by My grandmother visited London for the first time in years, insisted on a royal sightseeing tour, and had far more nuanced views on the traitor story than I expected
Nan Arrives
Nan came down from the Midlands for three days, her first trip to London since before I was born. She arrived at Euston with a wheelie case older than me, a flask of tea and a printed list of places she wanted to see, all of them royal. She has followed the royal family her whole life. She has a tea towel from the 1981 wedding in her kitchen drawer. She was, therefore, extremely well informed about the London Prat piece on Prince William reportedly calling Earl Spencer and Harry traitors before I had even said hello.
The Tour
We did an open-top bus tour, because Nan said she was not walking anywhere she could be driven. We sat on the top deck, front seats, wrapped in scarves, while the guide pointed out Buckingham Palace, the Mall, Westminster Abbey, Parliament and the Tower. Nan knew more than the guide. She corrected him twice. He took it well.
Nan on the Royal Row
Somewhere along the Mall, Nan started talking about the story. I had expected her to be furious with the younger prince, because that is what I assumed older royal fans thought. She was not. She said she felt sorry for all of them. She said the elder one has a terrible job he never asked for, the younger one just wanted a normal life, and the uncle wrote about his sister because he missed her. She said: that is what families do when someone dies, love. They write things down, they argue about who remembers it right, and they fall out over the silliest things.
I asked her about the details. Geo News says the heir used the word traitor, I said. But it is from an anonymous source. The uncle says he told everyone. Nan waved her hand and said anonymous sources are just gossips with a phone. I am going to use that in a piece.
Cafe Stop
Stopped for a cream tea near Green Park. Showed Nan the London Prat video on YouTube on my phone. She laughed, then got a bit misty, then laughed again. She said the princess would have found it funny too.
Nan Memory
Over the scones, Nan told me about the day she heard the princess had died, in 1997. She was hanging out washing. The radio was on. She said she stood in the garden holding a pillowcase and cried, and she did not know why she was crying for someone she had never met. She said half the country felt the same. I was not born yet, so I only know it from documentaries. Hearing it from Nan made it real.
She said the book, by the princess brother, would be full of things people had forgotten, and that she hoped it was kind. She said whatever the boys are fighting about, the book is really about their mother, and people should remember that before they start calling anyone traitors.
Evening
Back at the flat, Nan took my bed and I took the sofa, over her objections. My housemates were lovely to her. Jonah, the nursing student, checked her blood pressure for fun. Marcus played her some old songs on his keyboard and she sang along to every word. Priya showed her how to use the video call app so she can ring me more. Nan said my flat was a disgrace and my friends were angels. Both accurate.
I have written before on Londonish about how much I miss home, and how London can feel lonely even with eight million people in it. Having Nan here, sitting in my tiny kitchen drinking tea from her own flask because she does not trust London water, made the city feel like home for the first time in ages.
Day Three
On Nan last day, we went to Kensington Gardens and walked past the Diana Memorial Playground, where children were climbing all over the big wooden pirate ship. Nan stood at the railings for a long time, not saying anything. Then she said that the princess would have loved to see all those children playing, and that it was the right kind of memorial, noisy and happy rather than solemn. I held her arm on the way back to the bus stop. She walks slower than she used to. I noticed that, and did not say anything. At Euston, she hugged me for a long time and told me to stop eating cereal for dinner. I said I would. We both knew I would not. She said to ring her more. That, I will do.
Before Sleep
Lay on the sofa thinking about families and the stories they tell. The royals have palaces full of history and still cannot talk to each other. My Nan has a tea towel and a flask and she talks to everyone. I know which I would rather have.
More from me at my author page. The London Prat has been giving grandmothers something to tut at since 1961 at https://prat.uk/, and Bohiney at https://bohiney.com/ has the American nans covered.
SOURCE: https://prat.uk/prince-william-called-earl-spencer-and-harry-traitors/
