Now I’m not one to go all gaga over the British royals, acting all starstruck and speechless if I were to see them – in fact I rather think I’d keep a good poker face on. Even though their grandmother is the Queen, I’d be a normalish, like it was just another day, anything goes kind of person. Because let’s face it, you have to feel a little sorry for those poor princes, Harry and William. Dealing with the paparazzi all the time has got to be a nightmare, and they sure didn’t ask for it, they were just born that way. Honestly, they aren’t bad kids, and would you and I handle all the fame and nonsense as well as they have? Probably not.
(Anyone figure out the theme of the first paragraph yet? If not, here’s a clue:)
More seriously, I’m often struck with how extraordinary Princes William and Harry have become. Growing up under a microscope had to be absolutely unbearable, and many of us saw some of the ways that played out for Prince Harry thanks to the Internet. Over the past 5 years however, he’s worked hard to clean up his image, and demonstrate that he’s grown up. Most recently he and his brother, Prince William, accompanied by Princess Kate, have become strong vocal supporters for mental health advocacy. Prince Harry has been openly discussing his struggles with depression and how the death of his mother, Princess Diana, affected him. They seem to be determined to break old stereotypes and blaze new trails for royals. Can you even imagine 25 years ago, when Princess Diana was still married to Prince Charles, if she had openly discussed her struggles with depression or bulimia? How different things might have been if she could have, but at that time there was such a stigma about it all. Even now, we struggle to talk about mental health comfortably; we still want to treat it like it’s weird, or defective. Perhaps their openness on the subject will be what we need to begin breaking through for everyone.
I’ve run across a couple of stories I wanted to share about Prince Harry that for me at least made me think “what an amazing individual” he is, how real and genuine he seems. The first is from a trip that he made to Australia last year. Here is the link to a video on NBC news.com on the trip, it’s very short, but worth watching and is delightful, particularly in these harshly partisan times.
The conditions aren’t the best, it’s raining out and he’s doing a fan ‘meet and greet’. As he walks the line he sees a familiar face. Watch his face – you can clearly see the delight when he recognizes this fan, and see when he mouths her name as he bends down in the rain, gives her a hug and kisses her cheek. They chat for a few moments before he moves on. What really struck me is that she is 97 and they are in Australia. He’d apparently met her the previous year when he visited there, and according to her, greeted her then and “he kissed the other cheek”. Think about this for a moment…how many people do you suppose he meets in a week…a month…a year? Yet he remembered her name – Daphne – you can see him say it, and clearly with pleasure from the smile.
I think that’s what the story from Australia was really about, Prince Harry being absolutely real and present, in the moment. In that video is a still photo of him capturing a moment of pure happiness in the moment, with his old friend Daphne. How many of us honestly are in the moment with the people we’re with, whether old friends, new friends, casual acquaintances or even someone you just met? If Prince Harry can do it, so can every single one of us.
Be In The Moment
I challenge everyone reading this to just stop at least once this week, and pause to reflect. Are you in the moment? Not thinking about all of the distractions around you, the pressures and stresses, the kids, the bills, who made you mad or sad, but right now, in the moment. Go somewhere you can do this if you need to. Find a park, go to a zoo, or the animal shelter and hold a puppy or a kitten. Just take in that moment and hold it, realize its preciousness.
I also found an adorable story about him from when he was recently at the Invictus Games in Canada. (For those of you who are asking “Invictus Games, what the heck are those?” here is what it says about them in Wikipedia:
“They are an international Paralympic-style multi-sport event, created by advisors of Prince Harry, in which wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel and their associated veterans take part in sports. Named after Invictus, Latin for “unconquered” or “undefeated”, the event was inspired by the Warrior Games, a similar event held in the United States. (The first Invictus Games took place in March 2014, and Harry attends each time they are held.)
Prince Harry was watching the volleyball finals, sitting next to friends, and their daughter started sneaking some of his popcorn. After he caught her at it, he started to make the most adorable faces at her, some of which were caught on camera. There is also a short video clip of it as well which can be found in the article in People Magazine online. If this doesn’t make you smile, nothing will!
Lightening it back up a bit, so are you still stumped on the first paragraph? I did my best to ‘turn it up to 11’ but no, it’s not about Spinal Tap. That first paragraph had 11 Lady Gaga songs in it – well, 10.5 since I changed one word slightly in one of her biggest hits, so with all due respect and appropriate apologies to Lady Gaga, it’s still her hit, and there are no copyright infringements. Here you go:
Now I’m not one to go all gaga over the British royals, acting all starstruck and speechless if I were to see them – in fact I rather think I’d keep a good poker face on. Even though their grandmother is the Queen, I’d be a normalish, like it was just another day, anything goes kind of person. Because let’s face it, you have to feel a little sorry for those poor princes, Harry and William. Dealing with the paparazzi all the time has got to be a nightmare, and they sure didn’t ask for it, they were just born that way. Honestly, they aren’t bad kids, and would you and I handle all the fame and nonsense as well as they have? Probably not.
Beth Younker 