Kate and Wills
Why Kate Middleton is the perfect choice
I used to think they were a pointless couple. But Prince William's choice of bride may just ensure the survival of the monarchy
Alexander Chancellor
The Guardian , Friday 19 November 2010
Suddenly, it all seems completely right. For a long time I dreaded the prospect of Prince William marrying Kate Middleton . I don't quite know why. Perhaps I was put off by Kate's Sloaney way of life, her regular nightclubbing. There was an unhappy reminder here of the fun-loving Sarah Ferguson. I was beginning to feel that a marriage between William and Kate really would mean the end of the British monarchy . They seemed such a pointless couple that only a truly committed monarchist would want to take up the cudgels on their behalf.
But when I tried to imagine the ideal wife for a modern king of England, I found I couldn't. Foreign princesses used to be favoured because of their royal blood; but a foreign princess today would be a big step backwards for a royal family that has spent the last century trying to make us forget its German origins, and she would also risk becoming a hate figure for Britain's vociferous anti-Europeans. But a British woman of aristocratic birth would also now be abad choice. The Queen Mother , whose father was the Earl of Strathmore, was a great success as queen, but she married King George VI at a time when the aristocracy still commanded respect. By the time Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981 this was no longer the case. Diana's personal merits and her huge popularity do not alter the fact that their marriage was a disaster and did great harm to the standing of the monarchy.