“Fame doesn’t fulfill you. It warms you a bit, but that warmth is temporary.” Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe — seen here being presented to Queen Elizabeth II — was very savvy about appearances; about what made people tick, and how fame blurred the picture. She struggled to balance her inner life against a manufactured persona.

Everyone’s childhood plays itself out… I think to love bravely is the best and accept as much as one can bear.

Marilyn Monroe

Some court fame, some are born into it. Some can bear it, some can’t. Living a public life requires fortitude.

Today we need a special kind of courage. Not the kind needed in battle, but a kind which makes us stand up for everything that we know is right, everything that is true and honest. We need the kind of courage that can withstand the subtle corruption of the cynics, so that we can show the world that we are not afraid of the future.

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

In a recent interview, her grandson, Prince Harry, had this to say.

Is there any one of the royal family who wants to be king or queen? I don’t think so, but we will carry out our duties at the right time.

Now that’s a mature perspective informed by a lifetime of “living in a goldfish bowl,” even when serving in the military.

“Lieutenant Wales is a prince of the UK royal family. He is entitled to do his job in the regiment without interference. However, in the ordinary course of duty, recall that his grandmother is head of the armed forces, his aunt honorary colonel of the regiment, his father and brother will both one day be king. Treat him with discretion, circumspection, and respect.”

Prince Harry Boy to Man, William Kuhn

In the modern era everyone with a digital presence (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, WordPress, Instagram, Google +, etc., etc.) has a kind of global recognition unknown in previous generations. Yet the struggle, finding that balance between veneer and core, is both a delicate maneuver and a common denominator.

And this our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.

As You Like It, William Shakespeare

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