19th Nervous Breakdown

 People in England talk about, and read about, their Royal Family quite a lot.

Not all the people, of course.

But it is a phenomenon.

There's a lot of talkin' about the Royal Family, and its members.

Talking, and writing.  Articles, and books.  On and on and on.

The podcasts, the podcasts, the videos, Oh My!

        TIna Brown wrote, in her biography of Diana, that most English people have dreamed about Queen Elizabeth II sometime during their lives.

        (Some people might think that to be a little weird.)

The Royal Family is an ancient institution, meant to give continuity, and thereby stability, to the nation by providing "a focal point" for the population.  The people can have the members of the Royal Family as a focal point, a symbol of an "ideal family" that is meant to be relatable for most people.

        Great Britain's royal family is - an idea.

        Its members are supposed to be dignified, and steadfast, and never get divorced.

Being human, and never supposed to have any scandals, there are, of course, scandals.  Or - maybe you could say ... surprises.

In the documentary about 1992, the "Annus horribilis," they talk about when news broke that Sarah, the Duchess of York, wife of Prince Andrew, had been seeing an American man named Steve Wyatt.

        I remember that.  And I wasn't even particularly looking for news about Sarah - my only slight interest in her would have been because she was "Diana-adjacent"... But I remember that name - Steve Wyatt, an oil millionaire from Texas.  And then months later it was in the magazines that Sarah was now going out with another American, John Bryan.

        All this dating around while she was married....  (Her husband was often away from home with the Navy.)

Discussing the Steve Wyatt relationship, author Andrew Morton said Wyatt referred to the Duchess as "mah woman."

        It's hilarious to hear him say this, because he has a typical upper-middle-class English accent, but when he says "mah woman" he tries to do what he thinks is a Texas accent, but it is overlaid by the English... it's like when you listen to Mick Jagger sing, and you ask yourself, "Is he singing with a Southern accent or an English accent?"

(answer:  Yes.)

   

Andrew Morton, author of Diana, Her True Story

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