Given the inseparable links between music and the British Monarchy, it naturally follows that the music chosen for royal weddings reflected both the importance of the occasion as well as the personal taste of the monarch. Whether it was the splendour of Handel’s marriage anthem ‘Sing unto God’ for the wedding of Frederick, Prince of Wales in 1736 or the Chorale composed by Prince Albert…
Traditionally royal grooms do not wear a wedding ring, with only the bride receiving a wedding band during the ceremony. It is currently unknown whether Prince Harry will continue with this tradition or opt to wear a band to display his love rather than royal protocol.
The…
The Quire of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor is an area extraordinarily rich in the history of the English Monarchy, yet this sacred and mystical space in the Chapel enshrining the Order of the Garter – the Order’s spiritual home – is as much associated with royal…
All Fine on the Day: a look at past royal weddings which have turned out well despite problems
16th May 2018
Being part of a royal family may be a privilege but it does not protect its members from the worries and woes that beset everyone else.
Weddings are famously fraught with difficulties, as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are discovering. Perhaps they can take comfort from the fact that other royal nuptials have faced problems in the past, yet everything has turned out fine.
The wedding of Prince…
On 21 September 1662, Samuel Pepys entered the following words into his Restoration diary: “The Queen coming by in her coach, going to her chappell at St. James’s (the first time it hath been ready for her), I crowded after her, and I got up to the room where her closet…
The portrait by the Parisian painter Jean-Marc Nattier of the 17-year-old Princess Isabella of Parma, (1741-1763) – the best known that was made of her – seems in some ways to symbolise her short life. Today it is kept in the vast collection of the Kunsthistorisches…
It is perhaps the most famous royal wedding dress of them all. The gown worn by Lady Diana Spencer for her marriage to Prince Charles, Prince of Wales on July 29th, 1981 at St Paul’s Cathedral has its special place in royal history. Designed by David and Elizabeth Emanual, it came to symbolise the fairytale wedding that hundreds of millions of people around the world tuned in to watch. The…
It’s a formal moment in a ceremonial event but amidst the ancient language and symbolic illustrations on the Instrument of Consent for the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are some very personal links between them and the Queen. For this document, revealed…
When you’re marrying into a family with one of the most famous jewellery collections in the world, finding the perfect wedding tiara might seem like a stroll but with so much choice, how do you pick? With just days to go until the Royal Wedding, some regal diadems are…
Comparison between historical personalities should, as a rule, always be treated with caution even if given life circumstances are similar; an example of this might be ‘comparisons’ made between the legendary Empress Elisabeth of Austria and the late Diana, Princess of Wales. Where an interest or association is deliberately fostered by one of the individuals, this can, of course, be better…
