Johnny Rotten Sends Prince William and Kate Middleton a Love Letter

In the '70s, John Lydon called himself Johnny Rotten and raged against Britain's monarchy with the Sex Pistols' scorching "God Save The Queen." But in the British tabloid The Sun he wishes Prince William and his fiancée Kate Middleton the best — and notes that his problems with his homeland's royal family are rooted in the "austere nonsense ... being propagated," not the people themselves.

"People think I hate the Royal Family, but that's not true," Lydon says in the lengthy piece, which was culled from an interview with the Sex Pistols/Public Image Limited frontman. Lydon praised William's mother, the late Princess Diana, for changing the face of the royal family and helping them shake off the doldrums that led to "God Save the Queen."

"Di firmly started laying the pathway out of all that," Lydon said. "She was fantastic. Di introduced a different element to it all. She refused to turn up and just be a cartoon character in someone else's charade."

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He noted that the prince's presentation of his mother's ring, and not an heirloom from the royal side of the family, to Middleton marked a further decision to change the face of the monarchy.

Lydon even has hope for the country as a result of the wedding. "It will do wonders for Britain," he said. "Their wedding will become like an advertising campaign. Not deliberately — but it will."

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"Ultimately they are in love," Lydon told The Sun. "And love is not a problem. In fact, it is a way out of most problems. I wish them well."

God save Wills & Kate...says Johnny Rotten [The Sun via Prefix]

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Song Stories

“Let My Love Open the Door”

Pete Townshend | 1980

A peppy, hopeful love song, "Let My Love Open the Door" became a U. S. Top Ten hit for Pete Townshend in 1980, anchored by the kind of repeating synthesizer figures that he'd used in some of the Who's recordings in the previous decade. Although Townshend brushed the song off as "just a ditty" in Rolling Stone shortly after its release, in 1996 he revealed it was about love of the holiest sort. "It's supposed to be about the power of God's love," he remarked. "That when you're in difficulty, whether it's major or minor, God's love is always there for you."

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