William and Kate, A Royal Love Story by, Christopher Anderson ©2011
I certainly did not expect this to be the first book of the 25:11 challenge, but I had the opportunity to borrow it for less then three days and so I read it while I could! I’m pretty sure I’ve never read a book this recently published.
The Royals
I’ve had a fascination with the British Monarchy since I was a young girl. In pondering this, I believe it is because my paternal family are direct descendants of Sir Francis Drake’s brother, John. This was often mentioned as I was growing up and I did at least two research papers on Sir Francis in my school years. In the process I learned much about the monarchy and loved it all. Like many millions of other Americans, I set my alarm and rose early to watch the “Wedding of the Century” back in 1981. Over the years I have followed the story of Princess Diana with interest. Naturally, I wanted to know what happened to her sons as they grew older. From time to time I would see an article in one of those magazines at the dentist or doctors office, but I have never read one of the many books written about the recent royals. Only a few weeks ago, I saw something about this book. I don’t even remember how it came to my attention. I’m happy that William has finally proposed to Kate Middleton and I was curious to learn more about the two of them. I read with interest.
The book
The story is interesting perhaps because it is so radically different from the lives I’ve known. We simply do not have to worry about when we curtsy to somebody and when they should curtsy to us. I often think that if we had a better understanding of how things work with a King and Queen it might actually help us better appreciate the respect we should give our King, the Master of the Universe, but that is a discussion for another time.
Many of the British aristocracy of this generation are disappointing in their morals and it is clear that a vibrant faith is not the current norm. Still, it does seem that for all of Williams wild partying and carrying on he appears to be able to be sensible and sensitive with genuine care and concern for real people. I think he could take the monarchy forward and with his leadership pave the way for it to continue into the next century. Princess Diana did have a lasting impact on his view of the world and his purpose in it. This may be the area that gives us a challenge: Most of my friends and acquaintances profess an active faith in Jesus, the Messiah, the one who challenged us to feed the poor, visit the sick and those in prison, but how many of us do this? Prince William regularly gets up close and personal with the very people our Master told us to go and care for. The author quotes Princess Diana as saying to William, “When I cup that HIV patient’s face in my hands he comforts me as much as I comfort him.”* I may not appreciate many things about Prince William’s lifestyle, but he is absolutely setting an example in his willingness to reach out to those less fortunate in our world.
Kate Middleton must be a remarkable woman to have maneuvered through these years of waiting for Prince William to finally decide that he did in fact want to commit to marriage. The book is not deep nor will it challenge your daily life (beyond the example above). It is simply a love story. I like a good love story!
25:11
This became my first book for the 25:11 challenge. I’d love for you to join us (even if you can’t possibly read that many books in this season of your life). Please check it out at 25books.org!
*Quoted from memory, so it may not be exact.