Flashback Friday: ‘The Wedding of the Century’

35 years ago, the Prince of Wales married Lady Diana Spencer in the ‘wedding of century’ at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

As the Archbishop of Canterbury (then Robert Runcie) presided over the wedding ceremony, 3,500 guests watched on as the bride and groom made their vows – though not without some mishaps! Lady Diana took ‘Philip Charles Arthur George’ to be her husband, mixing up the groom’s names, while the Prince promised to share “all thy goods” with his bride, instead of “all my worldly goods.”

Following the processional back down the aisle after Charles and Diana had been pronounced husband and wife, a state landau carried the newly married Prince and Princess of Wales to Buckingham Palace, where they appeared on the balcony at just after 13:00. Joined by their families, and to the great cheer of the crowd, the couple shared a kiss (the first time a royal bridal couple had done so on the Palace balcony). Queen Elizabeth II looked away, while Prince Edward grinned.

A wedding breakfast for over one hundred of the couple’s closest family and friends was then held, where a five-foot tall fruitcake made over fourteen weeks by the Naval Armed Forces was served to the guests, before the Prince and Princess of Wales set off for Hampshire for their honeymoon (accompanied by a ‘Just Married’ sign tied to the back of their carriage by the groom’s mischievous brothers).

Diana’s wedding gown, a typical ‘meringue’ style that so readily says ‘1980s’, became one of the most recognised wedding gowns of all time. Designed by David and Elizabeth Emmanuel, it was made of ivory silk, taffeta, lace and some 10,000 pearls. It featured a 25-foot train, while the diamond Spencer family tiara anchored her veil.

While the grand wedding held much promise for the future of the royal family, the marriage – though producing two much-loved sons, William and Harry – soon soured. Charles and Diana officially separated in 1992, before a divorce was finalised in 1996.

Filed under The United Kingdom
Tagged Diana Princess of Wales, The Prince of Wales, Wedding Anniversary.

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