre real.
With Valentine’s Day quickly coming around the corner, love is truly in the air. So I thought for this month’s Royal Central contribution I would share my favorite royal romances, both past and present.
William and Kate
We are all familiar with William and Catherine’s love story. Met at college, dating for a century, and were married in the most magical wedding we could ever imagine. But there is something more to this that I love – Kate never felt she was “worthy” of William, but rather that he was good enough for her. She was never grovelling at his feet, but rather standing by his side as an equal. Catherine challenges him, supports him, and relies on William as an equal life partner. This is not a story of a damsel being swept off of her feet, but rather of a strong woman meeting a man who is equally as strong. Catherine and William are truly an excellent match, practically made for each other. The middle class girl met her Prince Charming, and will someday lead us into a new age of the monarchy.
Elizabeth and Dudley
The bittersweet taste of forbidden love always make for a good story. It is said that Robert Dudley was Elizabeth I’s one true love. Because he was not royal, she could not marry her childhood sweetheart. In a twist of events, Robert Dudley’s wife died under “questionable circumstances,” leaving Dudley available for marriage once again. And yet, no matter how many earldoms she bestowed upon him, social convention could not be changed. Elizabeth would live out her days unmarried, in a large part because she could not be with her beloved.
Wallis and Edward
Oh, who hasn’t heard the story? The plain, American divorcee who brought down a king. Wallis Simpson and Edward, Prince of Wales, began their affair in 1934 bringing an unforgettable scandal to the British Royal Family. And yet, he could not give her up. Wallis was so irresistible that Edward would give up the throne to be with his beloved American girl. Love is more important than anything, even the British Empire. If a man isn’t willing to give up the British Empire for you, find someone who truly loves you.
Mette-Marit and Haakon
Mette-Marit was a single mother with a young son when she met Haakon, heir to the throne of Norway, at a rock concert. Could that story be any better? Like a modern-day Cinderella, Mette-Marit turned in her waitress uniform for a ball gown and won the hearts of the Norwegians. The future queen has never hidden her rebellious phase from the public, and has even used her own experiences to inspire everyone she meets – and Haakon embraces everything about her. Their partnership is a true testament to the importance of being yourself in a relationship, whether you’re a prince or a pauper.
Mary and Frederik
Have you seen the movie The Prince and Me? Well, change the name “Ed” to “Fred,” and change “college” to “the Olympics,” and you have Mary and Fred’s love story. Mary, a regular Australian girl, met Fred in a local pub during the Olympics. Many months later, he confessed that he was the Crown Prince of Denmark and a few years after that, she became the future Danish queen. Frederik must have felt lucky to find a woman who loved him without his title, proving her affections to be true. A love like that is once in a lifetime.
Very few of us will marry a member of the royal family, but all of us deserve our own Prince Charming. If he doesn’t make you feel like a princess, I promise you will find someone who can.
I truely enjoyed yur article and agree with all of it. Being a royal watcher for decades now, it is wonderful to see that men in these positions are not afraid of a strong woman who wants to be an equal in the marriage but they accept it also. I like W&C and do believe that they will make big changes in the way royals are viewed in Great Britian and elsewhere and I love the Prince and Princess of Norway, she is quite the woman for him and their affection is shown in the way they look at one another when out and about. Makes me believe in true love and maybe next time around it will happen for me, way to ole now for it yet still believe in true love.