Royal wedding sparkle

There are plenty of sceptics in the UK who probably thought the #Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and his Hollywood actress Meghan Markle was all too much. Too much cost, too much hype, too much schmaltz. But oh my goodness, seeing it later in the day after it was all over - a cricket match took preference - it was a wondrous spectacle. All the bad things in the world which have made everyone feel uncertain, anxious and pessimistic about the future could be swept away for a few hours as you watched Harry and Meghan smiling at each other. Not particularly nervous, certainly not overwhelmed, but basically havng fun and bin love. It is quite extraordinary how these great pageantry occasions in Britain always seem to go perfectly to plan. Not a visible mistake in the whole process. Even the somewhat astonished looks on some of the guests' faces as Bishop Michael Curry gave his very Gospel address about love just added to the carnival atmosphere. Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, had said that Bishop Curry was a stunning preacher and he was right. No notes. If he had any he never looked down. Just a volume of words, all in the right order. Harry and Meghan, especially Meghan, seemed to ejoy it. They chose him after all. Well I expect Meghan chose him. I watched a version of the wedding as put out by an American broadcasting station, with expert commentary from the most bubbly, excited, over-the-top panel I have ever heard. Americans, even more than Brits, just love a good British royal wedding. And that was fun too, all part of a day when Windsor Castle became the backdrop for the world's focus. America has really had only one "royal" family, the Kennedy clan, but judging by the amount of space devoted to the Harry and Meghan wedding in all the major US newspapers, Americans rely on the British royay family to fill their needs for glamour, romance, fantasy and fairy tales. Harry and Meghan looked great, and now the American people have got something they have never had before, a girl from their own stock embedded in the British royal family. So perhaps after all, despite the divisions caused by the Trump administration, the special relationship between the UK and US will survive.