Prince Phillip with the Sword of Truth and the Shield of Virtue that he uses to fight a dragon in Sleeping Beauty. Not much physical resemblance to RA but sort of does the raised eyebrow thing, don’t you think?
Source: http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Prince_Phillip/
I have been fascinated by all the stories of “How I became a Richard Armitage fan,” especially those who are experiencing this kind of obsession, er, hobby, for the first time. I’m afraid I suffer from a chronic syndrome which I have traced back to early childhood.
Recently I received from a friend a VHS copy of Sleeping Beauty, which he passed along knowing it was my favorite of the early Disney “princess” films. Watching it again (yes, I still have a VCR), it all came back to me. I remember seeing this for the first time in the theater (Note: remember this movie was released in the late 1950’s, so I would have seen it only in a theater, and maybe very occasionally on Wide World of Disney.) But I vividly recall an immediate crush on Prince Philip and even fantasies (albeit sweet, platonic ones). I really liked the idea that this prince had a real name – Prince Charming? Really? Reluctantly revealing my age here, but here goes: I would have been about 7 then.
In the intervening years, there was a string of actors, musicians, athletes (only Olympic ones, for some reason), and even journalists who captured my imagination. I don’t know whether this supports the nurture vs. nature aspect of this, but my mother was complicit in this to some extent – particularly when it came to Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Omar Sharif. I don’t know, and never will, if her crushes were as intense as mine were – you know, the fantasies and all.
I will save for a later post a discussion of my journey into Armitage World although it seems similar to that of others who have already told their stories. Suffice it to say for now that this gentleman has totally captured my (fangirl) heart. And I don’t mean to minimize the extent of my fascination with Richard Armitage by saying, “Oh, I’ve been doing this forever. Next week it’ll be someone different.” To the extent that we can sort of know what he’s like (a notion that has been deftly explored and beautifully expressed by other bloggers out there), he seems a truly unique person, with so many talents and “hooks” that caught my interest and my eye. I think more of that should be a later post, though.
The Dark Prince
Source: richardarmitagenet.com
I have read with great interest and admiration the words of those of you who have so thoughtfully, honestly, and expressively explored the reasons for your Armitage-ness. I am impressed, and humbled, that there are so many creative, articulate, and slightly crazy (in a good way) women who follow RA. As for me, to date I’ve seen it as an appreciation of interesting and attractive men, but I look forward to possibly going beneath that simple explanation… or maybe not. I do this mostly because it’s fun, it brings me pleasure and purrs, and, for reasons discussed elsewhere, I feel I need/deserve this at this stage of my life. (But I guess I’ve used that rationalization since age 7, haven’t I?)
The Dwarf Prince
Source: richardarmitagenet.com; my edit.
So back to Sleeping Beauty – After re-watching this wonderful movie, and pondering how to approach this whole blogging thing, it seemed appropriate for me, and kind of sweet, to refer to this totally captivating man as Aurora’s Prince. Once upon a dream, Mr. Armitage.
The Modern Day Prince
Source: richardarmitagenet.com
l'Esprit de la Cote 
What a lovely post. Once upon a dream, indeed. :} That’s a perfect way to describe it – and I loved your analogy of the purrs. I always call it “tuning in” to what makes me happiest, because I always feel like I’m receiving some palliative Grace from the Universe… and I always feel it when I’m looking at photos of MrA. Hmmmmmmpurrrrrrrr. Meow. Mwah and welcome!! 😀
Christine, thanks for the comments. So interesting to hear others having that bit of blissful “being.” Grace from the Universe, indeed. I love that! I wonder if anyone else has something comparable to our hmmmmmmpurrrrrrr? (And yes, occasionally – no, often – when looking at RA, those purrs turn to meow!)
“creative, articulate, and slightly crazy (in a good way)” – I like that! Welcome to the party 🙂
obscura, I’m glad that didn’t rub anyone the wrong way – the crazy part. It was meant only and absolutely as a sign of my admiration for this group. As I was skulking around the blogosphere, I was always impressed with those qualities. Now I’m delighted to be so warmly welcomed. Party on!
Welcome! I’m looking forward to reading your other posts.
Thanks, Leigh. I’m excited to have reached this point and hope to have more out there soon.
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Welcome to the group of people who are Armitage addicted and want/need to talk about it!
My position (after years of this now) is that it means whatever it means — if it’s deeper, it’s deeper, if it’s not, it’s not, the main thing is that it brings pleasure, reliably, over and over again. I admit that I’m curious to hear about the connection between Armitage and the fairy tale, however.
I expect this journey will be some of both – deep and frivolously shallow – but I agree the pleasure is what drives us on. Re: Armitage and Sleeping Beauty: I’m afraid my connection is somewhat tenuous and, now that I think about it, not as easy to summarize as I’d thought. I suppose the prince of that tale began to represent to me, at a very early age, an ideal man. I’m not sure I’d put other celebrity crushes from years past in this category, but most certainly RA fits the bill, in appearance, demeanor, and character. In a moment of pleasant reverie about this, the connection was made – Richard Armitage/Aurora’s Prince, and I’ve been unable to shake the sweetness of it ever since.