The Princess and President
Why This Photo Got the World Going Crazy
A picture can say 1000 words, this one perhaps even more
Trump, the eternal rascal, dressed in a white suit with a white bow tie, the height of elegance. Princess Kate, one of the last symbols of nobility left in post-Christian, post-modern Europe.
She looks at him ever so slightly from above, with a long gaze, but within it, something amused, tinged with both deep persuasion and playfulness. And he, with a mischievous smile.
And just as there is history between the two nations, there is also history between the two individuals. Back in 2012, Kate was sunbathing and photographed. Trump was not yet a presidential candidate, and he remarked: “Who wouldn’t take Kate’s picture and make lots of money if she does the sunbathing thing. Come on, Kate!”. Now the image of them dressed in the finest clothes, many years later, has stirred the masses. It symbolized something that many in America and Britain longed for: an authentic ability to connect the two nations, each through their own symbols - yet also to connect somehow to the world of mean tweets and royal glam.
The President, and the spirit he embodies.
The Princess, the nobility and grace she embodies.
And of course, the crown facing the blond wave of hair.
Monarchy versus Republic.
The wild man and the tamed lady.
It was a moment capturing the breaking of ice between two nations moving in such opposite directions.
Britain toward a declared decline, America toward a struggle for its very self.
And Trump, the playful warrior, smiling knowingly, while Kate appeared quite enchanted.
So too between the two nations there have been many such moments.
And now everyone understands that mischievous smile that was captured, and that royal gaze behind the noble dress.
In the end, whether billionaires or royalty, presidents or nobility, we are all human.