Keeping up with the Windsors

While The Independent strives to ensure that the truly important issues are read by all, we will happily stay true to another Independent hallmark and leave it to our readers to make up their own minds on whether to enter into the royalist spirit or sit on the republican sidelines

It seems likely that the majority of Britons will feel little more than a vague sense of wellbeing that two seemingly rather decent young people have decided to commit their lives to each other (REUTERS)

There are many news items worthy of discussion in today’s editorial. If you are a regular reader, you will be accustomed to finding the most serious of subjects addressed – big themes, such as the scourge of plastic waste that is choking our environment and our wildlife, and which forms the subject of today’s splash. And then, of course, there is the royal wedding.

This latter subject is not something that will have a profound and lasting impact on the world, though it has certainly created something of a soap opera in the media – mostly in the form of a “will he, won’t he” saga over Thomas Markle’s attendance. Perhaps you have strived to avoid all that. Perhaps you have enjoyed every minute.

The opinion polls have indicated a remarkable yet perhaps reassuring sense of indifference to the prelude – in stark contrast to the relentless “rolling news” attention provided by the nation’s TV news channels. After all, the wedding of the sixth in line to the throne and his American bride is unlikely ever to be of constitutional significance, even if it does for some briefly bolster feelings of national pride, or provide an excuse for a party.

In 1988, the birth of Princess Beatrice was famously recorded by The Independent in a page two “nib” (news in brief summary), which was taken by some as a calculated, strategic slight. It was not that, although it helped to cement the Indy’s reputation when it came to royal reporting – and became a kind of accidental template for future events, helping to keep such matters in perspective.

In the 30 years since that moment of decisiveness on the night desk, a lot has changed. The Independent now has many millions of readers around the world – with as many in America as in Britain – and to ignore the Windsor wedding would be as frustrating for some as it would be welcome for others. As Chris Stevenson notes today, there is an irresistible irony in the country which most notoriously rejected the rule of British royalty now being in thrall to TV dramas – both real and dramatically reimagined – about the House of Windsor. So while The Independent strives to ensure that the truly important issues – be they the environment or Iranian sanctions – are read by all, we will happily stay true to another Independent hallmark and leave it to our readers to make up their own minds on whether to enter into the royalist spirit or sit on the republican sidelines.

Over the past three decades, the royal family has changed too. Yes, it still stands as a beacon of unearned privilege in a nation where social mobility is scandalously low and inequality is outrageously high. However charming Harry and Meghan may be as a couple, it is hard to overlook the fact that the privilege they enjoy merely as a consequence of his heredity stands as a stark emblem of a level of inequality that sits uneasily with this country’s self-image. That in itself may give some readers cause to tune in and consider the pomp, pageantry and much more besides.

It seems likely though that the majority of Britons will feel little more than a vague sense of wellbeing that two seemingly rather decent young people have decided to commit their lives to each other. The prospect of mixed race royal babies is not uninteresting, though perhaps we should await a future announcement from the palace before we consider that issue. The younger generation in particular have challenged the stiffness of the institution and diminished to a surprising degree the sense of utter separation from the rest of society. The death of their mother in such dreadful circumstances in 1997 made them vulnerable, and thus familiar, in the eyes of the public.

Diana’s death also shocked the Windsors into a realisation that public support for the monarchy is not unconditional. Despite Queen Elizabeth’s relative sprightliness, she is now 92. The fate of the monarchy will in the years to come lie in the hands of others. There is a legitimate public interest in that process, and so it matters, to some degree, just how widespread were the flag-waving and celebration, and to what degree there were the rolling of eyes and indifference.

So we trust you will enjoy the news from beyond Windsor. If you choose to dwell, like so many others around the world, on the wedding, we hope we have given you something to enjoy, and something to think about. We wish Harry and Meghan well in their lives together. Whether they like it or not, they will have a part to play in the future success of the royal family – but they might both be relieved to know they will have only supporting roles.