Who knew Kate Middleton embodied the Midwestern values of hard work, patience and common sense? Or that she's a role model in the land of upward mobility? That's the message from Grand Rapids, Michigan, where an exhibition celebrating the life of Prince William's mother Diana has attracted thousands from across the Great Plain states. The engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton was announced days after the exhibition opened, prompting even more visitors to the Grand Rapids Art Museum. What better place to explore America's continuing fascination with royalty, and the appeal of William and Kate, than in a city which hadn't even been settled back in 1776?
Barb Bierens and Susan Mackett proved most instructive on both counts. I found them watching video of the flowers piling up on the streets of London in the days after Diana's death. As children, they saw the Queen's coronation on TV and found royalty to be cold, austere and remote. The only appeal was a distant historical connection to the old country. But there was nothing approachable or engaging about that version of royalty. Everything changed with Diana -- here was a magnetic royal whose movie-star good looks and headline-making philanthropy appealed to the American sensibility. Barb and Susan see the same potential in William and Kate -- youth, modernity, a sense of public duty and more than a touch of Diana's glamor. In a land where the rich and the privileged very publicly give back, Barb and Susan are already watching closely to find out which charity Kate will choose to champion.
More...
0 comments
Post a Comment