A Peek Inside The History Of British Royal Weddings
How many young girls dreamt of being a princess and marrying her prince? For the thousands that dreamed, only a distinguished few actually did. British royal weddings have been part of our culture for centuries and with it the incredible pageants and inspirations of hope it leaves.
Can you imagine being the wedding photographer at some of these weddings?
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
Did you know that Queen Victoria has been credited for the modern day “white” wedding dress? On February 10, 1840 Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in London. With Prince Albert dressed in his British field marshal uniform, the Queen appeared in a white satin gown, while wearing a diamond encrusted tiara. Prior weddings the bride often wore their Sunday best, while royalty were dressed to the tilt in regalia of the monarchy.
Queen Victoria was 17 when she met Albert, who also was her first cousin. This was not unusual back in the day to keep royal unions within the family and not wander outside to the commoners. In addition, marriages for monarchs were usually based on strategically placed alliances and not for love. In the case of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, love won out.
Princess Elizabeth and Phillip
On the day of her wedding, November 20, 1947 Princess Elizabeth, who is now the current queen of England, wore a white silk satin gown that included garlands of jasmine, syringe, orange blossoms and White Rose of York. The dress included crystals and pearls, as well as long sleeves and a 15-foot train. She also wore a small diamond tiara that was given to her to wear for the event by her mother, Queen Victoria.
However, unlike modern times, Princess Elizabeth’s wedding came at a time of post-war England and a rationing of goods system was in place. Therefore, just like any other citizen, Princess Elizabeth saved and used her ration coupons to purchase the fabric needed for her gown.
Despite the excitement, this royal wedding almost never took place. Princess Elizabeth met Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, later to be known as the Duke of Edinburgh, in 1934 when she was only 13 years old; the two were distant cousins. The courtship remained a secret, despite their first photograph in 1939 at the age of 18. Then in 1946, it was a secret no more as they announced their engagement to the world.
There were several reasons why this marriage almost never happened, but primarily because Queen Victoria did not sign off on it for quite some time. Despite Philip’s noble bloodline, he did not have a fortune and was Greek Orthodox, but more importantly was his ties with Germany. Despite being born in Greece and living in the United Kingdom, he spent much of his school years in Germany and all three of his sister had married Germans; Germans that were thought to have ties to the Nazi’s. Therefore the Queen would refer to Philip derogatorily as “The Hun.”
Despite the Queen’s change of heart, only Philip’s non-German relatives were allowed to attend.
Prince Charles and Diana
The most anticipated royal wedding belonged to Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, which took place in front of 3,500 attendees at St. Paul’s Cathedral, two million people lining the procession trail and another 750 million television viewers worldwide on July 29, 1981. The wedding was a fairy tale that included the Prince finding this less than noble girl, the horse drawn carriage and a bridal gown that included a 25-foot train.
How did this fairly tale get its start? Prince Charles was in his mid-30’s and was being pressured to find a bride and to produce heirs to the throne. While dating Sarah Spencer, he met the younger sister and kindergarten teacher, Diana. Diana, 19 at the time, was a shy, but had a very caring soul. With the Prince, she saw it as true love, which unfortunately was not viewed the same by the Prince.
Their marriage however did not last. In less than a decade after the fairy tale wedding, they were leading separate lives. In December 1992, they officially separated and divorced on August 28, 1986 largely due to the Prince’s infidelity. Despite her own infidelities, Diana searched for real love. Diana blossomed as the “People’s Princess” as she involved herself in causes and charities, as well as having the connection to the commoner. Unfortunately, just a year after her divorce, she was killed in a car accident in France.
And the world wept.