I am so glad the wedding of the year is coming to a close today!

The coverage has, let us just say, caused me to become a little green-eyed.

I know this sounds silly, but I had this crazy notion in my head for several years that Prince Harry would fall in love and marry my youngest daughter.

When my baby girl was young, she had red hair, so since the prince is a ginger, I thought they would make the cutest couple.

Well that dream has died, and now I have to accept the fact there will be no teas with the Queen for me.

I became enamored with the Royals when Lady Diana married Prince Charles. During their engagement, I was glued to the television, soaking up every detail leading up to the couple’s big day.

And their wedding did not disappoint me.

It truly looked like a page taken right out of a fairy tale.

The dress, the flowers, the pomp and circumstance, the carriage ride and the kiss on the balcony all seemed magical.

Unfortunately, we know that there was no happy ending.

After crying my way through the funeral of Princess Diana, I decided it was time to start dialing down my attention to England’s nobility, but when Prince William decided to get married and I saw how his fiancé, Kate Middleton, reflected a similar air to that of Princess Diana, I was pulled back in.

And my mother-in-law dreams returned.

However, after listening to the melodrama that has been swirling around Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s nuptials this week, I started thinking that maybe our family dodged a bullet.

I mean, after the $40 million wedding comes to a close and the limelight has died away, all that may possibly be left for me could be paparazzi keeping up with my every move as the mother of a princess.

I have thought how sad it has been for Tom Markle to have been portrayed in the media as a less than glowing person for a mishap that any loyal subject could have made.

I am sure this poor man was just overwhelmed with all the attention he was receiving, and since he had not been “trained up in the way of royalty,” now he does not even get to walk his daughter down the aisle.

Prince Charles, who had a scandalous affair with Camilla Bowles, gets to have the honor.

I guess when you are a Royal, your slip-ups can be overlooked.

Therefore, I have decided to decree shame onto the Royals because if they think Thomas Markle could have possibly done anything to make them look worse then what they have already succeeded in doing themselves, it is time for them to reflect on history.

Members of the Royal family throughout Queen Elizabeth II’s reign have made their share of gaffes just like family members throughout the course of the monarchy’s long history.

Hence, I just cannot help feeling a little empathy for Thomas Markle who, like millions of spectators, will have to watch his daughter get married today via a televised broadcast.

So I say to Thomas Markle, long live the father-of-the-bride.

Terri Cowart Frazier is a staff writer for The Vicksburg Post. You may reach her at terri.frazier@vicksburgpost.com.