Emma Soames Probably like millions of Britons I have fallen victim to some mixed emotions about the forthcoming marriage of Prince William to Catherine Middleton.
On the one hand I am delighted that he is marrying a middle-class girl who has endured some of the problems of real life. She appears to be loyal, discreet and happy to make it her job to support him. There has been criticism of her for not working, but actually, in this unique marriage, it will be a positive advantage to be a wife who will not be fretting or losing her self-esteem over an abandoned career.
However, the feeding frenzy of media coverage of the event makes me want to move to a desert island – my apologies for adding to it.
But I take my hat off to them, and to Prince William in particular, because he didn’t give in to what must have been almost unbearable pressure to make an honest woman of his girlfriend before he was good and ready.
In enjoying a relationship for eight years before marrying, Prince William and Catherine typify the way in which young couples now approach the altar. This school of courtship sees young lovebirds spending years together before walking up the aisle. They take the prospect of marriage much more seriously than many of our generation whose subsequent record in the divorce courts is world-beating.
Some young couples even live through the seven-year itch and split up perhaps several times before finally committing to marriage. And why is this? I suspect they have looked at their parents’ marriages and decided that they would rather risk losing a relationship in which they have much invested rather than make the same mistakes.
As I write, the employment tribunal which is deciding whether the BBC was ageist in firing Miriam O’Reilly from Countryfile is continuing and the BBC has had a very well-deserved mauling for its attitude to older women. I hope this episode will lead to genuine change, rather than just the measly words the Beeb has served up so far when under attack.
The Corporation undoubtedly operates a double standard in relation to male and female presenters. To survive the watershed of their 50s, women must be super-intelligent and versatile, while older men sail on, distinguishedly greying around the temples, whether they are clever and versatile or not.
Miriam O’Reilly certainly didn’t possess the big bag of tricks that the few women survivors such as Anne Robinson possess. But Bruce Forsyth, with his fadingly funny box of jokes, continued to present Strictly Come Dancing, and John Craven still appears on Countryfile after its famous relaunch. Of course the BBC must preserve the right to hire and fire its editorial teams, but this should not be done with an innate prejudice that has got right into the water supply down at Shepherd’s Bush.
If the BBC believes that audiences don’t appreciate older women on screen, how does it account for the survival of Ann Widdecombe in Strictly Come Dancing? It was only audience appeal that saved her for so long as millions of people bothered to vote for her week after week.
Unlike broadcasters, I don’t believe that most viewers are ageist. In the past the Beeb has changed its policies towards women behind the camera and ethnic minorities on television. Now it needs to look closely at its attitudes towards older women on the screen and make some real changes rather than just paying lip-service to an opportunity it persists in viewing as a problem.
Kurt Geiger, the shoe retailer, has said that sales of its highest heels have quadrupled this winter as more women are prepared to suffer for their beauty. I know just why they do this. There is no underwear in the world that can match the transformational effect of heels on the body. That and the influence of high-heelers like Lady Gaga and Kylie Minogue has made the killer heel the biggest fashion statement of the year.
But I declare myself beaten. Five years ago I discovered the pleasure of wearing flats andI have rarely been out of them since. There was a giddy moment this summer when it looked as if the kitten heel was making a comeback. Tragically this came to nothing and now it’s an eight-inch heel or you’re nobody.