Playing by the rules

Kate won William by following some age-old theories that promise a marriage proposal, says Rachel Walsh.

CATHERINE Elizabeth Middleton is getting married. The groom is a real-life ‘prince charming’ but Friday (or K-day, as the UK press dubs it) belongs to the bride. She holds the world’s media in thrall. Everything from her lineage to her jean size has been reported in the search for an answer to the nine-year-old question: What is it about this woman that captured a future king’s heart? Even before she slipped on the Queen of Hearts diamond, millions of women understood what confounds the press. By action if not design, Kate Middleton is a ‘rules girl.’

The Rules is a bestselling 1950s-style guide to modern dating, published in 1995. Authors Sherrie Schneider and Ellen Fein’s 35 rules originate from a grandmother that got “more marriage proposals than shoes” in her day. They council that because men are hunters and like to be challenged, women looking for love must be challenging.