Who would be my special dinner guest?

My writing prompt this week, which sometimes turns into a blog post, was which celebrity would I enjoy having dinner with. As I couldn’t think of one individual, I expanded it to three, died or alive, that I would find interesting. I know that they say to not meet your heroes, but I think it is fun to think of what would happen during a hypothetical dinner. I picked three celebrities, then I thought why did I chose these individuals and what would we discuss? My celebrities I chose Charlotte Bronte, one of my favorite authors, Queen Victoria, an historical figure and Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning monarch.

First, the author Charlotte Bronte. I have loved her books for a very long time. I actually enjoy her books over Jane Austen’s (gasp!). I would love to discuss her books in particular Jane Eyre (1847) and the events which inspired her stories. How much of her real experience made it into the book? And did she add a bit more drama for the books? She was born on April 21, 1816 and experienced tragedy at a young age. The death of her mother in 1821, after which her father sent his daughters to the Clergy Daughters’ School where her older sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, would die of tuberculosis in June 1825. The school became the inspiration for the Lowood School in Jane Eyre. She would continue her education and found work as a governess in Brussels, Belgium, which became her inspiration for her books, The Professor (1857) and Villette (1853). Since books by women authors were seen as less than worthy, Charlotte and her sisters, Emily and Anne, decided to publish under masculine pseudonyms. Charlotte Bronte was published as Currer Bell. She died on March 31, 1855, weeks before her 39^th birthday.

Second, Queen Victoria and how she inspired an era which is named after her. She was born Alexandrina Victoria on May 24, 1819 and became Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on June 20, 1837 when her three uncles died with no surviving legitimate heirs. She became a national icon, identified with strict standards of personal morality. Her long reign, known as the Victorian Era, was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific and military change in the United Kingdom as well as the world. Victoria was the first to wear a white dress at her 1840 wedding to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Austria, which inspired many women to wear white and it is a tradition which is still carried on today. She also helped popularize many of our Christmas traditions such as Christmas trees and sending Christmas cards. When she died on January 22, 1901 at the age of 81, she held the longest reign at 63 years, 7 months and 2 days until her great-great-granddaughter, Elizabeth II, surpassed her on September 9, 2015. She was one tough lady who survived at least six assassination attempts and multilingual, speaking English and German fluently as well as French, Italian and Latin. She even learned Hindu and Urdu phrases when servants from India came to Windsor Castle.

For my third person, I chose Queen Elizabeth II. I have long admired the queen as she was thrusted into a role she was never expected to fulfill. Her father, King George, would take the throne after his older brother, King Edward VIII, abdicated in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. During World War II, at 14, Elizabeth would broadcast over the radio, speaking to the children who had been evacuated from London during the Blitz. In February 1945, after she turned 18, she was appointed as an honorary second subaltern in the Auxiliary Territorial Service where she was trained as a driver and mechanic. She married Philip Mountbatten, a prince of Greece and Denmark, on November 20, 1947 and would have 4 children, Prince Charles (1948), Princess Anne (1950), Prince Andrew (1960), and Prince Edward (1964). As I mentioned above, Queen Elizabeth II is the longest reigning British monarch in 2015 and the longest reigning monarch in history after the death of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej on October 13, 2016. At this post, she has reigned 66 years 11 months and 3 days and has no plans to abdicate. The queen rarely gives interviews, and little is known about her personal feelings. However, she maintains a sense of religious and civic duty and takes her role as queen very seriously. In 2000, she said “To many of us, our beliefs are of fundamental importance. For me the teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ's words and example” (Christmas Broadcast, December 25, 2000). While she does not have any real power in the British government, she performs the State Opening of the Parliament, which opens a new session of Parliament.

In conclusion, from my favorite author to an historical world leader and the history making monarch, these dinners would be filled with fun conversations about literature, culture and world events which these individuals have seen in their lifetimes. The three women lived very different lives, and each had something to say about the world around them. Charlotte Bronte wrote novels and poetry but had to hide her gender as publishers were reluctant to publish a woman’s work. Queen Victoria followed in the footsteps of Queen Elizabeth I and refused to allow a man to dictate her role as queen. Queen Elizabeth has become a beloved queen to many around the around. While being famous, it would be interesting to see how much they would or could have in common with me. Who would you choose?