The Royal Wedding

‘I’d hate to be a royal,’ a woman is announcing to a friend in the seat in front of me. She makes it sound as if being a royal were once, somehow, an option. ‘I simply couldn’t stand all that prying and publicity.’ From ‘Ordinary Miracles

Like millions of others I watched the grand Royal Wedding. It certainly was quite an occasion with all that pomp and ceremony. Not quite sure what else to say about it really. I don’t envy Catherine but loved the way William tenderly looked at her when she said her vows. There was a touch of poignancy about the ceremony because of Diana. That tiny bridesmaid Grace Van Cutsem was so cute and surely anyone of her age would be tempted to cover their ears on the balcony as people shouted “kiss her” (to William). Hope the couple don’t get too much press intrusion.

Though the Royal family seems like a very distant dynasty to me it is nice to be able to ‘name drop’ that I once sat near Captain Mark Phillips at dinner. I was a little girl and was staying with a friend who was from a respected ‘horsey’ family. (It was before he married Princess Anne.) He was in Ireland for some horse related activity and I was somewhat in awe of his equestrian prowess.

Did a bit of Googling recently and discovered that my Great Grandfather (by adoption) was Honorary Chaplain to Queen Victoria and was later Chaplain in ordinary to King Edward VII . (Yipes. Really should have known more about this before and it seems sort of improbable to me since I live in a small terraced house, buy charity shop clothes and love getting ‘sell by date’ bargains in supermarkets.) His name was Handley Carr Glyn Moule and he was the Bishop of Durham…the Bishop of Durham is also one of the ‘Sovereign’s Escorts’ during a Coronation. Thomas Hardy was a close friend of one of Handley’s brothers and the Moule family when they originally lived in Dorset. Handley took Mum in when she was a baby (she was known as ‘Castle Baby’) and she lived in Auckland Castle until she was unofficially adopted by his daughter Isobel de Vere and her husband who brought her to Ireland. Would love to know who her birth Mum and Dad were. No wonder I love the programme ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ Family genealogy is fascinating.

Warm wishes,

Grace