Cheers for Mrs. Prince Charming

I was watching a movie when I heard the news. Diana killed in a car wreck.

For my generation, this experience is much like that of our parents when they hard JFK had been shot. Most can tell you exactly where they were if they experienced either (or both).

Like so many, I admired Diana most for her fashion style. Being married just a few years after she was, I dreamed of having my own royal wedding.

But I am growing to appreciate the new Mrs. King. She is the royalty for the middle aged.

I appreciate that she can get all googly after finally getting to marry the love of her life, who looks a bit like an urn I have on my back porch with his ears jutting out. Who could love such an oaf? Who indeed.

And I think I can relate to her common sense fashion style, called "exciting as Yorkshire pudding" by the british press.

You wont' see her in jeans that ride down her back. And you probably won't see a lot of her tummy with Britney-Spears type peek-a-boo halter tops.

She is a middle-aged woman's dream...finding love after years of being the ugly duckling. Getting her man on a great mind and wit rather than on legs and boobs. Leaving the shopping to the divas, you'll see her out in her yard or with her horses, maybe because these are the things that really matter at the end of any day, whether one is royalty or not.

She's the kind of gal that you'd have a cup of tea with and wouldn't be concerned if you had spinach from the quiche hanging out. She's the kind of gal that if your pantyhose ran, she may or may not tell you, because your feelings might be more important than the fashion papparazzi. And you can tell she could swap great books and gardening ideas with you.

Nope, she's no Diana. No designer dresses, no fits, no tantrums. She's a real woman who can handle the life -- royal or no -- that is thrown at her with her own sense of dignity and charm.

The middle aged royalty that everyone eventually learns to appreciate over the shallow fashion plate kind.