Praised by Alexander Pope in his Moral Essays as possessing a ‘proud alcove’ in which one might happily be ‘galant and gay’, the great house of Cliveden, Taplow, where Meghan Markle spent the night before her wedding to Prince Harry, was visited by Queen Victoria in 1866, who stayed as guest of the Duchess of Sutherland from 26 May to 5 June. It was not the first time she had visited…
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…
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 weddings as well as royal burial. The marble floor of the Quire carries with it quite literally, the strata of centuries and…
From the roof, you can see Windsor Castle, but that’s not nearly the most regal thing about Cliveden in Buckinghamshire where Meghan Markle will spend the night before her marriage to Prince Harry. This palatial house, owned by the National Trust and leased as a hotel…
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…
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 is; and there stood and saw the fine altar, ornaments, and the fryers in their habits, and the priests come in with their…
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…
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 with just under a week to go until the Royal Wedding, underlines the importance of the Commonwealth to both the Monarch and the…
