Has America soured on the Royals?

JIM RIDOLPHI Contributing Columnist

There are few things in life more relaxing than a late July day lounging on a Nags Head Beach, and that’s where I found myself in July, 1981. Like many other local families, we chose a week at the beach as our summer vacation, and the Outer Banks was still uncrowded and offered a certain allure with its pirate history and mysterious legacy.

But, on this day, the normally leisurely pace was disrupted by an excitement derived from an event taking place an ocean away, the marriage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles. And our day at the beach turned to a daylong almost voyeuristic peek at the Royal family through constant television coverage, and the pomp and circumstance of a royal wedding. Americans couldn’t get enough, and news of the wedding flooded the airwaves attracting a worldwide audience.

I contrast the mood of that occasion with the collective yawn expressed by most Americans as Prince Charles ascended to the throne recently. Early ratings revealed more Britains watched the late Queen’s funeral