The Internet is abuzz with the important news: The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting!
Okay, so maybe it’s not that important. But it’s news that just about every woman under 35 will talk about at some point today, and that makes it worth noting.
In an era where the authors of blogs celebrating unwed motherhood are doling out mommy advice and when the majority of births to women under 30 now occur outside of marriage, the duchess’s news, and the celebratory spirit that marks it, is refreshing.
In fact, just about everything about the prince and his bride is refreshing. While it’s true that they dabbled in cohabitation and got engaged on an exotic vacation in which they left the world assuming they were sharing a room, they chose not to buck tradition and marriage, but rather embraced it. Their wedding gave the world a gift: a traditional wedding to anticipate and celebrate.
Their ceremony was reverent, her dress modest. That should count for a lot in today’s wedding culture where cleavage and gaud reign supreme.
The duke and duchess are never caught hitting a Starbucks in sweats, but rather carry themselves with a poise that bespeaks a bygone era. He is gentlemanly in his demeanor. She is ladylike always.
In today’s Downton Abbey–obsessed world, the duke and duchess exemplify in a real way the romance and propriety that make the show sparkle. They are our modern-day Matthew and Mary.
Congratulations to the duke and duchess, on choosing marriage before carriage, and on inspiring the world to think twice before ditching tradition.
— Ashley E. McGuire is a writer and editor in Washington, D.C.