At the age of six, Miss Jerramy Fine of Colorado USA, determined that it was her destiny to meet and marry Peter Phillips, the dashing grandson of the Queen of England. The only catch was that her parents were hippies, or ‘naturists’, as they referred to themselves, who adamantly refused to let her escape from rural isolation to attend a proper boarding school in England.
It would only take two decades, two plane tickets to London and a mountain of debt before Jerramy, now an elegant blonde with Jackie O style, would catch the attention of the man of her childhood dreams across a crowded press reception. To her utter delight, they talked easily for over an hour, photos were snapped and cards exchanged. He never called.
Ever the modern heroine, Jerramy knew she had a story to tell, pouring her energies into writing her memoir, Some Day My Prince Will Come: Adventures of a Wannabe Princess, a hilarious tale of one woman’s unstoppable mission to move to England and fall in love. We met to discuss her royal ambitions over a cappuccino in her favourite local spot in Hammersmith, the Plum Cafe. She describes her first book as a contemporary version of Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist with its ‘against all odds’ message of hope, “people had always told me it was impossible and that I was crazy. I wanted to show that nothing was impossible if you believe.”
After meeting Phillips in the flesh, in a very ‘Carrie Bradshaw’ moment of clarity, Jerramy traded in the fantasy of the perfect man, “for me to think any one man is more magical than any other is silly”, for independence in her beloved city: “London nurtured me and I knew instantly that I was meant to be here.”
No doubt, Jerramy’s first years in London were a true test of faith, with a disastrous cycle of events leaving her constantly on the verge of being homeless, or worse, deported. She escaped her university residence, a glorified “bomb shelter”, moved in with a female stalker and then became the token American flatmate to two crazy male models with a penchant for drugs and strippers, but “who could have resisted an Adonis greeting me at the door in a towel?”
Unsurprisingly, for a princess-in-training, it was sitting in the shadows of Buckingham Palace at the base of the statue of Queen Victoria, which always provided Jerramy with renewed sense of purpose during these troubled times. A spiritual consultation in East London enlightened the author to the best explanation for her lifelong obsession…her former life as a love-struck English noblewoman, “I’m sure many people would like to believe that they’ve lived a past life in the Tudor Court, but I really have!”
If there is a sudden influx of young, impressionable American girls on Prince Harry’s doorstep, he’ll know exactly who to blame. Some Day My Prince Will Come is a ‘can’t-put-it-down’ gem of a first book, which has already attracted a major following of young ladies professing to nurse similar infatuations with the current lot of handsome princes.
Ever vigilant to her fans, Jerramy’s next book will be full of useful tips on mixing with the upper echelons, including buying the perfect hat for Henley and her musings on signet rings. Not bad for a girl whose father expressed delight that this first book might be good publicity for his new cannabis ministry.
CF
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