Reflections on the Princely Wedding

[Victoria's Secret]

I totally agree, Moonmaiden. The ceremony I watched was altogether dignified and solemn -- the way it should be -- with more than enough beautiful (subtle) moments. It was neither the time nor the place for anything else. PA seemed somewhat nervous, which is quite understandable, but his bride was impeccable, IMO.

And the way some media is portraying it now is just ridiculous. [The Guardian: "Monaco's implausibly named Princess Charlene weeping through her wedding..."] I mean, really! It appears they just saw a picture (from the Church of St. Devote), instead of forming an objective opinion from watching the whole ceremony.

In some people's eyes this couple will never get anything right. As far as I am concerned, they're a great match, and their wedding was both a moving affair and spectacular occasion I will remember for a long time.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

"Implausibly named Princess Charlene??"

Obviously they didn't watch the wedding and are only interested in snide commentary...Charlene did not weep through the ceremony at all.


And how is her name and title any more implausible than let's say...CAMILLA Duchess of Cornwall??

What a dumb thing to say...sounds like sour grapes to me....

 

[Renata4711]

The same Guardian article (by Ros Coward) quotes Marina Warner, a serious author who has written extensively about fairytale heroines (Snow White etc.) , myths and fantasies.

Marina Warner - writer and mythographer

Kate Middelton and Charlene Wittstock: A tale of two princesses | UK news | The Guardian

 

[Nadine]

It's a funny thing every morning now (& throughout the day) that song by Paul McCartney entitled "Celebration" has been singing in my head at the most unexpected moments, along with a brief glimpse of Charlene entering the Palace Courtyard to greet Prince Albert at the altar, right on tune with "I'll stay with you".

And here I thought Andrea Bocelli, et al, would be what stayed with me, and now it turns out this unexpected treasure is what I have remembered most about the wedding, leastways music wise. In fact I was so entranced by it that I tried to find out as much as I could on the 'net (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_Stone_(album), but what surprised me the most is that it is *not* a Disney theme song, as that is what it most reminds me of ~ Cinderella, Beauty & The Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Anastasia, Enchanted, Tangled. Lol, yes, I am a long-time fan of Walt Disney. Who can forget their old adage "a dream is a wish your heart makes". I just wish more youth of today would get lost in such beauty, even adults, they're missing out on so much imho ~ beauty, innocence, God, tranquility, loveliness, magic...

YouTube - ‪Paul McCartney Celebration‬‏


Okay, back to more reflections that are not music related, lol (though I truly enjoyed all the music):

***NOTE: following reflections are all taken from these fantastic links of the entire wedding: Osa 1 | Ruhtinas Albertin häät | Toista | YLE Areena | yle.fi , Osa 2 | Ruhtinas Albertin häät | Toista | YLE Areena | yle.fi )***

1.) Prince Georg of Prussia sitting with his lovely fiancee Sophie @ 17:02
2.) Prince & Princess Michael of Kent standing outside their hotel @ 23:05
3.) Ditto, except this time Crown Princess Victoria & Prince Daniel @ 24:13
4.) Ditto, except Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg @ 24:18
5.) The lovely Mrs. Wittstock & Sons walking the red carpet @ 26:10
6.) Prince Albert's entire family walking the red carpet @ 26:37, including Prince Ernst Jr., Prince Christian, Pierre, Bea, Charlotte, Andrea, Tatiana, Princess Stephanie, Louis, Pauline, Camille, Princess Caroline, and Princess Alexandra.
7.) Charlotte smiling in the audience @ 29:52
8.) Princess Caroline & Princess Stephanie laughing together @ 31:14
9.) Louis staring at Charlotte for the longest time, even when the camera cut away from him, looks besotted with his own cousin, lol. All the while Charlotte was smiling at everybody @ 31:31
10.) Stephanie & Andrea discussing something funny, with Andrea slightly smiling & sticking his tongue out, while Pierre, Christian and Ernst were discussing something equally funny behind him @ 33:06
11.) Caroline & Stephanie smiling while discussing something amusing, while behind them Camille & Alexandra were discussing something as well @ 33:42
12.) Whole family staring at the altar with Charlotte the only one smiling @ 35:06
13.) Prince Guillaume fanning himself madly, his face bright red, but with a smile on it per usual @ 38:00
14.) Caroline looking lovely close-up @ 38:54
15.) President Sarkozy arriving like a king himself! Lol, seriously, he carries himself with confidence & aplomb, back straight, head up, total command over his person, which makes up for his small stature. Only greeting Princess Caroline & Princess Stephanie, then the Queen of Belgium @ 41:29 (everybody seemed to want to talk to him throughout I noticed).
16.) Prince Albert descending the stairs! @ 46:34
17.) Charlene beginning her long beautiful tranquil walk @ 47:43

TAPE 2

18.) Prince Albert entering to magnificent romantic "Celebration"!!!! With his family looking on fondly @ 0:14
19.) Princess Caroline trying to compose herself in the background as she watches her baby brother @ 0:45
20.) Charlene entering to crescendo! of "Celebration" by Paul McCartney, with the words "love, we search for love, time spent with you, I'll stay with you".
21.) Princess Caroline wiping away tears @ 3:11
22.) Pauline speaking, with Charlotte looking on proudly @ 11:21
23.) Charlotte speaking, with Pauline looking on equally fondly @ 14:20
24.) Camille & Alexandra getting up & crossing aisle @ 27:48
25.) Alexandra & Camille presenting the wedding rings @ 29:34
26.) Princess Charlene's long elegant fingers unwrapping Albert's wedding ring @ 34:00
27.) CLICK SONG! Love it!!!! @ 34:13
28.) Alexandra, Camille, and the Matron of Honor's two little girls reading passages from the Bible aloud @ 37:20
29.) The family congratulating each other with Albert making a joyous fist pump! @ 54:44
30.) Charlotte singing along with the choir @ 1:14:14
31.) ANDREA BOCELLI!!!!!! @ 1:16:19 (there are no words to express my emotions)
32.) Andrea smiling as Prince Albert & Princess Charlene leave the altar as husband & wife


Ahhh, that's it for now, cannot type anymore, lol, suffice it to say I looooved the whole entire wedding, including the moving scene at the small chapel church St. Devota, wherein the Special Olympic participants were waiting for them.


I'm so proud of the Monaco Family, and I know that Prince Rainier & Grace must be as well, what a lovely family they raised, with that love being passed onto their grandchildren as well. KUDOS TO RAINIER & GRACE GRIMALDI!!!!

 

[Tyger]

It's a funny thing every morning now (& throughout the day) that song by Paul McCartney entitled "Celebration" has been singing in my head at the most unexpected moments, along with a brief glimpse of Charlene entering the Palace Courtyard to greet Prince Albert at the altar, right on tune with "I'll stay with you".

Who can forget their old adage "a dream is a wish your heart makes". I just wish more youth of today would get lost in such beauty, even adults, they're missing out on so much imho ~ beauty, innocence, God, tranquility, loveliness, magic...

YouTube - ‪Paul McCartney Celebration‬‏

Thank you for your post, Nadine.

My question, however, is about the quote: "only as high as I reach can I grow, only as far as I seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream can I be" - from what is that from, or who said it?

 

[Nadine]

Thanks for your question, Tyger.

This is where I first read it 4 years ago, in the comments section of the following video, and from then on it resonated with me, thus I have added it to my book of personal quotes that I keep handy, along with all the other beautiful quotes that I run across in either real life or in books, media, the movies, or on the 'net by just regular people like you & I:

YouTube - ‪Paul Potts sings Nessun Dorma‬‏

 

[kimmit]

It will be interesting to see what develops over the next few weeks. I dislike the media at the moment, as you really don't know what to believe, but rumours aren't started out of nothing. To me, her face looks dead. If you see video's and look at photo's of her in the early days, she is alive and animated. Now she looks like she has had the stuffing bashed out of her. We should never compare, but look at William and Kate and see the love and fun between them. Nothing like this seems to be between Albert and Charlene, but it used to. I do feel for her, as it is not easy to perfect the beautiful french language, and when you are in the limelight like that and can't quite follow everything or reply to everything is very difficult, and this may contribute to her looking overwhelmed and not so confident. Positive thoughts to her....

 

[Moonmaiden23]

The same Guardian article (by Ros Coward) quotes Marina Warner, a serious author who has written extensively about fairytale heroines (Snow White etc.) , myths and fantasies.

Marina Warner - writer and mythographer

Kate Middelton and Charlene Wittstock: A tale of two princesses | UK news | The Guardian

Again..Charlene was not "weeping at the vows". It's hard to take this author seriously when it's pretty apparent she didn't even watch the wedding!

Charlene wept when she entered St Devote and heard that hauntingly beautiful melody being sung. I would have cried too...it was enchanting.

The author also seems annoyed that British Hello! magazine gushed about how gorgeous Charlene was...well...she was a gorgeous bride!

So what is the problem?

 

[Renata4711]

Search me ....
I supplied these links to broaden the discussion a little.

The "fairytale heroine" is a simple archetype in many cultures.... I could go on, but I won't.

Fairy tale - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Mirabel]

And the way some media is portraying it now is just ridiculous. [The Guardian: "Monaco's implausibly named Princess Charlene weeping through her wedding..."] I mean, really! It appears they just saw a picture (from the Church of St. Devote), instead of forming an objective opinion from watching the whole ceremony.

In some people's eyes this couple will never get anything right. As far as I am concerned, they're a great match, and their wedding was both a moving affair and spectacular occasion I will remember for a long time.

At least the UK papers have some coverage.

There was only a tiny picture in the New York Daily News and the Post, not even on the front page but buried someplace in the middle. I wasn't expecting much, but I thought there'd be more press than that!

 

[auntie]

One thing I have noticed is that Albert winks an awful lot, throughout the civil ceremony and the church...

And Albert`s speech was just terrible....I thought the point was to hold a speech to his bride.... Frederik`s speech was great i think

Fred's speech to mary was amazing, but some people in Denmark seem to think of him not being an articulate enough speech giver which is not an asset to a future king. Althogh George V was an amazing monarch and had a debilitating stutter...

 

[Sister Morphine]

At least the UK papers have some coverage.

There was only a tiny picture in the New York Daily News and the Post, not even on the front page but buried someplace in the middle. I wasn't expecting much, but I thought there'd be more press than that!

This is purely my opinion of course, but I don't think anyone here in the States gives a flying fig about the Monaco royal family. The wedding didn't deserve to be mentioned on the front page of any paper in the States, and it rightfully wasn't.

 

[Tyger]

This is purely my opinion of course, but I don't think anyone here in the States gives a flying fig about the Monaco royal family.

Disagree. I know I feel a connection to Monaco because of the American Grace Kelly. Most Americans do not follow royalty, regardless of the 'spin' that they do - and that a princess here and there is causing 'excitement' (Miley Cyrus causes 'excitement'. This stuff does not go deep). Its a big country - lots of people - percentage wise the 'fascination' is low so would not make the front pages.

The wedding didn't deserve to be mentioned on the front page of any paper in the States, and it rightfully wasn't.

No royal wedding deserves to be on the front page of any American newspaper and usually isn't - unless its a pretty slow news day.

Thanks for your question, Tyger.

This is where I first read it 4 years ago, in the comments section of the following video, and from then on it resonated with me, thus I have added it to my book of personal quotes that I keep handy, along with all the other beautiful quotes that I run across in either real life or in books, media, the movies, or on the 'net by just regular people like you & I:

I found the author. It is Karen Ravn, a freelance writer for the Los Angeles Times (as of 2009).

Only as high as I reach can I grow,
Only as far as I seek can I go,
Only as deep as I look can I see,
Only as much as I dream can I be.
- Karen Ravn

Thank you for sharing!

 

[MRSJ]

No royal wedding deserves to be on the front page of any American newspaper and usually isn't - unless its a pretty slow news day.

Or William and Kates from what I remember it was all over the front pages of magazines and papers ......

 

[Sister Morphine]

Disagree. I know I feel a connection to Monaco because of the American Grace Kelly. Most Americans do not follow royalty, regardless of the 'spin' that they do - and that a princess here and there is causing 'excitement' (Miley Cyrus causes 'excitement'. This stuff does not go deep). Its a big country - lots of people - percentage wise the 'fascination' is low so would not make the front pages.

Grace Kelly has been dead for 29 years, and while she was a great actress, she's not considered one of the greatest actresses of all time, nor are her films aired a lot on TV. So the percentage of people in this country who have any interest in Monaco because of her is negligible to begin with.

You may feel a connection to Monaco because of her, but I'd be willing to be serious money that you'd be in a very, very, very, very small minority of people, even within the minority of people in this country that follow royalty to begin with, regardless of where they're from.

 

[Renata4711]

It's an "age" thing ..... I'm from the generation which followed the Rainier/Grace wedding on a very old-fashioned black and white television set (not in US).

This is where the "princess/heroine" archetype kicks in:
After that seemingly never-ending European nightmare, the continent awakes to this wedding which caught almost everybody's imagination !

 

[agogo]

Grace Kelly has been dead for 29 years, and while she was a great actress, she's not considered one of the greatest actresses of all time, nor are her films aired a lot on TV. So the percentage of people in this country who have any interest in Monaco because of her is negligible to begin with.

You may feel a connection to Monaco because of her, but I'd be willing to be serious money that you'd be in a very, very, very, very small minority of people, even within the minority of people in this country that follow royalty to begin with, regardless of where they're from.

Exactly correct. Intrest in Monaco (USA interest) ceased when Princess Grace died. Many people in the USA don't care about royals. The BRF is reported upon frequently here only because they speak english. Our media overdoses on them from time to time. In Los Angeles the crowds to welcome Prince William and Duchess Catherine are small.

 

[LadyFinn]

I watched the wedding again and paid especially attention to Charlene´s father, he didn´t smile at all. At that Albert ordered several times Charlene to wave at the car.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

All or most of the major French publications(Paris Match, Point de Vue) had Albert/Charlene on the cover...in fact devoted their entire issue to them, beautiful photos and even interviews with the guests.

British Hello! put them on the cover and had a 30-40 page spread on them...and even stated categorically that it made the Will/Kat wedding "seem homely in comparison."

I was quite shocked that a British publication would say that, especially one like Hello! which lately seems more like "Catherine Weekly".

Spanish Hola! has them on the cover as well.


I couldn't care less if the American papers saw fit to ignore them.

 

[KittyAtlanta]

...Interesting point about skipping the objection part - wonder why they did that?

Probably because the Banns had been posted. I was married CofE and the priest skipped the "objection" part.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

They "skipped the objection part" because it is not part of the Roman Catholic marriage rite....it never has been.

 

[KittyAtlanta]

Why do you feel the need to insult the British Royal Family in a discussion on a wedding in Monaco? Did I miss the part where this thread became a comparison of different royal families?

Also hadn't realised that those of us who live in the UK are not allowed to have an opinion on Monaco. I must have missed that in the TRF rules.

You need to toughen up just a bit. Comparisons are always made, no matter what RF is being discussed.

You don't like it when someone "disses" the BR wedding/family, but it's OK for you to express ungracious comments about the Monaco wedding/family...which will go down in history as the wedding of the Century.

 

[NGalitzine]

They "skipped the objection part" because it is not part of the Roman Catholic marriage rite....it never has been.

And it would be pointless to object anyway since they were legally married the day before at the civil ceremony. Charlene was already HSH The Princess Consort of Monaco when she walked into the courtyard on the arm of her father.

 

[GenevieveElle]

I haven't posted my reflections until now because i've been torn. On one hand i see these sweet moments between Albert and Charlene and the smiling faces of their families and then the next moment i see moments where Albert seems angry at Charlene and Charlene seems very sad. I think the media really has affected my judgement. Reading all about the runaway bride story made me look for places where they seemed miserable. I rewatched the wedding a week later. During that week i didn't read anything about the couple and their honeymoon..when i watched the wedding the second time i saw sweet gestures and loving glances. Of course, i get up this morning and see a headline about Charlene "sleeping 10 miles away from Albert on their honeymoon" and i just imagine Charlene's sad looks at the wedding and Albert's anger. So, it depends, at least for me, on what i've been reading. I love the Monaco princely family and wish them all the best. The family and Monaco deserve to have a happy marriage that doesn't end with divorce or death. I hope that they are happy but i also wish that if Charlene isn't happy, that she has the strength to leave the marriage, and preferably before they have children. Overall, it was a beautiful wedding in a picturesque setting and the Grimaldis, of course, looked amazing.

 

[Nathalie Cox]

It's amazing how Charlene fans have to critizice Catherine, Camilla, and every single royal to praise their idol...

 

[Sofiero]

It's amazing how Charlene fans have to critizice Catherine, Camilla, and every single royal to praise their idol...

Nathalie, you are right

 

[KittyAtlanta]

It's amazing how Charlene fans have to critizice Catherine, Camilla, and every single royal to praise their idol...

Isn't that called "turnabout is fair play?" Your comment is somewhat exaggerated.

 

[Sofiero]

***NOTE: following reflections are all taken from these fantastic links of the entire wedding: Osa 1 | Ruhtinas Albertin häät | Toista | YLE Areena | yle.fi , Osa 2 | Ruhtinas Albertin häät | Toista | YLE Areena | yle.fi )***

1.) Prince Georg of Prussia sitting with his lovely fiancee Sophie @ 17:02
2.) Prince & Princess Michael of Kent standing outside their hotel @ 23:05
3.) Ditto, except this time Crown Princess Victoria & Prince Daniel @ 24:13
4.) Ditto, except Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg @ 24:18
5.) The lovely Mrs. Wittstock & Sons walking the red carpet @ 26:10
6.) Prince Albert's entire family walking the red carpet @ 26:37, including Prince Ernst Jr., Prince Christian, Pierre, Bea, Charlotte, Andrea, Tatiana, Princess Stephanie, Louis, Pauline, Camille, Princess Caroline, and Princess Alexandra.
7.) Charlotte smiling in the audience @ 29:52
8.) Princess Caroline & Princess Stephanie laughing together @ 31:14
9.) Louis staring at Charlotte for the longest time, even when the camera cut away from him, looks besotted with his own cousin, lol. All the while Charlotte was smiling at everybody @ 31:31
10.) Stephanie & Andrea discussing something funny, with Andrea slightly smiling & sticking his tongue out, while Pierre, Christian and Ernst were discussing something equally funny behind him @ 33:06
11.) Caroline & Stephanie smiling while discussing something amusing, while behind them Camille & Alexandra were discussing something as well @ 33:42
12.) Whole family staring at the altar with Charlotte the only one smiling @ 35:06
13.) Prince Guillaume fanning himself madly, his face bright red, but with a smile on it per usual @ 38:00
14.) Caroline looking lovely close-up @ 38:54
15.) President Sarkozy arriving like a king himself! Lol, seriously, he carries himself with confidence & aplomb, back straight, head up, total command over his person, which makes up for his small stature. Only greeting Princess Caroline & Princess Stephanie, then the Queen of Belgium @ 41:29 (everybody seemed to want to talk to him throughout I noticed).
16.) Prince Albert descending the stairs! @ 46:34
17.) Charlene beginning her long beautiful tranquil walk @ 47:43

TAPE 2

18.) Prince Albert entering to magnificent romantic "Celebration"!!!! With his family looking on fondly @ 0:14
19.) Princess Caroline trying to compose herself in the background as she watches her baby brother @ 0:45
20.) Charlene entering to crescendo! of "Celebration" by Paul McCartney, with the words "love, we search for love, time spent with you, I'll stay with you".
21.) Princess Caroline wiping away tears @ 3:11
22.) Pauline speaking, with Charlotte looking on proudly @ 11:21
23.) Charlotte speaking, with Pauline looking on equally fondly @ 14:20
24.) Camille & Alexandra getting up & crossing aisle @ 27:48
25.) Alexandra & Camille presenting the wedding rings @ 29:34
26.) Princess Charlene's long elegant fingers unwrapping Albert's wedding ring @ 34:00
27.) CLICK SONG! Love it!!!! @ 34:13
28.) Alexandra, Camille, and the Matron of Honor's two little girls reading passages from the Bible aloud @ 37:20
29.) The family congratulating each other with Albert making a joyous fist pump! @ 54:44
30.) Charlotte singing along with the choir @ 1:14:14
31.) ANDREA BOCELLI!!!!!! @ 1:16:19 (there are no words to express my emotions)
32.) Andrea smiling as Prince Albert & Princess Charlene leave the altar as husband & wife


Ahhh, that's it for now, cannot type anymore, lol, suffice it to say I looooved the whole entire wedding, including the moving scene at the small chapel church St. Devota, wherein the Special Olympic participants were waiting for them.


I'm so proud of the Monaco Family, and I know that Prince Rainier & Grace must be as well, what a lovely family they raised, with that love being passed onto their grandchildren as well. KUDOS TO RAINIER & GRACE GRIMALDI!!!!

As a Finnish speaking, I found that these videos are only available to play fourteen days, i.e. on the 16th July 4.30 p.m. from London time they are unable to monitor.

 

[Zonk]

Frankly, I don't understand the need to compare and contrast the differences in the recent royal weddings. Each wedding was different and had its own nuances that made it special. The fact remains that the Windsors and the Grimaldi's do things differently.

It doesn't make either wedding better or worst just different.

 

[Renata4711]

Monaco Info is still replaying footage of the wedding - including the interview with some of the seven young bridal attendants for Charlene.