Forty Years On from the "Fairytale Wedding"
1981: Charles and Diana marry
Crowds of 600,000 people filled the streets of London to catch a glimpse of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer on their wedding day.
The couple were married at St Paul's Cathedral before an invited congregation of 3,500 and an estimated global TV audience of 750 million - making it the most popular programme ever broadcast.
Britons enjoyed a national holiday to mark the occasion.
Lady Diana, 20, arrived almost on time for the 1120 BST ceremony after making the journey from Clarence House in the Glass Coach with her father, Earl Spencer.
She made the three-and-a-half minute walk up the red-carpeted aisle with the sumptuous 25 ft (7.62 m) train of her Emmanuel designed, ivory taffeta and antique lace gown flowing behind her.
Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Robert Runcie led the traditional Church of England service, but he was assisted by clergymen from many denominations.
The bride's nerves showed briefly when she mixed up the Prince's names - calling him Philip Charles Arthur George, rather than Charles Philip.
Charles, 32, in the full dress uniform of a naval commander, slightly muddled his vows too, referring to "thy goods" rather than "my worldly goods".
After a brief private signing ceremony the Prince and Princess of Wales walked back down the aisle to the refrain of Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance.
Balcony embrace
The newlyweds took the open-topped state landau to Buckingham Palace where they emerged on the balcony at 1310 BST to give the crowds the kiss they had been longing to see.
Afterwards Charles and Diana retired from the public gaze to enjoy toasts and a wedding breakfast with 120 family guests.
A "just married" sign attached to the landau by Princes Andrew and Edward raised smiles as the married couple were driven over Westminster Bridge to get the train to Romsey in Hampshire to begin their honeymoon.
In Context
In less than a year the couple produced their first child, William, on 21 June 1982.
A second son, Prince Harry, was born on 15 September 1984.
By that time Prince Charles' long-running relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles was putting strain on his marriage.
Princess Diana's relationship with the rest of the Royal Family deteriorated and she developed bulimia.
The couple separated in 1993.
Diana spoke publicly about her problems and her own and her husband's infidelities in a Panorama documentary in November 1995.
The marriage formally ended with a decree absolute in August 1996.
Diana was killed in a car crash in 1997. Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles married on 9 April 2005.
Thanks to Augusto for creating the Quizlet!
Comments
Forty years is a long time. I hardly remember this fairytale wedding. Perhaps, I have a vague memory of the train of the bride when I have read that it was 7.62 metres. I can see that everything was very beautiful, not only for Britons but throughout the world. The English enjoyed a national holiday and it was the most popular programme ever broadcast. The newlyweds were surrounded of pomp and circumstance.
It‘s noteworthy for me now that Lady Diana was 20, while Prince Charles was 32. Lady Diana was a “baby”, without any experience and, probably, bred among cottons. On the contrary, Prince Charles was an adult. Prince´s infidelities, Camila Parker, Diana´s bulimia and so on led this marriage to ruin. For one thing or another, the decree absolute arrived in August 1996.
Nobody knows what happened after, but there are a lot of suspicions about the death of Diana. She was killed in a car crash. She was a casualty? It´s said that the secret English service killed her. I think we will never know it, but the media will follow writing about that.
See you.
Although I was just a young lad at the time, I remember watching the wedding as well as the build up to it. And of course, I have seen countless clips of Charles and Di repeatedly over the years.
I wonder what we don't know about their lives. We already seem to know every intimate detail about them.
I think there is more likelihood that King Juan Carlos deliberately shot dead his brother than the British secret service carried out the assassination of Diana.
Forty years is a long time. I hardly remember this fairytale wedding. Perhaps, I have a vague memory of the train of the bride when I read that it was 7.62 metres. I can see that everything was very beautiful, not only for Britons but throughout the world. The English enjoyed a national holiday and it was the most popular programme ever broadcast. The newlyweds were surrounded by pomp and circumstance.
It‘s noteworthy for me now that Lady Diana was 20, while Prince Charles was 32. Lady Diana was a “baby”, without any experience and, probabl had a very pampered upbringing. On the contrary, Prince Charles was an adult. Prince´s infidelities, Camila Parker, Diana´s bulimia and so on led this marriage to ruin. For one thing or another, the decree absolute arrived in August 1996.
Nobody knows what happened after that, but there a lot of of Diana. She was killed in a car crash. Was it an accident? It´s said that the British secret service killed her. I think we will never know but the media will keep on writing about it.