WANDA'S WORLD

As I prepare to write yet another very entertaining column (or so I like to think), I see on the television quite a bit of coverage of a special event.
Today is the birthday of the future King of England; Prince William is turning 18. Today is also my son's birthday - he's 19 and just thinks he's a Prince.
Since my son is a year older than William, I like to think my family set the standard for the Royal Family to follow. We're not so different you know, not really.
Every parent thinks their child is a little Prince or Princess. In fact, I was so cute when I was little that my mother nicknamed me “Duchess.” At least I think it's because I was so cute. Other members of my family talk about me being a “royal” pain even at age 4. Personally, I think they were just jealous of my commanding poise.
Anyway - back to what my family has in common with the Royal Family.
What immediately comes to mind for me is the Queen. Queen Elizabeth is definitely the one in charge. Her husband just has “royal duties.” I like to think that pretty much describes my household. I like to make decrees and I think my husband should carry out the duties.
Naturally, this doesn't always work, and sometimes leads to an uprising of the commoners in our castle. But, of course, being the good Queen Wanda, I quite often make concessions to keep the peace.
England's Prince William is a soccer player from what I see on TV. My little Prince Junior was a soccer player once too. However, their styles are quite a bit different.
I see Prince William running up and down the field at breakneck speed, maneuvering the ball quite deftly with both feet. My own little Prince played soccer one summer when he was about 7. He was easy to spot on the field, because he was the only one standing around while the rest of the team ran downfield after the ball. His reasoning was, “I'll be ready when they run back this way.”
Prince William wants to spend his birthday surrounded by friends, enjoying music and dancing. So tell me something I don't know about a teenage boy. The only difference is my son can do that without the media covering the event, unless you count me running around snapping pictures with my instamatic.
I hear that Prince William wants what the Brits call a “motorbike” for his birthday. Unfortunately he is only able to ride it around his backyard, which in his case means miles and miles of the royal estate owned by his father, also a Prince.
My Prince has the use of his own car this summer and, unlike William, he gets to drive it wherever he wants to (or so he thinks - I'm considering issuing a royal decree about that too).
Since Prince William will be celebrating his birthday today there is no doubt the imperial chef is cooking up something appropriate for his Royal Teen-ness.
My Prince will also have someone else cooking his birthday dinner. We're going out to eat. After all, you couldn't expect a former Duchess like me to dirty my hands in a common kitchen!