It was 4 am in Birmingham, Alabama. I, thanks to the insomnia that afflicts me from time to time since I was a teenager now enhanced by 30 weeks of pregnancy and a belly that does not let me find a good position to sleep, decided to sit down and write. It’s what I do when I get tired of counting sheep. But before, I decided to surf the net and Oh surprise! The royal baby is coming! From entertainment websites those that I love (a fact for which my serious friends mock me and I don’t blame them) to the major news networks (those that my serious friends do watch) have announced with great fanfare that the Duchess of Cambridge finally went into labor. About time! I mean, for the poor reporters who have been staying for days in front of the hospital where Kate is giving birth. And for the millions of us mere mortals who have been eagerly awaiting for this great event to happen.
Because yes, although you may not believe it, there are millions of people that feel an attraction for any news regarding this controversial royal family. And the only way to find an explanation to this strange fascination is that for us, it’s like if traditional fairy tales would add a reality show to their storylines. It’s our little piece of fantasy live, in the midst of a chaotic world full of violence. We care so much that there is a profession, and this is no BS, called royalty journalism…
Then I think of Kate as a mom. Every woman who has been through childbirth knows that this moment is so intense that the last thing you want is to have the whole world over you. In Kate’s case, literally. But I guess those are the occupational hazards of being a princess, whose labor pains are basically being narrated like a football game. Just wait for the goal, i.e. the announcement that in fact HRH Prince or Princess (title that the baby will carry) has been born. The truth is that it will happen today.
Maybe that’s what the world is crying for. Some fantasy. Something that allows us to dream and escape from so much blood and injustice around us. Nothing will change in our lives because this baby is born, more than eventually that someday that looks soooooo far far away the royal baby will be King or Queen of England. But it is as if this birth could be the confirmation that fairy tales and happy endings truly exist. Who knows and there is also an old man at the North Pole waiting for Christmas to hand out gifts (obviously he must exist, he is probably drinking a Coke right now in his igloo) or a fairy godmother that will come in any moment to convert our own pumpkin into the fancy carriage that we always wanted. It’s a matter of opinion … what do you think?