Being in Great Britain this Christmas, I was finally able to watch the Queen's Christmas Day message... On Christmas Day. Now that might not sound like a big deal to you... But as three o'clock in the afternoon on Christmas Day in the UK is actually two in the morning Boxing Day on the Eastern Coast of Australia, traditionally we'd watch the Queen not "live" but replayed on Boxing Day evening... It's nice, but it just doesn't have the same effect.
It's always been a tradition in my house, to gather around as a family and listen to our Sovereign report on the year that was, and impart her words of wisdom on the year ahead, and offer up hope on all that we can be. I see that it is even more so of a tradition here.
This is the respect we should reserve for our Royal Family. For this is what the Royal Family should be.
To herald the Queen's Christmas Day message, our television screens were awash with a close up of the Royal Standard, flying high and flourishing proudly above Buckingham Palace. This was followed by no less than an orchestra inside the Ballroom, in front of the throne, playing "God Save The Queen".
This is the respect we should reserve for our Royal Family. For this is what the Royal Family should be.
The pomp and grandeur announcing the presence of Her Majesty was not excessive, it was appropriate. We are not just respecting the Queen, but respecting the Crown she wears. For Crown, it's bigger than the person who wears it; it's bigger than a Palace, a flag, an address. The Crown is who we are; it's what we stand for and what we believe. It's something that we ask our soldiers to swear allegiance to, we ask them to protect us in the name of it, we ask them to die defending it.
The Crown is Great Britain, Australia, the Commonwealth, the citizens. And The House of Windsor is the family that has the sacred duty of representing it.
This is the respect we should reserve for our Royal Family. For this is what the Royal Family should be.
It is only appropriate that the Crown is revered and worshiped as a symbol of nationalistic pride. I use the example of one Sunday this June, watching the Queen, lead a thousand boat flotilla in her name down the Thames to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee, with the banks bursting with beaming and cheering faces, all of them brandishing a Union Jack. If only we could celebrate the Crown this way every single day of the year.
This is the respect we should reserve for our Royal Family. For this is what the Royal Family should be.
Why am I talking about this? Because as I look back on 2012, I feel that we are in danger of making our Royals "too common". I wonder, are we in danger of cheapening their standing and place in our National and Commonwealth identity?
Don't we realise that they are a part of who we are? So sure it's fun to laugh, yet think about it... When we embarrass them, we are in fact embarrassing ourselves.
Sure, if I was chief on a News desk when wind of a fresh royal scandal came in, I would start salivating at the mouth, knowing I would be on the verge of broadcasting a sure fire ratings winner, because truly, a Royal Scandal, it's must see TV.
Now I am aware that this makes me a part of the problem. Yet as a journo, I am keen to expose a Royal scandal because of our intense appetite for Royal mischief. Tall Poppy syndrome dictates as "have nots" we relish in the embarrassment of the "haves". It's sad, but it's true, and by doing this we are unknowingly undermining the Crown, our history, and all we stand for.
When we make our Royals look anything less than Regal, we weaken the institution, our identity, our resolve, and our sense of purpose. What the French this year did to the Duchess of Cambridge is nothing short of criminal. It may just be harmless embarrassment today, yet one day; she will be the Royal Queen Consort. Thanks to the internet, we now have on file for anyone with Google, topless photos of a future ruling monarch. So this is not just a Royal Embarrassment. This is now an embarrassment and affront to every citizen in the British Commonwealth.
We should never just guffaw at this and say "oh well". This was an attack on all of us. Once upon a time, we knew and we believed this. The treatment of The Duchess, well throughout history, wars have been fought over much less!
There is more at stake than the red faced embarrassment of a few sheepish Royals. When we cheapen them, we cheapen the country and we cheapen us all. By publishing naked photos, sex scandals, and all sorts of trivial indiscretions we pile the Royals into the same crowd as actors, WAG's, and pop stars.
Would there be a Charge of the Light Brigade again tomorrow? Would brave men and women be willing to risk their lives for a Crown that is being represented by people we hold in the same esteem as "The Spice Girls"?
I admit, when I heard of the nude photos of Prince Harry in Vegas, my first thoughts were "good on him", "he's one of the lads", and "what a top bloke"! Later on, when I thought about it I realised, hang on; this is the Prince who is currently third in the Royal line of succession. He shouldn't be simply "one of the boys"... He should be Regal, Stately, and something much, much more.
We should hold the Royal Family to a higher standard. The argument when a scandal breaks is; "they should behave in a more Royal manner". Well, maybe they should. But, as they are people, maybe we should go a bit easier on them, can you even begin to imagine the pressure that must come with being the symbol of an entire Nation, Commonwealth, and all it's history? It would drive anyone bonkers! So, unless we want to be represented by a bunch of half crazed lunatics, maybe we should leave them in their Privacy.
We cheapen the Royals by constantly putting them on television and in magazines. Personally, I only want to see my Queen on Christmas Day, at National Events like the Olympics, or alternatively, putting on a brave face and comforting us at times of tragedy and times of crisis.
Seeing the Queen, it should mark an occasion of grandeur, of celebration, of importance, or sadly, it should also mark a time of mourning. What I am trying to say is, if a Royal is present, then we should automatically know, it is an occasion of extreme significance and of importance. Don't even get me started on the fact that the Queen has a Twitter Account! Now that is a Royal Scandal! I wouldn't mind giving a backhand to whoever thought up that idea!
As for the other members of the Royal Family, I would be just as happy not knowing they even exist, only seeing them when they are sent out in place of the Queen when she can't attend her Royal duties.
Looking forward to 2013, I pray we do not have cause to mock the Royal Family, because to mock them is to mock ourselves. By lowering the Royals to tabloid fodder alongside Katie Price and Kerry Katona... We are not damaging the Royal Family, but our whole existence as a Commonwealth. So as the New Year is upon us, if The Duchess of Cambridge wants to sunbake topless, let her. If Prince Harry wants to unwind after a Tour of Duty by downing a few bottles of Tequila with some Army mates, then get nude and play a game of backgammon... Then I say let him. He's earned it, let him do it... And leave him alone, leave her alone... Let's back off... And leave them ALL ALONE!
Sure it's a good story, but no lasting good can ever come from embarrassing our Royal Family.
So where our Royal Family is concerned, let's make 2013 not a year of scandal, but a year of celebration. Let us give them privacy and eagerly await and then celebrate the arrival of a young Prince or Princess. Who is not just a child, but a symbol of the future of the entire Nation and Commonwealth. A symbol of how we will continue to grow, evolve, prosper, do good, and as a people strive for better things.
The Royal Family has enough to worry about, with all the responsibilities of the Crown it wears. They should not have to worry about being caught on camera during their private moments.
This is the respect we should reserve for our Royal Family. For this is what the Royal Family should be.