Royal wedding: American Anglophilia finds a new generation
Americans who plan to watch the Royal Wedding 鈥� even just a piece of it 鈥� are part of a long tradition of American Anglophiles (lovers of all things English).
Consider this statement from Mark Oppenheimer in Slate:
鈥淥f all the annoying things about the royal wedding 鈥� the crass materialism, the outrageous invasion of a young couple's privacy, the bad TV 鈥� none is more troubling than the occasion this event gives for the non-English to transform themselves into besotted Anglophilic wusses.鈥�
Harsh words, but they raise an interesting question. Why are we, the republican colonialists who rejected monarchy, now riveted by this wedding?
Professors of British and American history offer several explanations.
The rise of Queen Victoria
After the colonies declared independence from George III, reviled for innumerable political reasons, two even worse kings ascended to the throne. Both George IV and William IV were 鈥済reedy, vulgar, brutal, adulterous 鈥� horrible in every way,鈥� says Patrick Allitt of Emory University. 鈥淎mericans said, 鈥楲ook how revolting they are鈥� Even the Brits will kill their own monarchy now,鈥� 鈥� he says.
But they were followed by Queen Victoria, a paragon of respectability who generated an enormous pendulum swing of public opinion. The rise in respect for the monarchy accelerated when Victoria wed Albert, and the two became the 鈥渆xemplary moral couple of the whole of Europe,鈥� he says.
鈥淏y the late 1800s, lots of Americans believed the revolution had been a terrible mistake,鈥� says Professor Allitt.
The 鈥榗ommon bond鈥� forged in World War II
The common threat of Nazi Germany drove the countries together in ways symbolized by 鈥� but far deeper than 鈥� the friendship of Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt.
鈥淥ur historical connection with Britain ebbs and flows with anger at certain periods and closeness at others,鈥� says Elisabeth Cawthon, an associate professor of history at The University of Texas at Arlington.
鈥淲e are just at the tail end of a very close connection we have had since World War II,鈥� she says. Many American soldiers came back from operations in Britain with stories of kind treatment, hospitality, and warmth, says Professor Cawthon.
鈥淭his has a lot to do with what grandpa told us as children growing up, about the common bond 鈥� the common threat from Nazis 鈥� and the mutual purpose to defeat the tyranny that threatened the entire globe,鈥� she says.
Their irrelevance
The royal family has no actual relevance to Americans, leaving us completely free to cheer or look down our noses, says Chad Martin, assistant professor of history at the University of Indianapolis. We would object vehemently if Obama were spending this kind of public money on his daughter's wedding, he says, but since it's the Brits, it gets a 鈥渨hatever.鈥�
Also, England's role in the world is diminished, he notes. For a time during the 1930s, some worried about England鈥檚 power to injure us economically, because of its hold over its empire, he says. 鈥淏ut now, Britain is not all that threatening. Their reduced status makes it safe to really like them.鈥�
British theatricality
鈥淭hey are better than anyone in the world at presenting ceremonies so as to draw in audiences of all ages 鈥� to make them grand and accessible,鈥� says Cawthon. The British royals are not so removed as to be inaccessible like Japan, or as commonplace as royals in Scandinavia.
鈥淭he Brits have established that perfect balance where you can see them but not quite touch them,鈥� says Cawthon. 鈥淵ou can aspire to be one of them, but never quite be one.鈥�
Growing interest in heritage
鈥淎mericans are an invented people, the mutts of the world,鈥� says Professor Martin.
鈥淭here is this growing fascination in tracing history back to the old country, and for many, that means England," he says. "It鈥檚 a nostalgia for a past we never really had.鈥�
