The Royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was held on Saturday, May 19, 2018.  To all public watchers, the events for the couple executed without any major faux pas.

As an avid Royal watcher and lover of anything British, I was interested in the chatter about the wedding and its details.

Myriads of comments appeared via Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets.  What I found most interesting, were the comments about Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex’s wedding gown.  Who doesn’t love a beautiful, couture dress?  Well, apparently, many viewers expressed negative and from a few, quite vile and personally insulting viewpoints about this number one dress.  Me, I enjoyed the banter, and varying ideas others expressed would “spruce up” that dress. Yet, I did not enjoy the cruelty that arose from unwanted and unnecessary thoughtless opinions.

It made me wonder why this dress that was for someone none of us knew personally, became a free-for-all opinion-rating fest.  Why were people making this so personal with nothing vested at all in Meghan or the dress? Were they miffed because there weren’t consulted? My goodness, they didn’t make the guest list either.  Did they believe their opinions ran supreme to those of Meghan Markle and the traditions of the British crown? Did they contribute in some small way to the payment of the dress via a Go Fund Me account? These questions and more are why I decided to write this op-ed piece.

Let’s chat about that dress.  We know it was a couture designer gown from the House of Givenchy.  Sounds quite impressive to me.  It was white satin with an open boat-like neckline.  Some said, “plain,” I say “extremely elegant.  Meghan was the bride, not the dress.  She was absolutely, gorgeous and seemed to be herself, comfortable in her selection.  She was understated, confident, perfectly poised and very happy.  Besides, she was marrying the prince of her dreams.  What else are we expecting and why?

As we examine the lineage she has entered, I see many positives for that dress; 1. She is not, nor will not be the Queen in the future, 2. She is not Princess Diana nor Duchess of Cambridge, 3. The simple line of the dress was respectful to the Queen and future Queen.  In other words, she did not foreshadow their importance by furthering her own, 4. Her personality does not seem to be one that is showy or glitzy, 5. The only person she needed to please was herself.

The negative comments uttered for that dress prove only she chose correctly and perfectly.  Only naysayers offer negative words.  Is it our humanness that leads to faltering into the destructive judgmental course of conversation? Why, as humans can we not realize the ease with which we condemn others?  Kind words of support are not difficult to formulate.  It seems, though, the verbalizing is the challenge. Reciprocate those kind words.  I guarantee a feeling of goodwill bubbles up inside you almost immediately.  Negativity, especially judgment, derails our loving nature and ends up being a nasty habit we exercise freely without thought or remorse.

Meghan Markle’s dress was the catalyst to view in front of the world, a strong, independent, modern woman who thrives on good works for others.  When you marry, I hope snide, negative and hateful comments are not thrust your way —on your most important, and most vulnerable day.  The dress we choose reflects who we are at that moment in time.  As long as it is THE dress, no more is necessary.

Even strong, independent women are attacked, but from other women who should have your back, that is despicable.  We must support each other through this maze called life.

Next time that urge to be judgmental rears up, do one thing—SHUT UP!  This is an amazing cure for the uglies!