The Unreal Wedding: Princess Diana and Prince Charles
Overloaded with Will & Kate royal wedding “news”? You haven’t seen anything yet. We’ve yet to reach the level of hysteria that accompanied the announcement of Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles’ engagement exactly 30 years ago. Diana’s wedding in July of 1981, included 27 wedding cakes, few friends, and 1 billion spectators. Above, There were 3,500 people in the congregation at St. Paul’s Cathedral watching when Diana broke with tradition by excluding the promise to “obey” her husband in her vows, instead promising to “love him, comfort him, honor and keep him in sickness and health.” The newlyweds exited the cathedral to Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance No. 4.” Below, Charles and Diana traveled to Buckingham Palace for the reception in an open carriage, as the adoring crowds cheered and waved—some even tossed rice and rose petals at the couple.
Before the celebratory luncheon began, the newlyweds posed for official portraits with their families and the wedding party in the Throne Room. In addition to the five bridesmaids, the royal wedding group included Charles’ godsons Lord Nicholas Windsor, 11, and Edward van Cutsem, 8, who served as pageboys, and Charles’ younger brothers, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, who served as his supporters (by tradition, kings and princes of England have “supporters” instead of a best man). “Patrick Lichfield took the wedding photographs—a cousin-once-removed to the Queen, he was well practiced at being around the royals and came armed with a whistle so he could keep the wedding party in line,” bridesmaid India Hicks recently told Tatler.
After the cake was cut, Diana changed into her going-away outfit, a pink ensemble designed by Belville Sassoon. Charles’ brothers had attached a “Just Married” sign, along with silver and blue balloons, to the carriage that brought the newlyweds to Waterloo Station. The couple took a train to Hampshire, where they spent two nights before leaving for a two-week Mediterranean cruise on the royal yacht Brittania.
At the wedding luncheon, 120 guests were served brill in lobster sauce, chicken breasts stuffed with lamb mousse, and strawberries with Cornish cream. The royal couple had 27 wedding cakes, with the official wedding cake (pictured) made by the Naval Armed Forces. The five foot cake, which Charles sliced with a ceremonial sword, featured the prince’s coat of arms, Diana’s family crest, an ornamental “C” and “D,” and was topped with roses, lilies of the valley, and orchids.
Let’s take a look at the wedding that started it all, here.
Tags: celebrity wedding, spring 2011, unique wedding dresses, wedding cake, wedding dress, wedding dresses, wedding gown
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