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The big royal wedding anniversaries of 2019

While all anniversaries are special to the couple involved, some get far more attention than others. The biggies, the landmarks, the ones ending in a 5 or a zero usually get everyone reminiscing and that’s never more true than with a royal wedding. In 2019, regal couples across the continent are marking special anniversaries so grab some cake (wedding, of course) and enjoy Royal Central’s run down of this year’s major marital milestones.

The Diamond Duo

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Theirs has been a tumultuous royal romance but King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium are celebrating sixty years of marriage in 2019. The couple wed on July 2nd 1959 in Brussels.

The Emerald Queen

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She might own one of the best emerald tiaras around but Anne Marie most likely wouldn’t say no to another set of the green gems on her wedding anniversary this year. The Danish princess who became Queen of Greece when she said ‘I do’ to King Constantine II on September 18th 1964 is now celebrating her Emerald Wedding Anniversary with her husband.

The Coral Couple

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Thirty five years is a coral anniversary and that’s what Princess Astrid of Belgium and Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este are about to celebrate. The couple married on September 22nd 1984 with their second grandchild, Maximilian, arriving earlier this month, just in time to join the anniversary party.

A Double Decade

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The Queen’s youngest son, Edward, married Sophie Rhys-Jones twenty years ago this year. The couple wed at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor on June 19th 1999, becoming the Earl and Countess of Wessex. Just ahead of their twentieth anniversary they also received the titles of Earl and Countess of Forfar.

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Also notching up twenty years as husband and wife in 2019 are King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians. Theirs was the last major royal wedding of the 20th century, taking place on December 4th 1999 in Brussels.

The Ticking of Time

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No clock watching in the Zarzuela Palace although there may well have been an exchange of watches as that’s the modern gift for fifteen years of marriage, a milestone reached by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia this year. The couple married in Madrid on May 22nd 2004.

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It’s fifteen not out for Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, too, in 2019. Their royal wedding took place on May 14th 2004 in Copenhagen.

The First Big Anniversary

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Everyone’s got to start somewhere and two young royal couples are marking that always special first anniversary in 2019. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have already celebrated that major milestone, notching up one year as husband and wife on May 19th.

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Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank will also mark their first anniversary this year. The big date is October 12th – and may all the couples have many more happy years together ahead of them.

About author

Lydia Starbuck is Editor in Chief at Royal Central and the main producer and presenter of the Royal Central Podcast and Royal Central Extra.Lydia is also a pen name of June Woolerton who is a journalist and writer with over twenty years experience in TV, radio, print and online. Her latest book, A History of British Royal Jubilees, is out now. Her new book, The Mysterious Death of Katherine Parr, will be published in March 2024.June is an award winning reporter, producer and editor. She's appeared on outlets including BBC 5 Live, BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Local Radio and has also helped set up a commercial radio station.June is also an accomplished writer with a wide range of material published online and in print. She is the author of two novels, published as e-books. She is also a marriage registrar and ceremony celebrant.