The Royal Report for Sunday April 10, 2011 - Royal Wedding Traditions

British Royal Weddings are steeped in tradition, some going back to Queen Victoria's time. One such tradition is the bride arriving at her wedding by the Glass Coach. Bride-to-be Kate Middleton has decided to arrive by car instead. How many more royal traditions are there for her to break?  Find out on this episode.

The Royal Report - Royal Wedding Traditions

Publications discussed

Hello! Canada Weekly No 213 11 April 2011

Doomed Queens: Royal Women Who Met Bad Ends, From Cleopatra to Princess Di

From My Royal Collection

Royal Weddings - A Very Peculiar History(Cherished Library)

Tune in to the next episode of The Royal Report on Sunday April 17, 2011 at 9:00PM EST (North America)

The topic will be: The Royal Wedding Report - April edition

© Marilyn Braun 2011

Thank you for enjoying this article. If you use the information for research purposes, a link to credit the work I've put into writing it would be appreciated.

Royal Focus: Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York's wedding dress

When asked about her wedding dress in 1986, Sarah Ferguson said "there will never be a dress to match it." And to date she has been correct. 

Her dress was designed by Lindka Cierach and was made from heavy ivory duchess satin, which was manufactured at Britain's only silk farm, Lullingstone near Sherborne in Dorset.The fabric was chosen because, according to Sarah 'it is the creamiest material in the world. It never creases. It is as smooth as glass and hangs beautifully.'

The champagne color of the dress flattered the bride's hair and skin tone. The design had a renaissance silhouette and the fitted, boned bodice had a dropped waist coming into a point at the front and a lower 'V' at the back. The neckline was gently curved and edged with pearls. The sleeves were full, coming into a simple pearl-edged point just below the elbow. 

The skirt was flat in front, widening on the sides and full at the back. The 17 1/2 foot train flowed from beneath a fan shaped bow and the underskirt was bordered by a silk scalloped lace flounce billowing out the heavy sheen of the satin skirt. The designer's hallmark - heavy beading - was most strikingly evident on the train and was based on Sarah's Coat-of-Arms.  Worked in seed pearls and diamante, the train was embroidered with thistles, bees and hearts and in a nod to Prince Andrew's naval career, anchors, and waves. Rising in a scale at the bottom of the train, a heraldic 'A' led into a double 'S'.  The pure silk tulle veil had scalloped edging and was embroidered with true lover's knots and shimmered with sequins. The total number of bugle beads, sequins, crystals pearls and stones on the wedding dress amounted to 155,000.

The satin shoes were designed by Manolo Blahnik and beaded with bees and ribbons in pearls and diamonds. She wore a necklace of cultured pearls intertwined with 18 carat gold and a diamond pearl pendant. She wore a headdress off fresh flowers - roses, lily petals , gardenias (Andrew's favorite flower) and lilies-of-the-valley. At the end of the ceremony the headdress was removed to reveal a diamond tiara, symbolic of her metamorphosis from commoner to royal. As Sarah recalled 'I had stepped up as the country girl; I would walk back as a princess.'

In her hands Sarah carried an "S' shaped spray of cream lilies, palest yellow roses, gardenias, lilies of the valley and the traditional sprig of myrtle.  

© Marilyn Braun 2010

Thank you for enjoying this article. If you use the information for research purposes, a link to credit the work I've put into writing it would be appreciated.

Resources

Their Royal Highnesses the Duke & Duchess of York by Christopher Warwick and Valerie Garner

Royal Style Wars : The Trend-Setting Fashion Feud Between the Princess of wales And the Duchess of York

Royalty in Vogue by Josephine Ross

My Story by Sarah, Duchess of York

Invitation To a Royal Wedding ( Sarah Ferguson, Prince Andrew by Trevor Hall

Official Celebration of the Royal Wedding by Gordon Honeycombe

The Royal Report for Sunday April 18, 2010 - Royal Weddings

Royal weddings have been held in many different venues. Traditionally they are held at Westminster Abbey. Should Prince William and Kate Middleton get married, where is their royal wedding likely to be held?

Find out on this episode!

Publications mentioned

Hello! Canada Weekly No 169 19 April 2010

From My Royal Collection

Theirs is the Kingdom: The Wealth of British Royal Family by Andrew Morton

Resources used to research this episode

Two Centuries of Royal Weddings by Christofer Warwick

Britain's Royal Brides by Josy Argy and Wendy Riches

Weddings in Westminster Abbey

Weddings in St George's Chapel Windsor

Tune in LIVE to the next episode of The Royal Report on Sunday April 25, 2010 at 9:00PM EST

The topic will be: In honor of the Queen's 84th birthday on April 21, 2010. A look back at her life and times.

© Marilyn Braun 2010

Royal Wedding Months

While researching a recent episode of my show, The Royal Report, I noticed that I haven't written a blog post about the months that royal weddings have been held on. Since Queen Victoria's time, June and July seems to be the most popular months to hold them.

January

Princess Victoria, Princess Royal & Prince Frederick William of Prussia - January 25,1858

George, The Earl of St Andrews & Sylvana Tomaselli - January 9, 1988

Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburg & Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia - January 23, 1874

February

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert - February 10, 1840

Princess Mary, Princess Royal and Viscount Lascelles - February 28, 1922

Princess Patricia of Connaught & The Hon. Alexander Ramsay - February 27, 1919

March

King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra - March 10, 1863

Princess Louise and Marquess of Lorne - March 21, 1871

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught & Princess Margurite of Prussia - March 13, 1879

April

Princess Alexandra of Kent & Angus Ogilvy - April 24, 1963

King George VI & Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother - April 26, 1923

Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles - April 9, 2005

Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany & Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont - April 27, 1882

May

Peter Philips and Autumn Kelly - May 17, 2008

Princess Margaret & Antony Armstrong Jones - May 6, 1960

June

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Katherine Worsley - June 8, 1961

Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys Jones - June 19, 1999

Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson - June 3, 1937

Prince Richard and Birgitte van Deurs - June 8, 1972

Prince Michael of Kent & Marie-Christine von Reibnitz - June 30, 1978

Alexander, Earl of Ulster & Claire Booth - June 22, 2002

July

Princess Alice & Prince Louise of Hesse and by Rhine - July 1, 1862

Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer - July 29, 1981

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson - July 23, 1986

King George V and Queen Mary - July 6, 1893

Lady Sarah Armstrong Jones & Daniel Chatto - July 14, 1994

Lady Helen Windsor & Tim Taylor - July 18, 1992

Princess Beatrice & Prince Henry of Battenburg - July 23, 1885

Lady Davina Windsor & Gary Lewis - July 31, 2004

Lady Rose Windsor & George Gilman - July 19, 2008

August

There have been no notable royal weddings in this month

September

There have been no notable royal weddings in this month

October

Princess Alice of Battenburg & Prince Andrew of Greece - October 6, 1903

David Linley & Serena Stanhope - October 8, 1993

Lord Nicholas Windsor & Paola Doimi de Lupis Frankopan October 19, 2006 (Civil Ceremony)

November

Lord Nicholas Windsor & Paola Doimi di Delupis de Frankopan - November 4, 2006 (Religious Ceremony)

Princess Anne and Mark Philips - November 14, 1973

Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester & Lady Alice Montagu-Douglas Scott - November 6, 1935

Prince George, Duke of Kent & Princess Marina of Greece - November 29, 1934

December

Princess Anne, The Princess Royal & Timothy Laurence - December 12, 1992


© Marilyn Braun 2009

Royal Review - Royal Weddings by Friederike Haedecke and Julia Melchior

While there are many books on royal weddings, Royal Weddings by Friederike Haedecke and Julia Melchior is different. Looking at the cover with the famous photo of Diana on her wedding day, you could be forgiven for thinking of this as just another book focusing on British royal weddings. But such a nod and cover photo is necessary, if only because Diana is the most globally recognizable. Aside from Princess Grace of Monaco, the other brides may be completely foreign to those outside of their respective countries. But the cover is also somewhat misleading. Those expecting a book about Diana or other British royal brides are in for a surprise. This is no ordinary book on the subject.

Of the fourteen weddings, this book starts off with the most controversial one: Prince Haakon of Norway to Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby. For those who are not familiar with this story, prior to her wedding Mette-Marit was a single mother with an illegitimate child. Not your typical Cinderella. Despite the schmaltzy chapter title: Victory of Love, their relationship and wedding is covered in a way it would be for any other royal wedding. The couples are presented as real people in remarkable settings, sharing their special day with the rest of the world.

This book is beautiful, with full page color photos. The couples and their weddings are presented as real people, in remarkable settings, sharing their special day. There are some interesting bits of trivia: Princess Mary of Denmark's bridal bouquet was placed on her mother's grave in Scotland. Queen Silvia of Sweden's handkerchief was attached to her wrist with a rubber band. Not to mention the 44 pound wedding dress of Soraya Esfandiary, second wife of the Shah of Iran.

The weddings are grouped together, Scandinavian (Norway, Sweden and Denmark), Greek, Spanish, Monaco, British and Dutch. Those of Japan, Iran and Brunei stand out and make interesting inclusions if only to see how royal weddings are celebrated outside of European traditions. While the focus is very much on the current royal couples, there are some weddings from previous generations such as Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus, Princess Sophia of Greece and Don Juan Carlos of Spain, Queen Elizabeth II & Prince Philip. The oldest wedding is that of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert but the inclusion of Charles and Diana is somewhat predictable. However it's the weddings we only get a glimpse of that could have been very interesting additions, such the current King and Queen of Norway or even Queen Margarethe and Prince Henrik of Denmark.

Were it not for this book the details of these weddings, such as the wedding dress designer, locations of ceremony, guests, royal traditions, would otherwise be lost to the sands of time. Now the information is compiled in one place. The book is well researched but mentioning that Queen Victoria was 5'8" is questionable when most sources list her at 5 feet. Otherwise the book is a treat for the eyes and for those who love the ultimate in royal pageantry.

© Marilyn Braun 2009

Royal Wedding Bouquets

An occupational hazard of marrying into the royal family is receiving thousands of bouquets throughout your royal career. While these flowers may be easily forgotten, the most famous flowers, their wedding bouquets are freeze framed in the official pictures for other future brides, royal and non-royal, to take inspiration from.

Queen Victoria (1840) a small posy made up solely of snowdrops (Prince Albert's favorite flower).

Queen Mary (1893) The bridal bouquet was of rare white flowers, with the old Provence rose 'House of York' predominating. The bouquet also included white orchids, lilies of the valley, orange blossom and a new white carnation called 'The Bride'.

Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mother (1923) Some reports say the bouquet was created by Edward Goodyear and included roses and lilies-of-the-valley with a white rose on either side. Other reports say that the bouquet was comprised of white roses and heather and was made by the Worshipful Company of Gardeners. None of the wedding photos show the flowers because upon entering Westminster Abbey she placed her bouquet on the tomb of the unknown solider.

Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (1934) A bouquet of lilies

Queen Elizabeth II (1947) Supplied by the Worshipful Company of Gardeners, and made by Longmans florists. It was was made up of three kinds of British-grown orchids: cattleya, odontoglossum and cypripedium - to which was added a sprig of myrtle from a bush at Osborne House, Queen Victoria's house on the Isle of Wight.

Princess Margaret (1960) bouquet comprised of white orchids and stephanotis

Princess Alexandra (1963) Victorian posy of freesias, narcissi, stephanoitis and lilies-of-the-valley

Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester (1972) bouquet made by her mother-in-law Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. Modeled on a traditional Danish wedding sheaf, it was comprised of white and cream summer flowers bound with satin ribbon.

Princess Anne, Princess Royal - (1973) Bridal bouquet of white roses, lilies of the valley and stephanotis was "something old" —a sprig of myrtle grown on the Isle of Wight from a sprig of Queen Victoria's wedding bouquet—and a bit of white heather for good luck. Second wedding (1992) she carried a posy of heather and wore white blossoms in her hair.

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York (1986) Wore a headdress of gardenias (Prince Andrew's favorite flower) during the ceremony. After signing the wedding register she wore a borrowed tiara. In her memoirs she writes: "It was my time to be Cinderella. I had stepped up as the country girl; I would walk back as a princess." The bouquet was an 'S'-shaped spray of cream lilies, palest yellow roses, gardenias, lilies-of-the-valley and the traditional sprig of myrtle.

Sophie, Countess of Wessex (1999) The shower bouquet was created around a new variety of tall lily named after Sophie. The rest was comprised of blown ivory garden roses, scented stephanotis, clustered lily of the valley and ivory freesia.

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (2005) Designed by Shane Connolly of Shane Connolly Flowers Ltd For the Service of Dedication she carried a small, simple elegant floral bouquet bound with silk from her dress. Complementing the grey blue of her dress, Auricular flowers in dusty shades of greys and creams with touches of gold, have been mixed with clusters of Lily of the Valley both for the scent and the sentiment. Again, these flowers are cut from English grown plants later to be grown in the gardens at Highgrove. A sprig of myrtle, representing happy marriage, was sent from a well wisher in Cornwall for the bouquet.

© Marilyn Braun 2009


Thank you for enjoying this article. If you use the information for research purposes, a link to credit the work I've put into writing it would be appreciated.


Related articles

Royal Weddings

Royal Wedding Dresses

Question: Princess Diana's wedding bouquet

Question: Queen Victoria's wedding dress and bouquet

Question: Queen Victoria's Wedding Dress and Bouquet

Could you tell me more about Queen Victoria's wedding dress and bouquet?

Thank you very much for your question.

On her wedding day Queen Victoria wore a shoulder-free white satin court dress. The bodice had a low, round neck and edging the neckline were narrow rows of piping and the short, full sleeves gathered into double puffs. The fullness of the skirt was taken in at the waist in a series of deep forward-facing pleats. The skirt had a deep panel of Honiton lace at the front, chosen by Victoria to support the declining lace trade. A court train, made of the same silk satin, measured 6 years in length and had a border of orange blossom sprays matching the coronet of orange blossoms from which her veil was suspended. The choice of orange blossom is significant and somewhat prophetic. In the Mediterranean, it was a symbol of fertility; Queen Victoria would later have nine children. In China it was an emblem of purity, innocence, and chastity; bywords for the Victorian era.

Queen Victoria wanted her entire ensemble to be made of materials of British manufacture. Probably the most well known aspect of her dress is the honiton lace used for her veil and for the flounce. The design of the lace is attributed to Wiliam Dyce and a colleague at the Government School of Design in London. It took more than one hundred lace makers six months to make the exquisite lace and the pattern was destroyed so that it could never be copied. Of her five daughters only her youngest, Princess Beatrice, would get to wear it on her wedding day in 1885. The veil was amongst Queen Victoria's most prized possessions and she would eventually be buried with it.

Because her gown and veil were all in white, she is credited with helping to establish a custom of wearing white, which continues to this day. Previously royal brides had worn gold and silver colors in order to express their wealth. Commoners often wore dark colors in order to use their gowns for other special days. It is said that the simplicity of her dress would set a pattern for other royal wedding dresses - although looking at some of the wedding dresses that followed, I would disagree with that. Many royal wedding dresses have been quite elaborate with beautiful embroidery - hardly simple at all. If anything it would be 120 years later that simplicity would return with Princess Margaret's dress in 1960.

As for her bouquet, Queen Victoria carried a small posy made up solely of snowdrops (Prince Albert's favorite flower). It's somewhat unfortunate but I can only find one source for this information. In reference to bridal bouquets, there is a royal wedding tradition of brides including a sprig of myrtle in their bouquets. This bush was grown from a cutting brought from Coburg by Prince Albert. Sprigs have been included in the bouquets of all royal brides since the 1850s.

© Marilyn Braun 2008

Thank you for enjoying this article. If you use the information for research purposes, a link to credit the work I've put into writing it would be appreciated.

Sources:

Royal Wedding Dresses by Nigel Arch and Joanna Marschner. A Historic Royal Palaces publication.

Royal Weddings by Friederike Haedecke and Julia Melchior

Legendary Brides by Letita Baldrige

I Do: 100 Years of Wedding Fashion by Caroline Cox
Britain's Royal Brides by Josy Argy and Wendy Riches

Five Gold Rings - A Royal Wedding Souvenir Album - by Jane Roberts for Royal Collection Publications

Two Centuries of Royal Weddings by Christopher Warwick

Related Articles

Royal Weddings
Royal Wedding Dresses
Question: Princess Diana's Wedding Bouquet

© Marilyn Braun 2008

Question: The Duke and Duchess of Windsor's wedding rings

....I have not found, anywhere, any information on the wedding rings of the Duke and Duchess, and this is my query: Is there a photograph, or description of the rings – somewhere? Were the Duke and Duchess buried wearing the rings, or, were the rings auctioned at Sotheby’s with the Duchess’ jewelry (after her death)?

Thank you for your questions!

You're right, there doesn't seem to be a lot of photos of the wedding rings out there. But given the fabulous collection of jewels that the Duchess owned, this is not surprising. While there are some photos of her with a plain ring on her wedding finger, they're not close up. For the most part she seems to have been photographed with her engagement ring; a large flawless emerald cut from the size of a bird's egg that belonged to a Mogul Emperor. So while she might have worn her wedding ring everyday, the size of her engagement ring would have dwarfed it. Looking at wedding photos some of them show her wearing just the wedding ring. Incidentally, the gloves she wore for her wedding were designed to open on the ring finger of the left hand. In some photos during the Second World War, where she is contributing to the war effort, you can see her wearing just the wedding ring. Anything larger would have been inappropriate. Many photos show her wearing gloves so the rings would not be seen. She was said to be rather meticulous about her grooming and she had manicures everyday, but her hairdresser recalled: She hated her hands. She always sat with her hands between her knees trying to hide them. Interesting then that she wore such extravagantly large rings that drew attention to them.

In most books about her there is very little reference to the wedding rings. Considering the circumstances, that would have been a minor detail. One book refers to it as being made from gold mined from the Welsh hills with a platinum copy auctioned in 1987 at Sotheby's. There are several wedding rings listed in the Sotheby's sale: lot #142 lists a 'platinum wedding ring, English, 1937, inscribed 'Wallis 18-10-35 Your David 3-VI-37' the two dates commemorate when the Prince proposed and the date of their marriage. In lot #177 there are 'Four wedding rings, all inscribed'. In photos the Duke of Windsor wears two rings on the fifth finger of his left hand, which seems to be the place royal men wear their wedding rings. Why there are five wedding rings in the auction, and whether one of them would have belonged to the Duke of Windsor is anybody's guess. Maybe he was buried with his but I highly doubt it.

Unfortunately I cannot locate photos specifically of these rings. Your best bet would be to see if you can purchase the auction catalogue which is rare and depending on where you look, very expensive, Sotheby's The Jewels of the Duchess of Windsor sold for the benefit of the Pasteur Institute. Or The Jewels of the Duchess of Windsor, by John Culme and Nicholas Rayner, written after the auction and a more affordable option. You might find photographs there.

Update: Although it's an interesting book, The Jewels of the Duchess of Windsor by John Culme and Nicholas Rayner (written after the auction) does not have a photo of the wedding rings. Nor does the official auction catalogue.

Sources:

The Windsor Style by Suzy Menkes

The Royal Jewels by Suzy Menkes

Famous Jewelry Collectors by Stefano Papi & Alexandra Rhodes

The Windsor Years by Lord Kinross

Edward VIII - The Road to Abdication - by Frances Donaldson

The Secret Life of The Duchess of Windsor by Charles Higham

The Windsor Story by J. Bryan III and Charles J.V. Murphy

Related Articles:

Royal Engagement Rings

Jewels fit for a Queen

© Marilyn Braun 2008

Question: Princess Diana's wedding bouquet

Do you happen to know how much Princess Diana's wedding bouquet weighed? My sister had an exact replica of her bouquet for her wedding. I was only 13 at the time but i recall it being extremely heavy.

Thank you for your question.

The wedding bouquet that Diana, Princess of Wales carried for her wedding in 1981 was made by Longmans Florists, who also designed and made the bouquet for the Queen when she married in 1947. The bouquet was a gift from the Worshipful Company of Gardeners.

The bouquet, 42" long and 15" wide, was of a cascading shower design similar to those from Edwardian times. It set a trend for wedding bouquets which up to that point at been comparably small. The designers of her wedding dress, David and Elizabeth Emanuel wanted Diana to have a large bouquet, as a small one would have obviously been dwarfed by the size of her dress. The flowers that comprised the bouquet were:

Gardenias
Stephanotis
Freesia
Odontoglossum Orchid (Royal Wedding)
Lily of the Valley
Earl Mountbatten Roses
Hedera (Ivy)
Tradescantia
Myrtle
Veronica (Hebe)

It's worth noting that it is a royal wedding tradition for a sprig of myrtle, from the bush grown from the original myrtle in Queen Victoria's wedding bouquet, to be included. The Earl of Mountbatten roses were a tribute to Prince Charles' "Uncle Dickie" Lord Louis Mountbatten, who had died in 1979. The yellow color of the rose incidentally inspired the bridesmaid dresses.

Three bouquets were made, one for the practice the night before the wedding, the second was delivered to St. James' Palace. The third was taken to Buckingham Palace on the day of the wedding and used for the formal photographs. As per royal wedding tradition, at least one of them would have been placed after the wedding on the tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey.

Unfortunately, the Longman family sold their business a few years ago so there's no way to ask them about the specific weight. But according to the press release for the wedding bouquet: 'It is well balanced,and although heavier than most carried nowadays the distribution should not be too tiresome for the Bride.'

Whatever the weight, lets hope there was no bouquet toss; she could have seriously injured someone in the process!

Update: I was able to find out the information on the weight of the bouquet. It weighed approximately between 2-3 kilo's. Thank you to Yoko Hansen for providing this info!

© Marilyn Braun 2008

Thank you for enjoying this article. If you use the information for research purposes, a link to credit the work I've put into writing it would be appreciated.

Bouquet Information Source:

A Dress for Diana by David Emanuel and Elizabeth Emanuel

Related article:

Royal Weddings

Royal Engagements

Not a week goes by without some prediction on when an engagement will be announced between Prince William and Kate Middleton. New Years? Birthdays? Valentine's Day? Christmas? One day someone will be right, but for now we're left to speculate. Looking back on the last 150 years engagements have been announced at various times. Note the short time between the engagement and the wedding dates!

Spring Engagements

King George V and Queen Mary: May 3rd, 1893 (Married July 6th, 1893)

Princess Anne and Captain Mark Philips: May 29, 1973 (Married November 14, 1973)

Summer Engagements

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip: July 9, 1947 (Married November 20, 1947)

Autumn Engagements

King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra: September 9, 1862 (Married March 10, 1863)

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert: November 23rd 1839 (Married on February 10, 1840)

Princess Alexandra and Angus Ogilvy : November 19, 1962 (Married April 24, 1963)

Winter Engagements

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth: January 15, 1923 (Married April 23, 1923)

Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones : February 26, 1960 (Married May 6, 1960)

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Katherine Worsley: March 8, 1961 (Married June 8, 1961)

Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer: February 24, 1981 (Married July 29, 1981)

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson: March 19, 1986 (Married July 23, 1986)

Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones: January 6, 1999 (Married June 19, 1999)

Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles: February 10, 2005 (Married April 9, 2005)

Judging by this list, winter, specifically early in the year, seems to be the preferred season to announce engagements. Giving enough time to prepare for a summer royal wedding. Maybe predictions of a winter engagement for William and Kate may not be so far off after all?

Related Articles:

Royal Weddings
Royal Engagement Rings
Royal Wedding Dresses
Royal Wedding Trivia
Question: Royal Wedding Tradition?

© Marilyn Braun 2008

Royal Weddings

With the exception of coronation ceremonies, nothing compares to the pageantry of a royal wedding. Whether people support the monarchy or not, the ceremony can capture the world's attention like no other event. Indeed, some 750 million people are said to have watched the wedding of Prince Charles & Lady Diana Spencer. These occasions are a time of celebration and at times have lifted the spirit of the British public after the war or challenging economic times. The glamour is enticing, the speculation of what the bride will wear is intense. The rush to sell souvenirs, whether tasteful or otherwise, is competitive. Royal weddings are big business.

There are quite a few traditions associated with royal weddings and there is a special romantic appeal to them. With the upcoming marriage of the Prince of Wales to Camilla Parker-Bowles some of these traditions have fallen by the wayside. I feel that this is truly a shame as traditions, whether related to weddings or not, seem to be a rare occurrence these days.

Time of ceremony:

Before Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg in 1840, most royal marriages were celebrated at night. Queen Victoria chose to break with that tradition and held her own ceremony at one o'clock in the afternoon. Most royal weddings are now held in the early to late afternoon.

Transportation:

Some methods of transportation for the royal party have been coach, carriage, landau or Rolls-Royce. The Glass Coach made it's debut as a bridal coach in 1922. Since then, most royal brides have used it. It is also used to transport the newlyweds back to Buckingham Palace. The first exception to this was the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1981 when the 1902 State Landau was used. The Prince of Wales rode to his wedding in it and the newlyweds used it for their return to the palace . With the wedding of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones, the bride used a more modest form of transportation - a Rolls Royce.

Wedding Dress

With the majority of weddings, whether royal or not, the wedding dress is usually the centerpiece of the day. Queen Victoria was said to be the first royal bride to wear white at her wedding and Princess Elizabeth is said to have been the first one to wear a veil that covered her face. With royal dresses in the past there was a need to adhere to 'political correctness'. In 1863 Princess Alexandra of Denmark was to wear a dress made of Brussels lace but it was deemed too unpatriotic. At Princess Elizabeth's wedding in 1947 shortly after the war ended, care was taken that the silk worms used for the dress not be of Japanese or Italian origin. Many royal wedding dresses have had beautiful embroidery and long trains, Princess Elizabeth's and Sarah, Duchess of York to name two examples. The record for the longest royal train belongs to Diana, Princess of Wales at 25 feet.

Royal Bouquet

There are two traditions associated with the bridal bouquet, one is that a sprig of myrtle is included. These sprigs come from a bush grown from a cutting which had formed part of Queen Victoria's bridal bouquet. The other tradition is placing the bouquet on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Although the start of this tradition is attributed to Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, in fact Princess Mary (daughter of George V) paid a similar tribute first. On her way back from her wedding, she stopped her carriage at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, and handed her bouquet to an officer who laid it on the steps of the war memorial.

Public and Private Weddings

It's an understatement to say that Royal weddings tend to be very public occasions. However, one time, all royal weddings were held away from the public gaze with only close family and friends invited. These ceremonies were often brief and business like. The first public royal wedding was in 1501, when Arthur, Prince of Wales, married Catherine of Aragon. At the wedding of Prince Albert & Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon there was some debate on whether or not to broadcast the ceremony for fear that men in taverns would be listening with their hats on! In 1947 Princess Elizabeth's wedding was broadcast on the radio and newsreel footage was shown in the country's cinemas. The 1960's wedding of Princess Margaret was televised. The more recent royal weddings of Princess Anne, Prince Edward and now Prince Charles, seem to be reverting back to becoming more private occasions.

Royal wedding venues
Although Westminster Abbey is the most closely associated with royal weddings, this wasn't always the case. Most royal weddings had been celebrated in one of two places - Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace and St. George's Chapel Windsor. In 1919 Princess Patricia of Connaught married Commander the Hon. Alexander Ramsay at the Abbey. Princess Patricia, felt that as a junior member of the royal family, she should celebrate her marriage in a 'church more keeping with her status.' Prior to this event the abbey had not been used for royal weddings since the 13th century. This wedding set a trend and subsequent weddings were celebrated at this venue.

Notable royal weddings that have been celebrated at the abbey:
Princess Mary and Henry, Viscount Lascelles in 1922
Prince Albert & Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon - 1923
Princess Marina and Prince George of Kent - 1934. As Princess Marina belonged to the Greek Orthodox church, a second ceremony took place at Buckingham Palace in the private chapel.
Princess Elizabeth & The Duke of Edinburgh - 1947
Princess Margaret & Antony Armstrong-Jones - 1960
Princess Alexandra & The Hon. Angus Ogilvy - 1963
Princess Anne & Captain Mark Phillips - 1973
Prince Andrew & Sarah Ferguson - 1986

When Prince Charles married his first wife, Lady Diana Spencer, in 1981, they chose St. Paul's Cathedral. Some of the reasons for this change was the fact that it was larger, had a more open concept for guests, and Prince Charles is a fan of the architecture and acoustics. Also, the Abbey probably brought back painful memories for Charles; in 1979 the funeral of Lord Louis Mountbatten, a close mentor of Prince Charles, was held there.

Other venues for royal weddings:
The Chapel at Buckingham Palace - Prince Henry & Lady Alice Montagu-Douglas-Scott - Duke and Duchess of Gloucester in 1935. The ceremony was originally intended for Westminster Abbey but the Lady Alice's father died suddenly and the venue and scale were changed out of respect. During WW2 the chapel was severely damaged by bombs and it is now the location of the Queen's Gallery.

Chapel Royal at St. James Palace - 4 of Queen Victoria's nine children and many of her grandchildren were married here.

St. George's Chapel Windsor Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (eldest son of Queen Victoria) and Princess Alexandra of Denmark, 1863, Princess Louise (third daughter of Queen Victoria) & the Marquess of Lorne 1871. Prince Edward & Sophie Rhys-Jones 1999.

Osbourne House - Isle of Wight - Princess Alice (second daughter of Queen Victoria) 1862

York Minister - The Duke of Kent & Katherine Worsley - 1961

St. Andrew's Church, Barnwell - Prince Richard of Gloucester & Birgitte van Deurs - 1972

Craithie Church at Balmoral. Princess Anne's second marriage to Commander Timothy Laurence - 1992

Windsor Guildhall -Prince Charles & Camilla Parker-Bowles - 2005

Wedding Rings:

In keeping with Royal tradition, the gold for royal wedding rings come froms the Clogau St David's mine in Bontddu, North Wales. It was mined by Cambrian Goldfields Ltd. Previous Royal wedding rings were made from 22ct gold from the same mine.The rings have been made from a celebrated nugget of Welsh gold which has been kept in the Royal vaults for nearly sixty years. The people of Wales gave it to the Queen Mother for her wedding ring in 1923 and it was used to make the rings for the Queen, Princess Margaret, Princess Anne, Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York.

© Marilyn Braun 2005

References

www.royal.gov.uk - Royal Insight - March 2005
Royalty in Vogue by Josephine Ross
Invitation to a Royal Wedding: Edward and Sophie by Peter Donnelly
Britian's Royal Brides by Josy Argy and Wendy Riches
Two Centuries of Royal Weddings by Christopher Warwick
Their Royal Highnesses The Duke & Duchess of York by Christopher Warwick and Valerie Garner
Invitation to a Royal Wedding: Charles and Diana by Kathryn Spink