Kelley Mathews
It’s a boy!” Great Britain and Anglophiles the world over rejoiced at the newest royal baby born this week. William and Kate welcomed their third child, and my children delighted to learn they had a new cousin.
Fifteenth cousin, but who’s counting?
It’s true, my children claim Queen Elizabeth as a distant cousin through her mother’s family (and my husband’s). My recent research into genealogy revealed that fun nugget of information, much to the delight of the entire Mathews clan. As an obsessed Princess Diana devotee in my childhood, I found it amusing and gratifying to discover I’d married into the family, so to speak. The relationship, distant (meaningless?) as it is, offers me valid cover for my continued interest in her children and the royals in general.
The extra attention the world pays to Britain’s royal family often aggravates the non-interested population. They aren’t really any different than us, except for their wealth and titles, the argument goes. And to some extent, that’s true. But as ruler and heirs of a kingdom dating back over a thousand years, this family stands apart from the crowd in Western culture. For better or worse, they enjoy special significance solely because of their heritage.
I find several parallels between the Windsor and the Mathews families:
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