Précis 7

The Real Royals Say ‘I Do’ by Roger Cohen

 

The article 

 

It is all about contradictions. There's Queen Elizabeth who, unlike newspaper columnists, never expresses a public opinion on anything. At the time when even the royals are busy on social networks, she is silent and mysterious. And it makes her popular.

Then, there is the royal wedding and a republican journalist trying very hard not to write about it, yet finally yielding, for no obvious reason. There is the British society, living at the time of economic crisis yet absolutely thrilled to watch the grand and costly affair wedding of a millionaire's daughter and the future king. Bread and circuses? Circuses mostly, for class-conscious Britain and, surprisingly enough, also for classless America.

Is it a Cindrella story about a commoner marrying a prince? In fact, this remarkably classy and already iconic girl is nothing of this kind. They are peers. Both educated, rich and seeming very much down-to-earth, which is far more than can be said for some scandal-prone members of the royal family. And which is probably why the Brits are so enchanted with them and want William to succeed the Queen directly.

It is not going to happen, though. The Queen is still here, the monarch who has known 12 Prime Ministers from Churchill on. Unlike newspaper columnist, really aware of what is going on. Ever-present, like Westminster Abbey which witnesses big royal affairs from the 12^th century onwards. Continuity – the genius of Britain. It can make even a republican write about monarchy.



Vocabulary:

1. strand (n, countable)- one of the parts of something that is very complicated: All the strands of the story's plot are woven together in the final chapter.; The police are slowly putting the strands of evidence together.
2. to amble (v) - to walk slowly in a free and relaxed way: We ambled along as we talked.; We spent the day ambling through the park. Noun: ambler
3. bunting (n, unconutable) - flags or decorations that are made of thin cloth or paper: The city decorated its streets and buildings with bunting.
4. to buckle (v) - to bend or collapse from pressure, heat, etc.: The pavement buckled in the heat.; I suddenly felt dizzy and my knees/legs buckled. [=my knees bent and I began to fall down] — often used figuratively: He finally buckled under the pressure/strain of his job.
5. whimsy (n, uncountable): a playful or amusing quality - a sense of humor or playfulness: The designer's new line showed a touch of whimsy.; a bit of decorative whimsy
6. sprawling (adj) - spreading or developed in an uneven or uncontrolled way: a sprawling city; It was hard to follow the sprawling plot of the novel.
7. sediment (n) - material that sinks to the bottom of a liquid: There was a layer of sediment in the bottom of the tank.
8. straitened (adj, formal, always used before a noun) - not having enough money, having less money than before: They live in straitened circumstances.
9. toff (n, countable, BrE, informal + disapproving): a person who belongs to a high social class: He was an Eton-educated toff.
10. vociferous (adj) - expressing feelings or opinions in a very loud or forceful way, expressed in a very loud or forceful way: He is her most vociferous critic/opponent.; He was vociferous in his support of the proposal.; The decision was made over their vociferous objections.
11. dyspeptic (adj, formal + old-fashioned) - having a bad temper: a dyspeptic old man