by Jerramy Fine
Q: Does the Queen pay taxes?
A: Yes, since 1992, the Queen has paid 42 percent income tax and capital gains tax just as any high-earning UK taxpayer is required to do.
Q: If Parliament runs the country, what does the Queen actually do?
A : The UK is a constitutional monarchy. This means that while the Queen is “Head of State” she does not directly rule the country; rather she symbolically appoints the government, which the people of the United Kingdom have democratically elected. Publically, the Queen must remain strictly neutral when it comes to political matters, and she is not able to vote. However, the Queen has hugely important ceremonial roles within the government and retains the right to meet with the prime minister on a regular basis. (In the course of her reign, the present Queen has privately counseled thirteen prime ministers in total.) While the Queen can privately advise, warn, or encourage the prime minister, she cannot make or pass legislation.
Like the American President, the Queen is Head of the Armed Forces. (She also happens to be the wife, mother, and grandmother of those who have served or are currently serving in the Armed Forces. Not all American presidents can say that!) The Queen is also the only person who can formally declare war and peace.
Ultimately, the Queen provides a focus for British national identity, unity, and pride and gives the country a sense of stability and continuity. There is actually a massive (albeit unconscious) comfort that comes with having one easily recognized family dynasty. Even Americans instinctively veer toward familiar dynasties when choosing their leaders. Think about it: the Adamses, the Roosevelts, the Kennedys—and even quite recently, with the Bushes and the Clintons, for a while it seemed that we couldn’t think beyond more than two families when it came to selecting our president! The Brits never have this problem. Their beloved Queen is always there in the background—which means they usually vote for politicians based on merit, rather than a familiar family name.
Q: Why are Roman Catholics excluded from the line of succession?
A: When he decided to divorce Catherine of Aragon in 1534, King Henry VIII broke all ties with Rome and pronounced himself Head of the Church of England.7 As a result, every sovereign since Queen Elizabeth I has held the title “Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England”—which means all those in the line of succession must be Protestants. However, Prince Charles has made it clear that when he becomes king he will take the title “Defender of Faith” instead of “Defender of the Faith” in order to formally promote tolerance and understanding of all other faiths and religions. (Go, Charles!) The Act of Settlement was amended in 2012 so that heirs to the throne could marry Catholics, but the ban on Catholics becoming sovereign remains in place.
Q: Why did King Edward VIII have to give up the throne in order to marry American socialite Wallis Simpson?
A: The Royal Marriages Act of 1772 requires members of the Royal Family to obtain permission from the sovereign in order to marry. It was common knowledge that Prince Edward’s father, King George V, did not approve of Wallis as a match for Edward and repeatedly refused to meet her. This had nothing to do with the fact that Wallis was American; it had to do with the fact she was twice divorced—a concept that was considered incredibly scandalous at the time. Furthermore, if Edward married Wallis he would be her third husband—even more scandalous! Upon the death of King George V in 1936, the UK government strongly advised Edward not to marry Wallis, warning him that he would risk upsetting not only the country but the entire Commonwealth. Rather than cause a constitutional crisis, Edward chose to abdicate because, as he told the nation, “I have found it impossible…to discharge my duties as king…without the help and support of the woman I love.”
Nearly seventy years later, Queen Elizabeth II gave her permission for Prince Charles to marry divorcée Camilla Parker Bowles, which goes to show just how much times have changed. If Wallis had been around today, England could very well have had an American Queen…
RECOMMENDED READING:
Debrett’s Correct Form
Indispensable guidance on the notoriously complex system of British titles and forms of address.
Debrett’s Peerage and Baronetage
Contains the genealogical details of every British duke, marquess, viscount, earl, baron, and baronet, together with all the living members of their families in the male line. (A great place to search for possible titled husbands.)
The Court Circular
The authoritative record of official duties undertaken by senior members of the Royal Family. An account of the previous day’s royal engagements is printed daily in the Times, the Telegraph, and the Scotsman and is also available online. Details include places visited in the UK and overseas, duties undertaken, royal audiences, meetings held, ceremonies attended, and official royal appointments. www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/CourtCircular/Todaysevents.aspx
1 Originally, the French word “etiquette” referred to the set of instructions that dictated how to behave properly at Court, which was rather apt in these circumstances!
2 The royal Court of St. James’s is considered to sit wherever the British monarch happens to be.
3 Pronounced mar-kwiss.
4 The s is not pronounced in viscount. It should rhyme with my count, not discount.
5 Many agree that primogeniture was sexist, discriminatory, and outdated; nonetheless, it has produced some of the most successful and longest reigning female monarchs in history, including Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria, and Queen Elizabeth II herself.
6 Pronounced marshoness.
7 Read The Other Boleyn Girl (the book by Philippa Gregory, not the movie!) for the full sex-infused royal drama that led to the creation of the Church of England.
FIVE
HOW TO CATCH AN ENGLISHMAN
(With or Without a Title)
He had one of those English faces That always were and will always be Found in the cream of English places
—FROM THE WHITE CLIFFS BY ALICE DUER MILLER
All any girl needs to do is look at Hollywood to see how devastatingly attractive British boys can be. (Come on, don’t deny that visions of Robert Pattinson, Jim Sturgess, Henry Cavill, Orlando Bloom, Jude Law, Colin Firth, Matthew McFadyen, Eddie Redmayne, Damian Lewis, Nicholas Hoult, Andrew Garfield, Toby Hemmingway, Max Irons, Sam Claflin, Jamie Bell, Christian Bale, Paul Bettany, Joseph Fiennes, Ralph Fiennes, Cillian Murphy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rufus Sewell, Jack Davenport, Jack Huston, Daniel Craig, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Rupert Everett, Rupert Friend, and Hugh Dancy and/or Hugh Grant haven’t danced in your head at least once, if not a million times.)
Who cares if they’re all named Jack, Daniel, Rupert, or Hugh? Have you heard their accents? Have you seen their cheekbones? Enough said.
Your Crush Is Nothing New
Marrying American girls…was something an Englishman had to reckon with, like the railway, the telegraph, the discovery of dynamite…it was one of the complications of modern life.
—HENRY JAMES
American girls lusting after British men is nothing new—Anglophile crushes like yours and mine have been going on for well over a century.
During the Gilded Age (1870–1890), America was blessed with a period of rapid economic growth—industries were thriving, new money was flooding in from all directions, and new American heiresses were popping up all over the place. Even so, the snobby old-money families of Manhattan were not happy with this sudden influx of nouveau riche girls flirting with their sons, and as a result, many ballroom doors were slammed in these girls’ faces. But these wealthy young women were not daunted. They’d heard that English society was much easier to crack than New York society, so they simply packed up their best ball gowns and sailed off to London—more than ready to continue their husband hunt on the other side of the pond.
These American girls took London by storm. Just like today, they were better dressed and better groomed than their English counterparts—and they loved to
shop. (It was not uncommon for American girls to order at least ninety dresses per season!) Many members of the English aristocracy were shocked by this conspicuous display of American beauty; scandalized by the girls’ free-spirited natures, easygoing manners, and “modern” worldviews (not to mention a bit shaken up by the fact that American girls dared to wear diamonds in the daytime)—but luckily, their eligible British sons didn’t seem to mind. In fact, the Englishmen loved it.
For both parties, it was a match made in heaven. The American girls had good looks and big bucks; the British boys had debts, but they also had titles. Everyone was happy. The American girl got her castle—and with her dowry, the British boy could finally afford to keep it standing.
The phenomenon of American women pursuing upper-class English husbands was popularly immortalized in the novels of Henry James and Edith Wharton (both of whom you should read). And by 1936, Americans had managed to completely infiltrate the heart of London’s social elite—the young Prince of Wales was constantly found in their carefree, extravagant company— and eventually fell in love with one himself—ultimately forsaking the throne for her! (See “American Beauty,” page 79.)
The Prince of Wales’s infamous paramour was the American Wallis Simpson. Personally, I love how the immaculately dressed Wallis used to host lavish London luncheons where she proudly served American club sandwiches and beer—and how the aristocratic Brits found this unassuming quirkiness to be utterly, utterly charming. Still, Wallis and her plucky American pals managed to alarm the stuffier members of the Court (which was most of them).
Aside from the indomitable Wallis, the most famous American women married to British noblemen are Jennie Jerome, the mother of Sir Winston Churchill, and Consuelo Vanderbilt (second cousin to mother of reporter Anderson Cooper, Gloria Vanderbilt), who married the Duke of Marlborough.
Even our beloved Princess Diana had an American great-grandmother—one Frances Ellen Work. Frances married The Hon. James Roche, who later became the 3rd Baron Fermoy. Their son Edmund married Diana’s grandmother Ruth Gill, whose daughter Frances went on to marry the 8th Earl Spencer, Diana’s father. So basically if it wasn’t for a feisty American girl named Frances, who crossed the pond in search of an English husband, Prince William and Prince Harry wouldn’t be here. (Dear Kate, you’re welcome.)
But a hundred years ago, an American girl often paid a high price for her swanky aristocratic title. Many found themselves living in huge, crumbling castles deep in the English countryside, with no heating apart from open fires and, even worse, no running water. Luckily, English stately homes have improved a bit since then1— so don’t let that deter you from your transatlantic objective.
And one more thing—please don’t let a lack of massive family inheritance stop you from going after your man. In the wise words of one Dowager Duchess of Roxburghe, let us remember that “money isn’t everything to an Englishman. There are other considerations when he marries; for instance, fondness for the girl.”
Indeed.
That said, don’t let anyone accuse you of gold-digging. You’re a big girl. No one needs to tell you that palaces and jewels can come and go, and that most aristocratic families are not nearly as wealthy as they seem (many have had to sell off their houses, their furniture, and their art collections—and have essentially lost everything but their titles). I know that, like all girls with a fairy-tale dream, your driving force isn’t money—it’s love!
In this day and age (especially if you call yourself a feminist), it can be hard to admit that you believe in the old-fashioned fairy-tale dream of true love. Modern women aren’t supposed to want that. We’re not supposed to want to fall in love with a prince or duke. It’s much trendier, much more “progressive” for twenty-first-century women to pretend we don’t have these dreams. But I’m afraid that doesn’t make them go away.
In reality, setting your sights on finding “a prince” (real or conceptual) is actually making a very strong statement about your own self-worth. You know you deserve the best and see no reason why you shouldn’t aim for the stars.
I get that. You get that. (And you better believe that one Frances Ellen Work gets that.) Who cares if no one else does?
So now that you’re happily living and working in London—and know exactly what to wear, what to do, and what to say in the company of polite society (as well as what not to)—it is time to stop swooning and go after the Englishman of your dreams. If those fearless American girls could do it all those years ago, then you can certainly do it today.
So let’s start with the Holy Grail:
HRH Prince Henry (Harry) of Wales
I admit it. I’ll admit it to you and I’ll admit it to anyone who asks: I once harbored a sincere desire to be a princess. But to achieve this career goal, I had to marry a prince, and since my country was (and is) severely lacking in this department, right after college I moved to England and commenced my search. The royal marriage didn’t work out, but I ended up writing a rather amusing memoir about crossing the ocean to pursue this quirky childhood dream. And since its publication, lots of people have pronounced me certifiably insane. I expected that. But something else happened that I did not expect. I have been overwhelmed with letters and emails from young women all around the world who also want to be a princess (or marry an English aristocrat)—and who, until they read my book, thought they were the only ones in the entire universe who felt that way.
A lot of the girls who write to me have their hearts set on Prince Har-ry—and who can blame them? He’s hot. Not to mention that third2 in line to the British throne is nothing to sniff at. Harry may never inherit a kingdom, but without all that responsibility, he is able (and clearly willing) to have a lot more fun. William has a huge sense of duty, but Harry has this incredible, laid-back magnetism and that super-sexy mischievous grin. And when it comes to love, something tells me this rowdy redhead has plans to ditch tradition and follow his heart. Royal or no royal, what right-minded girl wouldn’t go after him?
Many accuse these “Harry Hunting” girls of being stalkers, gold-diggers, or just plain delusional. But I’ve met a lot of them and they are nothing of the sort. They are normal American girls who just happen to have big fairy-tale dreams. Most are in London on college exchange programs and find England, with its plethora of palaces and its living, breathing Royal Family, to be absolutely magical. They go to nightclubs like any student would; they attend quintessentially English events like polo and rugby, just like anyone enjoying the UK for the first time might do. And yes, like all single girls in the capital, they keep their eyes open for their personal prince charming. My advice to them is this: Godspeed.
If you believe in your heart that you are worthy of a prince, then don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Harry Hunting
Only a few years ago, Prince William was indisputably the world’s favorite royal heartthrob. I’ll never forget the photo taken during his first year at St. Andrews: His navy sweater hung perfectly off his swimmer’s physique, his cheeks had color, his head had hair, and he looked breathtakingly handsome. (If I’d only been but five years younger!)
Yet in recent years, I’m afraid William’s premature baldness and knockout wife have removed him from the most eligible prince position. No one is quite sure when it happened, but young Harry surprised us all when he suddenly emerged as the hottest prince in the land. (Here’s to you, Harry. We didn’t see it coming.)
Looking at Harry, it’s hard not to think of his legendary mother—Diana, Princess of Wales—and as the years go by, it’s clear that Harry has inherited her caring, empathetic nature. Harry has often declared his determination to honor his mother’s memory by embracing charity work that helps the disadvantaged: “I want to carry on the things she didn’t quite finish,” he says. (Have you gone weak at the knees yet?)
When not dispatched on a courageous military mission, our handsome soldier is most likely to be found playing polo and clubbing till dawn, but if you are
serious about winning his heart, you might want to get involved with one of his charities. Maybe throw a charity fund-raiser and invite him? Crazier things have happened.
PRINCE HARRY’S CHARITIES:
Sentebale: The Princes’ Fund for Lesotho. Founded by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in response to the plight of Lesotho’s AIDS orphans and vulnerable children. www.sentebale.org
Walking with the Wounded. Funds further education for seriously injured Armed Forces personnel, helping them rebuild their lives and return to a work. Harry is a patron and recently joined a team of disabled servicemen as they trekked through the Arctic in aide of this charity. http://walkingwiththewounded.org.uk
WellChild. Helps sick children and their families across the UK. Prince Harry is a patron and can often be seen chatting and joking with the children. www.wellchild.org.uk
MapAction. Creates maps during natural disasters to highlight where medical attention is most needed. Prince Harry is a patron and is looking forward to training with them. www.mapaction.org/about.html
Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund. Aims to lift Ugandan children out of poverty through education. (Henry van Straubenzee, a schoolmate and close friend of Prince Harry, was killed in a car crash in 2002.) Princes William and Harry are joint patrons. www.henryvanstraubenzeemf.org.uk
