Messages

Eduardo del Buey
Foto: Afp
La Jornada Maya

Lunes 21 de mayo, 2018

There are many ways to send messages. Words, body language, and actions are but three ways to transmit a message.

And on May 19, 2018, we saw a number of very important messages sent out by the British royal family to the British people, to the world, and to each other against the backdrop of the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

The United Kingdom has been home to many creeds, races, and nationalities for many years. It is an amalgam of humanity, with all of the riches and all of the challenges that this produces. Yet the British royal family has, for whatever reason, never quite reflected the complexion of the society over which it reigns or the Commonwealth over which the Queen presides.

Yet on May 19th, Prince Harry married an American woman, divorced, older than him, an actress, and half African-American.

In one fell swoop, the Royal Family came into the 21st Century.

One remembers this same royal family and this same Britain leading Edward VIII to abdicate so that he could marry an American divorcee. The same Queen that reigns today refused to allow her uncle to return to Britain to live, and never deigned to meet Wallace Simpson, the ex-King’s wife.

This is the same Queen who refused to initially honor Lady Diana by flying the royal standard at half-mast over Buckingham Palace when she died tragically in Paris in 1997. Then Prime Minister Tony Blair had to cajole a royal funeral out of the palace and indeed appeared to be saving the monarchy from itself (brilliantly portrayed in the movie “The Queen”).

That this same Queen presided over this wedding is a telling message of the durability of the Windsor monarchy, as well as its ability to adapt to changing realities. The message to the British people is that today, the monarchy is capable and willing of not only dealing with the modern world but, in an era when racism and narrow nationalism appears to be on the rise once again, leading it to new enlightenment.

Another message was sent to the British people when Prince Charles, the future King, walked the bride-to-be to the altar in the absence of her ill father. The fact that he did so sends a strong message that the entire royal family is welcoming their American Duchess with open arms. His smiling face and seemingly kind words to her as they walked the walk underscored the warmth of this welcome, and the fact that she is seen as key to the Prince’s happiness as well as a central, albeit new, member of the family.

A third message was the inclusion of the African-American head of the American Episcopalian Church (the American version of the Anglican Church) in the service. He brought a breath of fresh air, with his powerful definitions of love and quotes from Martin Luther King igniting what could have been a staid British service. Accompanied by the Kingdom Choir, a black British choir from southeast London who sang American Negro spirituals and songs, including the 1961 hit “Stand by Me”, the effect underscored this marriage of cultures, nationalities, and races.

A fourth message was one to the world – specifically, the Commonwealth, made up of mostly former British colonies.

By welcoming Meghan Markle so warmly into the bosom of their family, the British royals let their former colonies know that they are color blind. The old feeling among former colonies that the Commonwealth sought to perpetuate the whiter than white world of the colonial era may finally have been put to rest. Indeed, Meghan Markle’s veil and train featured hand-embroidered flowers from all fifty-three Commonwealth member states.

The fifth and final message is that the royal family is a “firm”, as Prince Philip likes to call it, with every member required to pull its weight to survive well into the future.

As a firm, its main product is public relations – something that they seemed to forget when Princess Diana seemed to be hogging the spotlight some thirty years ago.

Yet the firm now has an additional new face, one that will undoubtedly open new possibilities.

Meghan Markle has all of the warmth and people skills of her late mother-in-law, preferring hugging to shaking hands and wading into the public with an electric smile and outstretched arms.

As an actress and ambassador for World Vision Canada among others, she has learned the value of connecting with her public and working effectively for philanthropic organizations.

Much of the royal family’s work is acting as patrons to all kinds of charitable organizations, and her experience is allowing her to hit the ground running.

Her network of contacts with powerful women involved with civil society – from Oprah Winfrey to Amal Clooney – will serve her well, as will her already proven ability to network with the influential. I noted that the two young boys carrying her wedding train were former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s twin grandsons – children of her best friend from Toronto.

More nodes in her network of influential people.

So, life is about transmitting messages effectively, and connecting with your audiences.

And on May 19th, Britain’s royal family shone.

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