Runaway bride

Except she didn't quite manage to escape. You can read the full story here.

I don't really blame her for trying to get away actually. Rumour has it that Albert hasn't been entirely faithful and is having paternity testing to determine if he has fathered an illegitimate child with another woman. There have been two earlier illegitimate children, but this one appears to have been conceived while he was engaged.

And I don't know about anyone else, but I also had a good giggle at the fact that her name is Princess Charlene. If you say it with the broad Australian accent (think "Char-lain"), it doesn't sound terribly princess-y.

The Monagesque royal family has always been great fodder for tabloid journalists. From the death of Princess Grace to Caroline's husband perishing in the speedboat crash, Stephanie running off to join the circus and now this wedding which may or may not have been against Charlene's wishes, it doesn't seem that much has changed.

I think we should pray that things work out for them both and they all are converted to Christianity (do I have it right that they are Roman Catholics?). Sounds unlikely, but with all the twists and turns this family has taken over the years, maybe it could just happen?

Reflections on the royal wedding

1. The first two hymns were great. Not so sure about "Jerusalem," although when I saw the words I could see why they chose it. More of a patriotic song about England than a Christian hymn really. But I do like hearing hymns sung by large crowds with a choir and majestic pipe organ music. They were sung a little slower than I'm used to, but I don't think this is always a bad thing. It gives people a chance to meditate on the words.

2. Why didn't Kate give William a ring?

3. I liked Kate's sister's (Pippa's?) bridesmaid dress more than Kate's. A very flattering design. I guess Kate's had to be a bit more conservative though. But Pippa's tan looked a tad overdone.

3. I didn't really get why they needed to have those two nuns sitting up there beside William and Kate. In fact, I didn't even realise they had nuns in the Anglican church. Must be a high Anglican thing.

4. The Bible reading from Romans was an interesting choice. But a nice change from the ubiquitous wedding reading 1 Corinthians 13.

5. Liam's only comment during the whole ceremony was during the sermon, when he said "Prince William looks bored."

6. Some of the hats the women wore looked truly hideous. Princess Beatrice looked like a moose with those antlers on. And what is with the trend of wearing them on the front of the head? It must be very distracting to see a piece of your hat every time you look in front of you.

Another royal wedding

Unless you've been hiding under a rock today (in Australia anyway) you couldn't miss the news about the impending royal nuptials.

And speaking of rocks, I'm not entirely sure about the choice of engagement ring. I get that Prince William wants to remember his Mum, and it's a beautiful thing to recycle the ring, but there's just something about it that doesn't seem quite right to me. Maybe because it is also in a way a reminder of his parents' marriage that went so far off track. But I guess that time will tell and perhaps it will come to symbolise true love and faithfulness. Kind of like the phoenix rising from the ashes.

I'm already looking forward to the television coverage. I still remember watching Prince Charles and Lady Di get married on television back in 1981, when I was nine years old. I know I had a book all about it that I pored over non-stop. And I think I may have even had a commemorative T-shirt of their engagement. The type of thing you wear when you're nine.

We should pray that they will be preparing for the marriage as well as for the wedding. At least they've given their courtship a decent amount of time. You'd hope they would know each other pretty well by now.