When we were teenagers we always went to the church part of local weddings, whether invited or not.

My mother loved looking at ‘the style’ and she would be talking about it for a week. Last Saturday reminded me of those days.

I really did my best to ignore the royal wedding. I knew if I turned on the television the day would be gone.

But, like many others, I eventually succumbed and spent the morning taking in the glamour.

I’m around long enough to remember Charles and Diana’s wedding. At the time I thought it was a wonderful fairytale story and they would end up happy ever after.

Well, most of us got that wrong. Hindsight is great, but you only have to look at their body language now to see that marriage was doomed from the start.

Like any decent person I wish this newly married couple well. I’ve always had a soft spot for Harry, as he and I lost beloved parents at exactly the same age. But I do wonder about how it will all turn out.

If he was my son and his bride could only muster up two family members to invite to her big day, and one of them was a no show, well it would set alarm bells ringing for me.

Was there no presentable aunt or uncle or cousin to bolster the Markle side of the aisle?

Fair dues to Doria, the mother of the bride, for a flawless performance and for carrying off the day with dignity and good grace.

But really has the woman no sister, niece or even a close friend who could have tagged along as her plus one.

Someone she could share a laugh with or have a good gossip about Camilla with the next day. She was completely alone.

At least Doria turned up looking poised and elegant, unlike her ex-husband and Meghan’s father who made a holy show of himself in the week leading up to the wedding.

If he’d been my father I think I’d have taken to my bed and been a no show myself.

While there were lots of Hollywood celebs at the wedding and people Meghan has become friendly with since she became a well-known actress, there didn’t appear to be any of her old school or college friends at the wedding. That too struck me as decidedly odd.

The new addition to the House of Windsor certainly seems like an interesting woman who no doubt will want to put her own stamp on her new life.

It will be interesting to see how she copes with it all and how the ‘firm’ will cope with her.

Please note, the link for our bloom competition has been fixed and you can now enter by logging on to www.farmersjournal.ie/competitions. The closing date has been extended to Sunday, 27 May. My apologies for any inconvenience caused.

On a much sadder note, my heart goes out to the families of Jastine Valdaze and Ana Kriegel who lost their daughters in such horrifying circumstances.

To think a young woman could be bundled into a car in broad daylight and subsequently murdered is absolutely shocking. All we can do is offer our thoughts and prayers for all the innocent people impacted by these terrible events.

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