From a Boston Globe editorial
Thirty years ago, Americans gushingly embraced the nuptials of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer as a celebration of marriage itself, a Victorian novel come to life, replete with a golden carriage.
But that, of course, proved to be a fairy tale, and the surprise ending was just how seriously Americans fretted when the marriage unraveled.
As extraordinary as the circumstances going into the union (an heir to the throne, a blushing virgin), those attending the breakup were distressingly ordinary (incompatibility, affairs).
And yet, here we go again.
While more muted than Charles-and-Di fever, the excitement and curiosity surrounding this week's wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton is palpable.
It has its own story lines -- her ancestors were coal miners, his mother was the still-beloved Diana -- but the bottom line is people on both sides of the ocean want deeply to believe in the institution of marriage.
This latest wedding will offer viewers a more nuanced sense of what it takes to achieve an enduring bond. There's no single model, but just about every one of them on display in London on Friday suggests that common goals, and a willingness to work toward ever deeper commitment, are a better recipe than wealth, title, or power.
