The Princess Bride

On July 29, 1981, I sat glued to the TV as a pretty young Lady--who was only eight years older than myself at the time--became a real and true Princess. The Cathedral, horse-drawn carriage, poufy ivory gown, miles-long train, glittering jewels: it was all so magical...and I was an impressionable 12-year-old girl who was utterly sucked in by the incredible romance and pageantry of it all.

My fascination was harmless (though witnessing such a fairy-tale wedding can set a girl up for disappointment later in life, but that's another story); however, now there's another Princess-in-the-Making, and I'm concerned how all the hoopla is going to affect our young girls. Because when it comes to princesses, things are really different nowadays.

Back in the early 80's, princesses didn't really have any special status in the eyes of a young girl. Princesses, princes, queens, kings: they were all just characters you pretended to be while playing with your friends.

Fast-forward to 2010, and the CULT OF THE PRINCESS threatens to brainwash all our little, well, princesses.

Starting at an incredibly early age, girls are bombarded with everything Ariel, Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Jasmine, and Tiana (sorry, Pocahantas and Mulan, you don't seem to have made the cut). My daughter was able to say "Ariel," "Snow White," and "Belle" before she could say her own name. She dressed up as Snow White for Halloween and now she wants to wear the costume every single day. She's happiest when she's in that dress.

I can completely understand it: the sparkly dresses (each Princess with her own signature color), the flowing hair, the beautiful faces--it's mesmerizing. Of course little girls get sucked in.

So what happens when hundreds of thousands of girls who were raised on a steady diet of princesses are further bombarded with the impossibly romantic love story of William and Kate? My own little princess is too young to be affected by it all, but I'm sure there are countless eight or ten year olds who will be eagerly devouring every last detail about the Royal Engagement, Royal Wedding Gown, Royal Ceremony, and Royal Honeymoon.

Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily. But I don't think anyone can argue that it's a good thing or an educational thing or a healthy-for-a-normal-girl's-self-esteem thing. Because although media outlets are making a lot out of the fact that Kate Middleton is a "commoner," there's no way some girl from New Jersey or Kansas or even Bourton-on-the-Water, U.K. is going to grow up and marry a prince.

And I know that come April 30, 2011 (the day after the Big Day) there's going to be a huge, collective sigh from the thousands of girls who have just decided that their own lives are terribly and horribly normal and boring. Because that's how I felt watching Diana and Charles walk down the aisle almost 30 years ago.

It's just too much emphasis on the wrong things, and I wish the media would lay off. That's not going to happen, of course, so all I can do is patiently wait until the hoopla's over.

And hope that Prince Harry doesn't get engaged anytime soon.