And We'll Never be Royal

The second to last day of April in 2011, as I recall, was slightly overcast. I woke up to chaos as I had to move out of my Junior year apartment by 6pm that night. I got up at some insane hour and went to inspect the damage and to check on the one thing that had definitely not been packed up yet: the enormous 15 year old TV inherited from my roommate's boyfriend's family. I, along with 23 million Americans and an estimated two billion people on the planet, got up to watch the British Royal Wedding. Flash forward four and a half years later, I have a bit of a hidden royal obsession. Hidden because I'm pretty sure being overly knowledgeable about the Royal family and trying to pass as a well adjusted, young professional, twenty-something New Yorker, do not go hand-in-hand.

My roommate from Junior year and best friend who now lives in DC, knows this hidden royal obsession, because she shares the same fascination. So when Clarence House tweeted how the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were coming to NYC this month, she texted me the tweet in no time flat:

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit the USA between 7th and 9th December 2014
— Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) November 14, 2014

and more importantly their itinerary:

You can read the full press release of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's upcoming visit to the USA here: http://t.co/4UEhDomGhg
— Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) November 14, 2014

So she texted me this crazy plan for her to travel from DC the night of the 8th, buy tickets for the basketball game the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge would attend, and basically ignore the basketball game and just go for to see them. I didn't hesitate in saying yes.

A delayed train from DC, meant we couldn't stop and get dinner beforehand, so as soon as she made it to Bed-Stuy, we turned around and headed to Barclays. Once we reached the stadium, we heard a roar of noise. At first we just thought it was people excited to go to the game, but as we got closer I realized it was a protest against the Eric Garner decision. Folks attending the game seemed to be...sort of ashamed of the protest. They didn't want to acknowledge it was happening. Many others in the world of the internet thought the Royal Couple shouldn't have to witness that.

It's sad that #RoyalVisitUSA is in the mix of the #ICantBreathe movement. It's a harsh reality that they have to witness.
— Ryan Traylor (@TraylorEmpire) December 9, 2014

Two thoughts on this: 1) Nothing wrong with protesting a big event like this where you are likely to get a lot of press and bring your issue closer to the forefront of people's minds. The protesters were peaceful, albeit a bit loud. And they had a point: Black Lives Matter. The inherent racism in our police force and justice system is a problem. A huge problem. I hope the protests continue and good change comes of it. 2) The Royal couple, whatever their feelings on race relations in America, have probably witnessed their fair share of protests, considering they are representatives for Britain and Britain isn't so well liked everywhere. I'm sure this was not a huge shock to them, moreover they probably didn't witness that much of it. But I digress.

Getting back to the crux of our story, my friend and I made our way into Barclays, which neither of us had been to before. Wow! What a beautiful space. And the line to get in was so efficient. I've been to many arenas and stadiums and this one was so well designed and layed out. The choice in which concession stands to have was interesting, too. It was hyper-local: Nathan's Hot dogs (Queens), Calexico (Brooklyn), Williamsburg Pizza (Brooklyn). No McD's or BK or DD. The food was delicious and not the same old food! 10 for 10 for the Barclays Center. Also, just going to Barclays felt like crossing off one of my New York City to-do items.

We made our way to our seat which were waaaaaaaay at the back. But even so, we actually could see the game just fine. Unfortunately, we weren't there for the game. We grabbed some food and drinks and listened to the American anthem played by an amazing sax player and started to search the sidelines.


I thought I spotted the Duke and Duchess right away, but the girls sitting next to us (with binoculars!!!) said no. We were with like-minded company in the back row, clearly. My friend found Jay Z and later we saw Beyoncé. It became clear the the Royal Couple wasn't going to sit on the court-side seats until after half-time.

At half-time Jay and Bey made their way to their seats. Now the big question: will the Royal Couple sit next to Hip Hop Royalty??!?!?!?!?!?!???!!!! Well as the 3rd quarter went on all of the seats surrounding Jay and Bey were full. So, no. Then we noticed a lot of activity happening in the opposite corner and we knew it was only moments away. With the game still going on, in fact one of the teams was in the middle of a free throw, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge walked out to the court-side like the royalty they are. Much fanfare, yelling, clapping, screaming, standing up and dancing. You know, the usual.


They took their seats, and now rather than a basketball game, it looked more like a tennis match with the crowd looking back and forth between the Duke and Duchess on one side of the court and Bey and Jay on the other. WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN?

During a time-out in the middle of the 3rd quarter, the NBA took their opportunity to announce their partnership with the Royal Foundation and United for Wildlife. Also, to gratuitously film William and Kate so the spectators can cheer and freak out, etc. Ultimately, it was a very cute moment, you could tell they knew that everyone could see them and that they should wave, but they don't know at first where their faces are appearing. Finally, Will points out the jumbotron above their head.



FINALLY, the moment we were waiting for: at the end of the 3rd quarter, Beyoncé leads Jay across the court and greets the Royal Couple. They started by welcoming them to Brooklyn and left by wishing them a Merry Christmas.


Swooooooon! Ah! I feel some combination of I just watched history and my life is now complete. Also, a little like two different fandoms just came together for an epic moment of fangirling.

Not a lot to report from the front lines after that. The Nets lost and all parties left pretty quickly afterward.

Possibly the most interesting thing out of all of this is why? Why do thousands of people pour out to see the Beyoncés, Jay Zs, LeBron Jameses, the Kates and Williams of the world? For artists like Beyoncé and Jay Z, and a sportsman like James, the desire to witness supreme talent could be the simple answer. But the Royal couple? I think ultimately it comes from the same desire to travel and see the world. They live an existence so entirely alien to our own, that we watch with rapt fascination. Not that their lives are perfect or even necessarily desirable (all that luxury also comes with a very heavy lack-of-privacy price), but so wildly other. As Lorde sings, we'll never be royal.

We never will be royal.

We will never know what their day-to-day lives are really like. But we do know Will is the heir to the British Head of State. He will one day be called King. And if I get to say  I once hung out with a King at a basketball game, then, yeah, sure, I'll be there.

Sorry, LeBron, you don't count as King in my books.