I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. – Romans 12:1, 2, 9-18
What a precious event that was to witness. As you may have heard from the last post, Jolene and I were indeed up long before first light to watch Prince William of Wales marry Kate Middleton (now bearing the title Duke and Duchess of Cambridge). I am so glad that I woke up to see that. After I placed the tiara on my head and got a little caffeine in my system, I was ready to go. You can check out everything that Jolene and I had to say about the arrivals and the ceremony here. (Warning: Toward the end of the ceremony and during the kiss on the balcony we got a wee bit distracted. Listen at your own risk — of boredom.)
I must correct something that I said on the podcast though. I mentioned that I was 25th cousins to William. Turns out I was wrong and after a little bit of research yesterday I got (some of) my facts straight. Turns out I (and all my cousins second cousins on the Walters side of the family) am 15th cousins to the Duchess of Cambridge, which I had no clue about until two days ago. Now, William proves a little bit trickier, as I haven’t counted back the generations yet, but I know that I am at least 15th cousins with him — likely closer than that, however. It’s through his mother, Princess Diana’s side of the family.
It’s like a mini-episode of Who Do You Think You Are? (I’ll be returning to the “Climbing My Family Tree” series soon)!
- My Anglophilia board on Pinterest has seen a lot of activity over the past few days. I can’t. help. myself.
- The lovely Jen has two different posts about the wedding that are both worth your time.
- George Michael even got in on the festivities and recorded Stevie Wonder’s “You and I” as a gift. A gift that’s free for you!
- And as it turns out, Jack was there. Boy knows people in high places, apparently.
- One of the songs they danced to at their reception – “Your Song” covered by Ellie Goulding
- Leave it to the Friar to hit the nail on the head. – “The only subject that came close to people noting, commenting on and so forth about this wedding were all of the people who firmly and with great dripping disdain declared their passionate disinterest in the entire affair, a disinterest so monumental it had to be explicitly shared with us all, lest its absence suggest to someone the hideous possibility that the authors might actually be interested in this entirely uninteresting affair.”
- Michelle had a shindig all her own to celebrate. Seriously, this is awesome!
- Radmegan made hats. That’s some killer craftiness.
I can’t explain why I have enjoyed this so much, or why I shed tears watching her walk down the aisle and hearing them exchange vows with a look of love in their eyes that is so rarely present these days. It was something unmistakable.
Maybe it’s because I thought I was going to marry him when I was 12. Maybe it’s that part of me that’s always been drawn to their culture. Or maybe…part of the wonder that leaves me reveling at the sight of it all is because a wedding, any wedding, is a glimpse of what is to come. Our blessed hope. And seeing those throngs of people waiting to see the couple, celebrating the joining together of the two, is a reminder of how it’s meant to be.
Prince William and Catherine Middleton’s prayer on their wedding day:
God our Father, we thank you for our families; for the love that we share and for the joy of our marriage.
In the busyness of each day keep our eyes fixed on what is real and important in life and help us to be generous with our time and love and energy.
Strengthened by our union help us to serve and comfort those who suffer. We ask this in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Amen.
Oklahoma girl through-and-through. Writer, aspiring domestic goddess and totalitarian dictator. Taking on the world one carb-induced coma at a time. Co-host of Picture Shows & Petticoats. 
I have been revisiting the wedding all weekend. It made me think about my own, coming up on 9 years ago.
So, how do you find out about your connections to these two? I mean I know about digging around on Ancestry and other websites, but have you been able to find someone who’s already done all the work? I had a few lines like that but certainly never found anyone that I was famous to! Then again I don’t usually branch out from the main line of the family and I also have dedicated that much time to it in recent years. So, there’s something in that! LOL
Anyway, Harry’s still available but I guess the conundrum is that we aren’t!
FACT: I attempted to transfer to St. Andrew’s in 2005. I was a silly, silly girl. Still am, honestly
The way I found out all this stuff was plain dumb luck. Yes, all the work had already been done and I just stumbled upon it. It wasn’t until late high school that I found some things that made me wonder and even then I don’t think I dug deep until college. I just think that in my heart I always knew I was related to these people
Funny story, actually. I remember being 13 and going to town with my grandparents for the state basketball tournament in OKC. Granny had taken me to a book store and I picked up a small biography on William. Late that evening on the way home, I read his family tree by the light of the Golden Arches (Paw Paw had to make a stop for a sundae). I distinctly remember saying to Granny, “Wouldn’t it be cool it we were related to them?”
“Not if you want to marry him,” she said. I realized my flub and at the time didn’t know that being related is kind of an “in” if you will. Haha!
FYI – here is my line back to William the Conqueror. It goes much further than that, but there are some debatable ancient lineage things that some people either a) haven’t done enough research to be sure about or b) others won’t believe at all because it gets back into, you guessed it, the Bible. Once I got past my relatives who just lived Normal lives in Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas and just a few generations to some of the first settlers in Virginia, the rest was a piece of cake.
Elizabeth Michelle Johnson Crumpler (1984- )
Timothy Arnold Johnson (1961- )
Jessie Wynema Walters Johnson (1941- )
James Franklin Walters (1908-1990)
Sarah Ann Dandridge (1892-1918)
William Washington Dandridge (1855-1917) m. Sarah Ralls
Robert Holmes Dandridge (1832-1862) — Margaret Ann Johnson
Robert Holmes Dandridge (1806-?) — Elizabeth G. Russell
Richard Allen Dandridge (1784-1846) b.15_Jun_1784, Hanover VA — d.ca.1846, Lawrence AL — Frances “Fanny” Anderson
Robert Ambler Dandridge (1760-1799) MARRIED Mildred Aylett ALLEN
Nathaniel West Dandridge (1729-1786)
Unity West (1703?-1753) — m. Col. William Dandridge
Capt. Nathaniel West (1665-1723)
John West (1632-1689) b. York, Virginia
John West, Gov. of Virginia (1590-1659) b. Hampshire, England
Anne Knollys (1553?-1608) b. Berkshire, England
Mary (Catherine) Cary, Chief Lady of the Bedchamber to Anne of Cleves (1518?-1568) ———- This is my connection to Kate; she is our 14-great-grandmother
Mary Boleyn (1498-1536) – sister of Anne Boleyn, mistress of King Henry VIII
Thomas Boleyn (1477-1539)
William Boleyn (1451-1505)
Anne Hoo (1410-1484)
Elizabeth De Echyngham (1394-?)
Joan Fitzalan (1360?-1404)
John Fitzalan (1349?-1379)
Eleanor Plantagenet (1311-1372)
Henry Plantagenet (1281-1345)
Edmund Plantagenet (1244?-1296)
Henry Plantagenet (1206-1272)
John (Lackland) Plantagenet (1166-1216)
Eleanor de Aquitaine (1123-1204)
William X de Aquitaine (1099-1137)
William IX de Aquitaine (1071-1125?)
William, the Conquerer(1026-1086)
Also — The Wedding…good grief. I’ve just been googly eyed over it all weekend. So beautiful. I can’t get over it and how they look like they’re actually in love.
I LOVED her dress. It was simple, but not quite as modern as I thought she’d go. It really looks like the one I’d planned on getting for a long time…
Seriously, that was THE ONE until we decided a fall wedding would not work for us. It’s an older (2004 or 2005) Priscilla of Boston gown and the magazine cutout hung on my fridge for 4 years. Sigh.
Oh my GOD!! Elizabeth, you are my new best friend! This was my dream dress too! I couldn’t afford it, but I pined for it like crazy. I ended up getting a dress from David’s Bridal that had a lace jacket, as a substitute. I’ve been looking for a picture of it, because I lost mine when we moved. This just made my week!
Wow!! This is awesome!! I’ve not searched that far back in my family and now it makes me want to. And…that dress is beautiful!
It’s so much fun and there are so many stories to discover!
Isn’t it though? I love it.
Wow, my first time commenting and i find that i’m among royalty – who knew – lol. Actually just paying you a visit to say thanks for being a great example for others – a Godly example and the real royalty that comes from being heirs with Christ. Thanks sister and bless you.
Is that dress still available online to buy (the 2005 bridal lace gown from Priscilla of Boston)?
No idea
It’s a pretty old style (2005 was my estimate) so it’s doubtful that it is still in their boutiques, however, many designers will work with you. My suggestion would be to contact a Priscilla of Boston location (actual location, not just any retailer who carries the line) and ask if there is any way you can get the dress. My wedding dress (a San Patrick) was a much older design that I just happened to find in a boutique. I needed a different size and San Patrick made it for me even though the style was a few years old. Best of luck!