In ITV’s Meridian News, presented by Fred Dinenage and Sanjeeta Bhabra, several six to seven-year-old children were interviewed for their views on the soon-to-be-wed Royal couple, Prince William and Kate Middleton. Dinenage made his way to Middle Street Primary School in Brighton to talk to the youngsters face-to-face. The girls were distinctly more interested in the wedding and more admiring of the bride than the boys.
Unsurprisingly, given the intense level of publicity, all the children immediately recognized both Prince William and Kate Middleton from a photograph, but asked what it actually meant to them, one little boy said “It means I’ll get a day off school.” Was he interested in what was happening? For a moment, he looked a little puzzled to be asked such a daft question. “Not really,” he replied, shrugging.
Children on Beauty and the Importance of Money
A boy and girl responded differently to Dinenage’s question, “Do you think Kate Middleton is very beautiful?” “Yes,” said the girl, but “No,” said the boy. Another child made the slightly non-PC observation, “She’s normal, he’s royal.” Asked how he could tell the difference, he explained that Prince William was wearing “fancier stuff.”
A little girl pointed out that when the Queen died, Wills and Kate would become King and Queen. “It’ll be, like, new money,” she remarked knowingly. It sounded as though she had been “earwigging” on grown-up conversations!
How to Find a Princess in One Easy Lesson
Dinenage was interested to know how the children thought the young couple might have met and fallen in love. One little boy was quite clear about royal protocol for finding eligible princesses. “The mum or the dad forces the Prince to go and look for a Princess,” he said. Then he explained that the Prince would have gone to the top of his tower and looked out of the window over the streets to find a suitable Princess before inviting her in.
Prince William and Kate Middleton actually met at Scotland’s oldest university (founded in 1413) the University of St. Andrew’s.
The Royal Wedding – Good for the British Economy
“I think they look really good together,” said one little boy. A girl sensibly pointed out that the Royal Wedding was good for the British economy, as it would "bring lots of tourists to our country."
Source:
“Children and The Royals” Meridian 6 O’Clock News, ITV1, 26 April 2011.
Janet Cameron - MA. Cert.Ed. is a retired university lecturer and author of twelve books, women's short fiction and a magazine column.
Join the Conversation