The much talked about, super glorified royal visit to Pakistan finally happened. I was super happy and super charmed. However, I was more than mildly disappointed that they weren’t coming to Karachi yet that didn’t keep me from enjoying their pictures and following their tour of all the beautiful places of our country.

I was excitedly buzzing about them as I served Fawad his breakfast. I could go on and on. Fawad on the other hand was hardly even listening. Typically male. No room for imagination. It wouldn’t kill him to listen to me having my moments of happiness.

“They’ll be leaving soon.” Fawad was, matter-of-fact, dry and dull and unimaginative. Boring!

I wasn’t deterred. I kept on going. I could tell that he was really bugged now but I didn’t care one bit. I was like a three-year-old excited about my new toy.

“What’s the point, Saima? Their existence is hardly note-worthy. They belong to a bygone era of colonisation and are figure-heads even in their own country. They really are life-sized dolls that the whole world likes to play with. Within the United Kingdom they may attract tourism but what purpose do they have to serve here?” For the millionth time, I questioned myself why I was even married to this man. And I knew this was a rhetorical question but I still opened my mouth to answer, “They will strengthen diplomatic ties with the two….” My voice trailed as Fawad interrupted me.

“What is it, Saima?” He was sounding testy.

Yet I began my speech with faltering and with conviction.

I shall win this one today even if it’s the last time I talk about them with Fawad.

I took a deep breath and began.

“I know that’s all true but honestly they do have a huge purpose to serve. After all they are royalty. And by coming to Pakistan they have presented an extremely positive image of the country to the entire world. That has to account for something.” There I argued my case. Not very convincing I could tell by the look on his face but then again what can a girl do? I couldn’t be done with my girly fascinations just yet. In a world where little or no fantasy lived, I had to keep the British Royals on the top to fulfill those girlish whims of mine.

And besides I think every woman could relate with Kate. She is a mother and also held such an important role in the construction of the royal family. She do it all so well. She is inspiring to so many of us out there. We may not be holding the monarchy on our shoulders but the fact that she was and is still so collected is the crux of the genuine admiration that we felt towards her.

“They are crumbling, Saima and they know it. Letting Harry marry an actress, a person of cross culture, older than him and divorced previously is a sign in itself. Don’t you get it? It’s a way to bring them closer to the masses because they know that pretty soon their power and stability will be questioned by the same masses who are willingly paying their taxes at this point in time. These same people will one day show them the back door as they have in so many monarchies in the past. Have you forgotten the French Revolution or the Czars of Russia? The British are finding new ways to maintain themselves and their image. ” He paused for breath and continued.

“I agree that their visit to Pakistan is beneficial for us but you see we are also submerged in the ordinary and mundane. Look around you. The distribution of wealth is so disproportionate. Our masses are hardly educated enough to know from better or worse. They are looking up to the new government to fix all their worries and then this royal visit is a huge distraction for them. They forget for a while they are being paid minimum wage, they have no rights, they are being heavily taxed, their roads are broken, their houses and their children are unsafe and yet the royalty glosses all over that, as if everything is so perfect.” He humphed sardonically.

Wow, at this pace I thought that my husband was running the risk of losing his job too, it was almost 9am and there was no sign of him leaving for work.

As if to sense my thoughts, he quickly gulped his tea and picked up his briefcase.

“See! This is what they do to us. I’ll be late for work and all because of William and Kate.” He zipped out of the door before I could even say goodbye.

I kind of sat there wondering what Fawad had just said. It took a while to absorb and it was harsh, really harsh. For someone who stayed awake way past time as a child to watch Lady Diana get married, who followed her life and her children’s lives as if they were her own, who cried for days at her death; this reality was harsh and painful for me.

But my older self also saw the wisdom in Fawad’s rant. I won’t call them his words because it was more like a rant, a venting out.

Many days ago Fawad had said that he wanted to leave his job and start a charity organisation because he just could not take it anymore. He couldn’t stand the people of the nation suffering while he had everything that life could offer. He said that he didn’t like going out for dinners anymore because how could he justify having such an expensive meal when the majority of the population was crumbling under high food prices, high rentals and utility bills and the rest of expenses that they had to bear just to keep their ship above water.

I felt he was right. We were the royalty in this scenario, the two percent of the population that had the privilege to open their wallets and spend on anything, practically anything without batting an eyelid.

These thoughts did put the royal family in another perspective. I could see his point.

I remember watching a criticism recently on them in one of the BBC shows on YouTube. Kate was being criticised for a certain choice of fashion. And the blunder that she had made was not even that grave but she was being criticised because “taxpayers fund her wardrobe and since it’s us that do it she should be more careful of our taste and wishes.” I was shocked. I could sense the crumbling that Fawad was speaking of earlier now. They really were being brought down to their knees, weren’t they?

And was this visit aimed at saving their face as much as improve diplomatic ties between the UK and Pakistan? After all everyone has an agenda.

This mind torture could go on and on, I figured. I had to get about my day as usual, regardless of any royalty coming to Pakistan or not. But I had to put my confusion to rest. I decided that I would continue to love them, be as fake as they were and I would continue to follow their tales as I was following so many Hollywood stars as well. There was no harm in that.

But given all that I was in agreement with Fawad that something had to give for our nations’ people to find some reprieve. There had to be a saving grace soon because no matter what, everyone around us was unhappy and things had to be better. No matter how many celebrities or royalties could visit Pakistan; the facts and realities of the common man wouldn’t change till their situation would change. And for that the government didn’t need to invite any celebrity they only had to step out of their palaces and look at the people on the streets and they would know. I wish they would begin to notice.

So much for my euphoria and so much for the reality check this morning brought for me.