Bedroom Diaries
Dwayne Kennedy
WRITING: RANDI BERGMAN
@randibergman
PHOTOGRAPHY: RENATA KAVEH
@renatakaveh
Though it may be hard to believe now, in the mid to late ‘90s, Prince William was the absolute tits. And by that, I mean that he had legions of die-hard fans, mainly of the screaming teenage girl variety, who’d plaster their walls with his super-hot cover of YM Magazine, conjure a single tear while singing “Candle in the Wind,” and study his tabloid bios in the hopes of one day becoming his bride. Perhaps his most ardent one, however, was a closeted little bb in Clark’s Corner, New Brunswick (population: 924) named Dwayne Kennedy. “I honestly thought I would have a casual friendship with him,” he says of the intentions behind the tens of letters he wrote to the Royal back in the day. He wrote William, sure. But he also wrote Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and … Hillary Clinton? “I was trying every angle possible, and must have saw or read something about her, and thought, “Oh maybe she could help,” he says. In these absolutely iconic writings, Kennedy would repeatedly beg for his letters to be given audience with the future King of England:
"Whoever gets this letter from Eton the letter which is attached to this is a letter for His Royal Highness Prince William. Will you please give him this letter for me?"
“I understand that William receives a tremendous amount of mail and it would be an eternity for him to give personal replies. I know I am no different from everybody else, but if you only knew how important this was to me you would see I would want him to reply personally. So please let him write back and please don’t get one of his secretaries to write back,” reads one.
“Whoever gets this letter from Eton the letter which is attached to this is a letter for His Royal Highness Prince William. Will you please give him this letter for me? I would really appreciate if you would give him this letter,” reads another.
Of his detour into the twilight zone of delusion, Kennedy says, “It’s super hilarious looking back but I was a dreamer and still am today. I still believe being persistent in anything always pays off – and I was very persistent.”
That royal fantasy may not yet have come to fruition (unless you count the times he and the rest of the Toronto scene hobnobbed with a pre-Harry Meghan Markle), but Kennedy has moved onto bigger and better. Now 34, the fashion director and producer is one of the most integral forces driving the Canadian fashion industry. Previously with his company, The Collections, he raised up local designers and brought together a community that can, at best, be described as fragmented. Now, he’s set to launch Somebody, a production platform that will connect clients with creators through a tech algorithm he and his team developed. He’s also got a podcast in the works with Entertainment One, where he’ll shine a light on the social issues and current realities facing the fashion industry today.
He may have come a long way from those early days, but Kennedy is still an absolute delight that I am lucky to know and love. Without further ado, here are the royal artifacts shot on location at the home he shares with his prince and fiancé, Wolf. Some dreams do come true.
