I admit it: I wasn’t as excited as most Americans to see Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot. Call me provincial, but having been raised under a democratic regime my whole life, I’ve never been big on monarchies. Nor do I like blond guys or polo, so Wills just isn’t my cup of high tea.
In fact, I didn’t even watch the live feed of the royal wedding. But when the photos of the big day surfaced online, not wanting to be a pop-culture ignoramus, I dutifully clicked through them—and that’s when I caught my first glimpse of Kate’s sister, Pippa Middleton. My initial thoughts were as follows: 1) Nice dress. 2) She’s not as pretty as Kate. 3) Moving on …
So imagine my surprise when, after the newlyweds had headed off to their gazillion-dollar honeymoon, Pippa stepped in to fill the void with near-constant photos in American gossip publications: Pippa stepping out in London for a day of shopping, Pippa in a rowboat in Spain with her ex-boyfriend, Pippa competing in various athletic competitions. Every time I opened a new issue of Us magazine (to which, I am not ashamed to admit, I have a subscription), there she was, her beady eyes ever so cunningly evading the cameras, even as the coy smile playing at the corners of her mouth gave away just how much she loved the gathering media firestorm.
Simply put, I don’t believe Pippa deserves to be famous for being in the right place at the right time. In my opinion, the fact that, as far as I can tell, no one has ever even heard the girl speak should disqualify her automatically. I’ve already lumped her into the same category that the Kardashians, the Jersey Shore cast, all the women on the Real Housewives series, and Speidi occupy in my mind. To me, Americans’ obsession with Pippa is merely symptomatic of our insatiable appetite for escapism in the form of reality TV. After all, was the royal wedding not the ultimate reality show, catapulting both its heroes (the Middleton sisters, the princes, Kate’s parents, the queen) and its villains (princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Chelsy Davy) to instant superstardom on our side of the pond?
