Trooping of Colour 2018. (From left to right: Queen Elizabeth; Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall; Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex; Prince Charles, Prince of Wales; Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex; Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge; Princess Charlotte of Cambridge; Savannah Phillips; Prince George of Cambridge; and, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge)
I was a young girl when I first heard the word “princess.” Back then, it was in reference to Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Cinderella. As I started to get older, the idea of being a princess in real life continued to grow. I imagined myself twirling around in a big, puffy dress with a crown of perfect jewels on my head, a gentleman would accompany to a ball and whisper into my ear that he was the Prince of so-and-so, and we would run away together before the King and Queen could find out.
It wasn’t until my sophomore year in high school when I finally did some actual research on princes and princesses. I typed in the word “prince” and guess who popped up? That’s right, Prince William Arthur Philip Louis. He quickly turned into a real-life Prince crush for me. I learned all about Prince Henry “Harry” Charles Albert David, Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth, and most importantly, Princess Diana. Researching the Royal Family completely changed my life. Not only did I find real-life princes and princesses, but I also found a whole family of role models and strong women to look up to. Learning about Princes turned into something more than the idea of loving and marrying one. Here’s why:
Reason #1 - The Duchesses: Also known as Duchess Kate Middleton of Cambridge and Duchess Meghan Markle of Sussex, these two blow my mind. Not only are they living my lifelong dream of being royalty and not only are they gorgeous, but they are some of the smartest and charitable women I know. Duchess Kate Middleton gives so much time and work to the many charities she’s a patron of. She’s a committed champion of issues related to children’s mental health, adult’s mental health, addiction, athletics, and so many more. Ever heard of Heads Together? Yeah, that’s the Royals.
Duchess Meghan Markle has always been an advocate/activist for women’s rights, even way before marrying Prince Harry. She was a Global Ambassador for World Vision, the largest international children’s charity. For her wedding to Prince Harry, instead of asking for gifts, they asked for money to be donated to charities that help with HIV/AIDS, environmental issues, women empowerment, conservation, homelessness, and armed forces.
Reason #2 - The Brothers: Also known as Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. Having lost their mother at such a young age (William was 15 and Harry was 12), being Royalty, and always in the public eye, their childhood was probably not easy. Being the eldest and second to the throne, Prince William had bit more of a reputation to keep track of. After this mother died, he made sure to watch out for his brother, especially when Harry got into some serious trouble. Having decided to choose a military career, he was selected to be an officer. But because he was second to the throne, deployment was possible but being potential danger decreased his chances of seeing combat. So, he trained in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, where he earned his wings. In 2014, he announced that he took a full-time job as an Air Ambulance Pilot. He left his position in July of 2017 to have a more active role in his Royal duties to support the Queen.
In addition to his support for the Queen, Prince William is also a patron of many charities. He works to help young people and raise awareness around what things young people could be going though: homelessness, bullying, etc. He continues his mother's work to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS. He, his wife The Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry started a mental health campaign called Heads Together. It is a coalition of eight mental health charity partners to change the conversation about mental health.
And for Prince Harry, it definitely was not an easy childhood. Drinking, drugs, and partying took up a good chunk of his teenage life. Turning his life around, he joined the British Army and served for ten years. Now, he does all he can to promote welfare for those to served and who are still serving. He's a big patron for The Invictus Games, which is an international sporting event for wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and women. In 2006, Prince Harry jointly founded Sentebale, a charity that helps orphans in Southern Africa with HIV/AIDS. He even went so far as to take an HIV test on Facebook Live. Lastly, he too is a part of Heads Together, along with The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Reason 3 - The People's Princess: Also known as Princess Diana of Wales. Princess Diana went from being a kindergarten teacher to an icon. Marrying Prince Charles on July 29th, 1981, completely changed her life. She turned out to be an international style leader and hailed as one of the world's best dressed and most elegant women. Her clothes and outfits were planned weeks in advance, only changing if radical weather were to hit. And all that was just the beginning.
Not even a year after their wedding, in 1982 Princess Diana gave birth to Prince William. And in 1984, Princess Diana gave birth to Prince Harry, starting a family of their own. Prince William said that "she was a very hands-on mother." She wanted her sons to have as much of a normal life as she could. After being unhappy for years, Prince Charles and Princess Diana decided to announce their separation on December 10th, 1992. Their divorce was finalized in 1996, just one short year before her unexpected death.
Initially Diana's work as a patron was mainly in the arts field: RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts), the Royal Academy of Music, and the English National Ballet were just a few that she was President of. She did a lot of work with children of abuse. One cause that was close to her heart was drug abuse. She hosted a reception at Kensington Palace for Turning Pointm a charity which concerns itself with both drug and alcohol abuse.
By far her most significant and memorable role was the support she gave to the less obviously popular and high profile charities. When she visited Aid suffers in April of 1987, at a time when there was widespread hysteria about the disease, she met, shook hands with, and sat on the beds of nine terminally ill men. Her close involvement in Aids fundraising took some bravery in facing the social taboos around the disease. But when a good friend of hers died from Aids in 1991, she took on the role if patron to the National Aids Trust.
On August 31st, 1997, Princess Diana died to due injuries she suffered in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris, France.
I've opened my heart to this family and have yet to be disappointed. They have such caring souls. Take a moment and really look into them like I have. I promise you, you won't be disappointed. For more information about these wonderful human beings, please visit https://www.royal.uk
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