I wrote this the day before the Royal Wedding last May, and it felt appropriate to share with y'all the day after the Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal movie that detailed their journey to the altar (see my last post for a deep dive on the film):
I was excited about William and Kate's wedding; with Harry and Meghan, I'm emotionally invested.
Yes, cynics, I've never met Harry nor have I met Meghan; no, I probably never will; hell, I've never even been to the U.K. But hear me out.
Harry and Meghan, to me, represent all of us whose journey to love and happiness is messy as hell but so damn worth it.
Harry was more affected by Diana's death than anyone in the world, save for William, and forced, at 12 years old, to walk behind his mother's coffin while the entire world watched, all because of a life he did not choose. He rebelled, he made public mistakes, but he never settled, and he eventually found himself in global humanitarian efforts that are truly remarkable. And finally, when he wasn't looking at all, here comes this woman who ticked all the boxes that made her not a common Royal bride, and Harry put that rebellious spirit to great use and said to hell with tradition, I love this woman, and I am going to fight for her. And he won. And tomorrow is the culmination of bucking every kind of tradition the monarchy has and choosing what is most important in this life – true love.
Meghan is also a child of divorce like Harry; she's 36 years old (for comparison's sake, when Diana married Charles, she had just turned 20 less than a month prior). She's independent, strong, made her own money, made a name for herself and did global humanitarian work long before she met Harry, is the opposite of a social climber and (sorry Kate, love you) the opposite of "Wait-y Katie," which is what they called Kate pre-engagement to William because, honestly, after graduating from college at St. Andrews she just kind of piddled around and was a professional girlfriend. That is the antithesis of Meghan. She's divorced, she's biracial, she's American – and she's going to change the freaking world. Already has, really. And, again, when she wasn't looking at all, there was true love, in its imperfectly perfect form.
So I guess what I'm saying is Harry and Meghan are all of us imperfect people – people who have lost parents, had familial strain, made mistakes, gone through stages of our lives we aren't super proud of, tried at love and failed, come from broken homes and messy pasts – yet still believe in true love, are willing to wait for it, are good people with good souls who believe in love and even fairytales. That in the end, good can come; that two souls can find each other across the Atlantic Ocean and make a whole damn WORLD believe in love again. In true love again.
So when you ask why I care about tomorrow, it's not just about a dress or a crown or even a wedding – it's about hope. Hope that love can win. Hope that true love exists. And hope that, in the middle of a perfectly imperfect life, we can all find it.
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