What little girl doesn’t pretend to
be a princess at some point while growing up? Running around the house wearing
a tutu, a sparkly tiara on her head, waving a plastic scepter around as she commands
her subjects. Reading fairy tales about Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping
Beauty. It’s a dream come true, especially if it means getting to marry a
handsome prince and living in a castle. Well sometimes fairytales do come true.
But while Snow White
was content to warble in the forest about someday her prince will come,
Sleeping Beauty had to wait a hundred years for her prince toe wake her up, and
Cinderella had to hope that the Prince had a good lost and found for that glass
slipper, today’s post-modern princesses weren’t waiting around for their prince
to come. No these stylish and
independent-minded women had high powered jobs as investment bankers, in
advertising, television, and even owning a gym. They met their princes not at
fancy balls but at rock concerts, in pubs, at dinner parties or through mutual
friends.
The
world has changed since the days when a royal marriage was more a matter of
dynastic ambitions. Marrying a commoner
was just not done. In the past, these women would have had to settle for the
title of royal mistress, or at best a morganatic marriage. Nowadays royal
princes (and princesses) demand to marry for love. And the gap between commoner and royalty has
lessened considerably. Among the European royals, acquiring the common touch is
all the rage. After all the centuries of
constant intermarrying, the blue blood was getting rather anemic. And as Prince
Felipe of Spain Nepal
There is no job description for being a Princess;
there is no central training school for princesses, no Yahoo! Loop to share
information. It’s not all palaces, tiaras and ball gowns. It means a loss of
privacy, adapting to protocol, in some cases, even learning a foreign language.
Knowing that from now on one’s time is not one’s own, and the eyes of the world
are upon you, just waiting for you to slip up.
Although they understand the role of royal deference, these women and
men tend to follow their instincts about almost everything from child-rearing
to what they wear. There’s also the matter of bearing the royal heir and
possibly a spare as well, all the while fulfilling a steady diet of royal
engagements. Everything from christening
ships to turning on the lights at Christmas.
But it can be a
tricky balancing act for post modern princess who wasn’t to the ermine born.
They must be regal but relatable; they are expected to be as comfortable at a
grand ball as they are the supermarket. The post-modern prince or princess must
not only visit hospitals, and comfort victims of tragedy but it’s also
important to look good while doing it. She or he must also have the hide of a
rhinoceros to withstand the glare of the spotlight and the slings and arrows of
the tabloid press. And not everyone who marries a royal can cut it. The Duchess
of York fled the scene after spending years trying to mold her vibrant
personality to the whims of the Windsor
So why would a modern woman or man give up their
privacy, to be followed relentlessly by paparazzi, for a Prince or Princess?
And what made these women and one man so special that their royal paramour got
down on one knee and proposed? From Commoner to Royalty takes a look at the women and
men who have made just that choice and how their lives have changed since they
walked behind those palace doors. These men and women are not your
typical fairytale brides and grooms. Some of them were successful career women;
most of them grew up in average, middle class homes. Some have thrived, and
some have wilted under the pressure.
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