| Chapter 1 The Prince and Miss Teen USA It was a glorious summer day in England, without the slightest hint of rain. The sun shone brightly, as if it knew something was going to happen, something that would have a lasting impact on the history of the United Kingdom, and for that matter, the world. The world, along with the United Kingdom had been waiting for this day since the summer night of June 21, 1982, when Princess Danielle, the Princess of Wales, gave birth to Prince Michael. He was next in line for the British throne after his father, Prince Christopher, Prince of Wales. The big question about Michael from the moment he was born was whom he would marry. Well, today the world and the United Kingdom would get its first official look at the new Princess of Wales, the fortunate young woman that Michael had chosen to be his bride. The global mood was one of rejoicing, because here was a royal fairy tale that would have a happy ending, not the tragic ending of the first. Millions of people, especially young women, sat glued to television sets just as their parents had been on this exact date in 1981, when the wedding of His Royal Highness Prince Christopher, now King Christopher and Lady Danielle Jane Sparks took place. However, this fairy tale was different from the first. The princess in this story was not a British aristocrat, or of British descent. The modern version of the fairy tale had as its heroine a 25-year-old All-American girl. She had no fancy titles, or names; just beauty, a Bachelor of Science degree in early childhood, elementary and special education from Duquesne University, a Master of Arts degree in the same field and a Master of Science in Child Development from the University of Pittsburgh, two of Pennsylvania's premiere institutions of higher education, and held a “real” job. She was a Child Life Specialist and resident teacher at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. She also taught voice at the Pittsburgh CLO Academy. The princess was born Alexandra Rose Grace Matthews on August 10, 1984, the oldest daughter of Robert and LeAnne Matthews; her mother was an accomplished pianist and her father a pastor, who played the trumpet fairly well. Therefore her interest in music was developed fairly early. However, her interest was more in singing than in playing an instrument. When she was only three she started singing in her church; she was also interested in beauty pageants. When she was only fifteen she entered the Pittsburgh Junior Miss Pageant to try to win some scholarship money for college. She did more than try. She won and was sent on to the Pennsylvania Junior Miss Pageant, but she didn’t stop there. She represented Pennsylvania in America’s Junior Miss Pageant where she was competing for an additional $50,000 in scholarship money and to the surprise of everyone, including herself; she was crowned America’s Junior Miss. She wasn’t finished with pageants though. The very next year she started competing in the big time pageants. She won the title of Miss Teen Pittsburgh, and on her 16th birthday she won the title of Miss Teen USA, becoming the first person from Pennsylvania to win the title. She went on to win the titles of Miss Pittsburgh, Miss USA and Miss Universe two years later. At the age of nineteen Alexandra won the title of Miss Pennsylvania. She was sent to Atlantic City, New Jersey, to represent the state in the Miss America pageant. She wowed the crowd with her beauty, grace, poise and beautiful singing voice. When the winner was announced it came as no surprise to anyone that Alexandra Rose Grace Matthews was crowned Miss America. The victory gave her enough scholarship money to completely finance her college education all the way up through the graduate level. Being a beauty queen also gave her opportunities to showcase her talent as a vocalist in different places around the country and the world, as well as refine her public speaking skills and increase her confidence and composure in front of the media. It was fun, but difficult, because it required long hours of travel and preparation for appearances. The time and effort would prove well worth it for the reason that it gave her the tools to deal with media pressure. These insights would come to her aid years later when she was at the center of the world stage. In the Princess's home city of Pittsburgh, nestled in the rolling hills of Southwestern Pennsylvania the excitement was running high. Never since the Pittsburgh Penguins won their first Stanley Cup championship in 1991 had the area witnessed such an event. People were holding up signs that said things like, We love our Princess; even young children got in on all the excitement by having Prince and Princess of Wales look -alike contests. Little girls wore paper tiaras and the little boys carried toy lances. Alexandra herself made an appearance via satellite from London to salute her hometown and country. When the people saw her they erupted in cheers. The princess sang a classic country tune by John Denver, substituting Pittsburgh landmarks in place of West Virginia ones and the state of Pennsylvania for West Virginia itself. When the song was finished there wasn’t a dry eye in all of PNC Park. Alexandra went on to sing some well known patriotic tunes. When it was time for her to sign off she said, “Farwell Pittsburgh, we will see each other soon.” The crowd burst into cheers again. It was time for the parade, which started at Mellon Arena and ended at Station Square. It was the finale to a day bursting with activity. Attending the parade were all the current national pageant queens from every pageant, which Alexandra had entered and won a crown. The University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University marching bands, the students in Alexandra’s voice class at the Pittsburgh CLO Academy, and the Pittsburgh East Christian High School chorus provided the music. The Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh sent a float to represent all the children that she had worked with during her time there. The whole day was truly a grand production for a hometown girl who had made it big. The atmosphere was one of pure joy and love for Pittsburgh and America's golden child. By contrast in London, the ballroom at Buckingham Palace was so quiet that one could have heard one could hear the breeze rustling the trees out in the courtyard, when Prince Matthew, who was the master of ceremonies, went to the podium. He cleared his throat and said, “It is with great pleasure that His Majesty, King Christopher I welcomes you as we celebrate the marriage of his oldest son, His Royal Highness Prince Michael Anthony Paul Lucas, Prince of Wales, to Alexandra Rose Grace Matthews. She is the oldest daughter of the honorable Mrs. LeAnne Matthews and the late honorable Mr. Robert Matthews of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ladies and gentlemen it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you the Prince of Wales, your next king, His Royal Highness Prince Michael and his beautiful bride, Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra.” The lights dimmed and the crowd held their breath, no one moved. The princess slowly entered the room, dressed in a flowing blue satin ball gown that swirled slightly as she walked gracefully, leaning lightly on Michael's arm. Her brown eyes were sparkling with the light of love, joy and pride in her new husband. The soft light from the chandelier above made her chocolate brown curls glisten like fresh candy. She could tell by the looks on their faces that people were asking each other who this beauty was who looked like Princess Danielle and had won the heart of their future king. How had there come to be an American rose in the House of Windsor? In spite of many obstacles that at times seemed insurmountable, true love and faith stood the test. As the saying goes, “True love and faith stands all tests thrown at it.” Whether the quote is always true it was in this case. This is a story of heartaches, love, joy and pain. The story of an American rose in the House of Windsor and her legacy she left. During her reign as Miss Teen USA Alexandra was giving a Christmas Eve concert at Pittsburgh’s Children’s Hospital; in the middle of a song she doubled over with horrible stomach pain. The concert was stopped; she was taken to the emergency room, examined, and diagnosed with acute appendicitis; an appendectomy was performed that night. Oh this is great, I'm stuck in here over Christmas Day, she thought gloomily. She never dreamed that her hospital stay would change her life forever. The next day she met Princess Danielle, who was on a tour of the States from Britain. She was helping deliver toys to the younger children and Alexandra just happened to have a two-year-old roommate; Danielle’s oldest son, Prince Michael accompanied her. The prince was 18, and one could see that he had inherited his mother's sensitivity and good looks; his blond hair, blue eyes and beautiful smile, combined with his quiet sunny personality, were irresistible. It was little wonder that he was the heartthrob of many American teenage girls. At first Alexandra didn't recognize them because Danielle wasn't wearing her tiara, but she knew that she had seen them on television before. It was her mother who asked the question she was thinking but was too shy to voice. She would have felt stupid if she had been wrong. “Are you the Princess of Wales?” LeAnne asked. She told Alexandra later that she felt stupid asking, but that she was glad she did, because it was that question that started making one of Alexandra's dreams reality. Danielle laughed. "Yes, as a matter of fact unfortunately I am," she said, smiling slightly. Alexandra pieced together the identity of the handsome boy she had been talking with so pleasantly as if to her best friend. She could hardly believe her luck. The excitement of meeting a childhood hero, mixed with morphine they had given her for pain, was too much for her and she fainted. “Is she going to be all right?” Michael asked. Danielle put her hand on his arm. “I'm sure she will be, Michael. Don't worry so; her mother has gone for the nurse; she'll be awake in a few minutes." The prince came over to the bed, sat down, and took Alexandra's hand gently in his. “She's a lovely girl, isn't she?” he asked softly. Danielle smiled. “That she is, my son,” she agreed. LeAnne returned then with the nurse, who began to sponge Alexandra's face with cool water. “Let me take care of her," begged Michael. The nurse protested, but Michael was determined. "In the name of my father, the Prince of Wales, let me do it,” he said. The nurse knew better than to deny his request; after all, he was a prince of England, and even though she was American she had respect for his position. She smiled, passed him the cloth, and water, and curtsied. “Of course, Your Highness, but be careful,” she cautioned. It took Michael five minutes to revive Alexandra; during that time Danielle, LeAnne, and Robert watched him with smiles of approval. “I think my son likes your daughter,” Danielle said. Robert and LeAnne nodded. “We think our daughter likes your son,” Robert said. When Alexandra awoke Michael smiled down at her and gently pushed the hair back from her face. “Are you all right Alexandra?” he asked, with concern in his voice. She smiled. “Yes Sir, and by the way, call me Lexi.” “And you may call me Mike,” said the prince. After a few more minutes of pleasant conversation, Danielle said they must go. “Oh, Mom, do we have to? I want to stay with Lexi,” Michael protested. “Have you ever heard of three inventions called paper, e mail, and the telephone?" his mother asked, looking at her son's downcast face. "You can stay in touch.” Michael brightened, the two exchanged addresses and phone numbers and from then on they were pen pals; every two weeks Alexandra got a letter from Michael and he got one from her. She sent him autographed copies of her CDs when she started to sing professionally. A year later Alexandra received an invitation to go to London to celebrate Michael's 19th birthday with the royal family. While she was there Danielle, Michael, his younger brother Matthew and to her surprise Prince Christopher gave her a tour of London; she finally got to see all the things that she had only read about in books such as Big Ben, and of course Buckingham Palace where she had an audience with Her Majesty Queen Katherine II. Katherine loved the young girl and treated her as her own. |