The royalty has always symbolized perfection, mannerisms and well, closely guarded secrets.
Be it Henry VIII or Princess Diana, the British Royalty has managed to keep the rolling tongues and scribbling pens in business. When Princess Diana chose to redefine what it meant to be a royal, the paparazzi went crazy. So much so, it defined her as somebody who was “obsessed with her own image”. What the paparazzi chose to show was the “new” Royalty. However, what was ignored quite effortlessly was the fact that she was an individual.
The recent upheaval around Kate Middleton and Prince Harry’s “nude” photos being published as “the prized catch” has brought forth the debate about what it means to be “a royal”.
“Discover the incredible pictures of the future Queen of England as you’ve never seen before … and as you’ll never see again,” the tabloid for the French magazine, Closer, proclaims quite shamelessly in reference to Kate Middleton.
What has become the topic of hot gossip, borders precariously on voyeurism, and grotesque breach of privacy.
In an attempt to elevate the royals to a pedestal of perfection, we have bereft them of every right to be human enough to CHOOSE.
While Diana did choose to brush aside all the criticism and go ahead with the pursuit of fashion and establish herself as the first queen to have probably revolutionized the way the world gazed at the Royal Family, she was not allowed to live as the icon that would have altered the boundaries of the English Royalty.
What is worth applauding is the way Kate Middleton and Harry have calmly handled all the hype, and established themselves as monarchs of a new England which is possibly ready to shake itself a little when it comes to defining royalty.
However, the British Royal House has vehemently criticized the magazine for “invading the privacy” of the Royal couple. But, the question that needs to be asked is this: Can the Royals have no way out of the little boxes of regulated codes of conducts that were once carved out by the champions of the British culture of modesty, etiquette and behaviour?
As a twenty first century youth, I would not like to be answerable to anybody about what I choose to wear. So wouldn’t be Kate Middleton, the Lady and the Royal, and Harry, the Dude and the Prince.
Himanshi Sharma
Image Source [http://uppitywoman08.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/prince-william-kate-middleton-engagement-interview.png]
