A ROYAL ENGAGEMENT.

Cards on table, I wasn't going to post on Tuesday's announcement that Price William has asked for 'commoner' (I can't believe that certain journalists have dubbed her this, hardly nice is it?) Kate Middleton's hand in marriage but found myself bowing to the various requests made by you my blogger buddies and FaceBook friends despite the fact that I know that this might upset (infuriate even) some of you and even has the potential for all sorts of comments to be made especially by those who are not regulars to Pen and Paper but happened upon it by chance today - please be gentle with me, kind to each other and remember that we are all entitled to our opinions and though they may not be your opinions please be respectful.

To be totally frank with you, neither a royalist nor an anti- royalist, I'm really not bothered about this announcement one way or the other - it's not as if I know the couple OR as if I'm likely to get an invitation to the engagement party let alone to the wedding, shame as I can see myself in a BIG hat. That said, I can see my feelings changing to one of complete boredom very soon as already I'm tired of hearing about it, of listening to all the speculation about when and where the wedding will be, who the best man/bridesmaids will be, if Prince Harry is Charles's son - whoops! That's a whole other post and a suggestion that might have once seen me sent to THE TOWER which in the 16th century acquired a reputation as a grim, forbidding prison in which many, generally high status individuals were held as prisoners later to be tortured and executed.

But I digress ...... As it is, I'm just as glad that I know where the off switch is on the tv.

Apart from those of us to whom this whole 'media circus' means very little I think the rest of the population basically fall into one or other of the two remaining camps:- The royalists who see this as a good thing at a time when things could be better here in Britain, a time when we can forget our troubles and throw ourselves into the celebrations, a time when the rest of the world will look on in envy, a time when money will be generated by people buying all manner of (dare I say it?) 'tacky' souvenir merchandise SUCH AS these mugs etc to commemorate the wedding of William's parents.  AND The anti- royalists who don't like the royal family anyway and see them as a drain on the taxpayer and will doubtless demand to know just how much this will cost 'Joe Public'.

My feelings about the whole media aspect aside, I wish the couple well just as I would on hearing the announcement of any other engagement  and hope that the attention will soon lessen so that they can begin life as any other couple would. HOWEVER why, oh why wasn't a new ring bought OR am I being totally unromantic and unsentimental? I know, many rings are passed down from one woman to another via a son but let's face it this ring hardly brought any luck to the last couple, William's father, Price Charles, and mother, Lady Diana Spencer for whom marriage sadly ended in divorce and her untimely death - oh dear, does that makes me superstitious as well as unromantic and unsentimental?

And for those of you yet to see the engagement announcement coverage, click HERE