50 Fun Facts About Royal Weddings

Which famous festival began as the public party for Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria's 1810 wedding?

Oktoberfest started as a celebration of Ludwig's marriage to Princess Therese, held on fields outside Munich. The site still carries the bride's name: Theresienwiese, Therese's Meadow.

What broke as Princess Elizabeth dressed for her 1947 wedding, sending the court jeweller off under police escort?

Her tiara snapped while she was getting ready at Buckingham Palace. The court jeweller, who was standing by in case of an emergency, was rushed to his workroom to mend it before she left for the ceremony.

On which website did Princess Beatrice auction her much-mocked Philip Treacy hat from the 2011 royal wedding?

eBay bidders pushed the looping headpiece, nicknamed the pretzel hat, past £80,000, and Beatrice gave the money to charity.

Which ABBA hit got its first live performance at a gala on the eve of the King of Sweden's 1976 wedding?

Dancing Queen was sung at the Royal Swedish Opera in honour of King Carl XVI Gustaf and his bride-to-be, Silvia Sommerlath, who married the next day. The single did not reach the shops until later that summer.

What did Princess Elizabeth need to buy the fabric for her 1947 wedding dress, with 200 extra from the government?

Ration coupons still governed clothing two years after the war, even for a future queen. Brides-to-be across the country posted her their own, which had to be sent back because giving them away was illegal.

Which make of car did Prince William drive out of Buckingham Palace after marrying Kate Middleton in 2011?

Aston Martin built the blue DB6 Volante convertible, which belonged to his father, a 21st birthday present from the Queen. The best man and friends had fitted it with a JUST WED number plate.

Which wife did Henry VIII agree to marry after sending Hans Holbein to paint her portrait in Germany?

Anne of Cleves became his fourth wife in January 1540, and the marriage was annulled six months later. She did well out of it, with a generous settlement and the title of the King's Beloved Sister.

Which traditional word did Lady Diana Spencer leave out of her vows when she married Prince Charles in 1981?

Obey was cut from the bride's promises at the couple's own request, a change that caused a sensation at the time.

Which soul classic did the Kingdom Choir sing at Windsor Castle during Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 2018 wedding?

Stand by Me was performed by the gospel group, led by Karen Gibson, while the couple sat and listened. Ben E. King co-wrote the song with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

What did Prince Charles and Lady Diana add to the Buckingham Palace balcony appearance in 1981, starting a tradition?

A kiss on the balcony delighted the crowd below, and royal newlyweds have been expected to do the same ever since. Prince William and Kate Middleton obliged twice in 2011.

In which London church did Prince Charles marry Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, chosen because it could seat more guests?

St Paul's Cathedral held a congregation of 3,500 and allowed a longer procession through London than the traditional choice for royal brides, Westminster Abbey.

Which Oscar-winning actress retired from films at 26 to marry Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956?

Grace Kelly had won the Best Actress Oscar for The Country Girl before she gave up the screen for her duties as Princess of Monaco. She and Rainier had three children.

Which American did the former King Edward VIII marry at a French château in 1937, months after giving up the throne?

Wallis Simpson became the Duchess of Windsor that day but was never allowed to share her husband's style of Royal Highness. The Château de Candé was lent to the couple by a millionaire, Charles Bedaux.

Which colour of wedding dress did Queen Victoria help to popularise when she married Prince Albert in 1840?

White satin trimmed with Honiton lace made her look more like a bride and less like a queen. She did not invent the fashion, since other women already wore it, but the press coverage spread it.

Meghan Markle was best known for her role in which legal drama before she married Prince Harry in 2018?

Suits cast Markle as Rachel Zane, a paralegal at a New York law firm who develops feelings for her colleague Mike Ross. Several of her co-stars were guests at Windsor.

Which Austrian archduchess was married by proxy in Vienna before she had met her husband, the future Louis XVI?

Marie Antoinette was 14, and her brother stood in for the groom at the Vienna ceremony in April 1770. A second wedding, this time with the real one present, followed at the Palace of Versailles a month later.

Which knighted singer performed for guests at the reception after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 2018 wedding?

Elton John played at the lunchtime reception the Queen hosted in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle. He had been a close friend of Harry's mother and sang at her funeral in 1997.

Which pet did Princess Elizabeth hide under rugs in the carriage as she left for her 1947 honeymoon?

A corgi called Susan, an 18th birthday present from the King, came along because the princess did not want to be parted from her. The Queen went on to own more than thirty of Susan's descendants.

Which Indian leader sent Princess Elizabeth a piece of lace made from yarn he had spun himself as a 1947 wedding gift?

Mahatma Gandhi had the slogan Jai Hind worked into the centre of the crocheted cotton lace. India had become independent only three months before the ceremony.

Which Hollywood star dances on the walls and ceiling in Royal Wedding, the 1951 musical set in London in 1947?

Fred Astaire shot the number in a set built inside a revolving barrel that turned as he danced. The plot follows an American song-and-dance duo in town as Princess Elizabeth marries Philip Mountbatten.

Which designer at Alexander McQueen made the lace-sleeved dress Kate Middleton wore to marry Prince William in 2011?

Sarah Burton gave the ivory satin gown a nine-foot train, and she also dressed the maid of honour, the bride's sister Pippa.

Which unusual decoration lined the aisle of Westminster Abbey for Prince William and Kate Middleton's 2011 wedding?

Living trees, six field maples and two hornbeams each 20 feet tall, formed an avenue on either side of the congregation's route to the altar.

Which dukedom did the Queen give Prince William on the morning of his 2011 wedding to Kate Middleton?

Cambridge came with two more titles announced that morning: Earl of Strathearn, a Scottish one, and Baron Carrickfergus, from Northern Ireland.

Which flavour of groom's cake, made to a Royal Family recipe, did Prince William request for his 2011 wedding?

Chocolate biscuit cake by McVitie's was served at the Buckingham Palace reception alongside the official eight-tier wedding cake.

British royal brides' wedding rings have been made since 1923 from gold mined in which part of the United Kingdom?

Wales supplied the gold from the Clogau mine in its northern mountains, a custom that began with the ring of the future Queen Mother.

Where do British royal brides leave their wedding bouquets, a custom begun by Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923?

The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is where she laid her flowers on her way into Westminster Abbey, a tribute to her brother Fergus, killed at the Battle of Loos in 1915.

Which plant has given a sprig to British royal wedding bouquets since Queen Victoria's day, Kate Middleton's included?

Myrtle, long a European wedding flower, sat in Kate Middleton's bouquet beside lily of the valley, hyacinth, ivy and sweet William.

Prince William wore the scarlet tunic of which regiment, as its colonel, to marry Kate Middleton in 2011?

Irish Guards full dress was the Queen's choice: William, made colonel earlier that year, had meant to wear the regiment's frock coat until she insisted.

What did the Queen order for the whole United Kingdom on 29 April 2011, the day Prince William married Kate Middleton?

A public holiday gave the country that Friday off, and more than 5,000 street parties were held across the United Kingdom.

Which headpieces, popular with guests at Prince William's 2011 wedding, did Royal Ascot bar from its Royal Enclosure?

Fascinators, decorative pieces fixed to the hair by a comb, band or clip, were ruled out in 2012, when Royal Ascot said women in the enclosure must wear hats.

Which traditional British wedding cake did Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pass over for lemon and elderflower in 2018?

Fruitcake was the usual choice, and William and Kate's official cake in 2011 had eight tiers of it. Harry and Meghan's baker, Claire Ptak, used elderflower syrup from the Queen's Sandringham estate.

Which bishop preached a 14-minute sermon on the power of love at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 2018 wedding?

Michael Curry, then presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, quoted Martin Luther King Jr. as he spoke about love's power to redeem.

Which instrument did 19-year-old Sheku Kanneh-Mason play at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 2018 wedding?

Cello pieces by Fauré and Schubert filled the chapel while the couple signed the register. Kanneh-Mason had won the BBC Young Musician award two years earlier.

Which fashion house made Meghan Markle's 2018 wedding dress, designed by Clare Waight Keller?

Givenchy also supplied the shoes, and the silk veil worn with the dress was embroidered with a flower for each of the 53 Commonwealth countries.

Which football showpiece was played on the same day as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding in May 2018?

The FA Cup Final was a fixture the groom's brother William normally attended as President of the Football Association, but that day he had best man duties.

Which slip did Lady Diana Spencer make while reciting her wedding vows to Prince Charles in 1981?

She mixed up his names, calling the groom Philip Charles when it should have been Charles Philip. He slipped too, promising her "thy goods" in place of "my worldly goods".

On which ship did Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer take a Mediterranean honeymoon cruise from Gibraltar in 1981?

Britannia, the royal yacht, took the couple to Tunisia, Sardinia, Greece and Egypt. Princess Margaret had spent her own honeymoon aboard in 1960, touring the Caribbean.

Whose funeral caused Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles to put back their 2005 wedding by a day?

Pope John Paul II was buried on the day first chosen, and Charles went to Rome to represent the Queen. The couple married in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall 24 hours later.

What was the job of Antony Armstrong-Jones, who married Princess Margaret in the first televised British royal wedding?

A photographer noted for society portraits, he had earlier worked at the wedding of two of her friends. Their own ceremony in 1960 drew an estimated 300 million television viewers.

Which soprano sang Handel's Let the Bright Seraphim at Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer's 1981 wedding?

Kiri Te Kanawa, the New Zealand opera star, sang to a television audience of hundreds of millions around the world and was made a dame the following year.

Catherine of Aragon was the widow of which elder brother of Henry VIII before she married the king in 1509?

Arthur died five months after their 1501 wedding, leaving her a widow at 16. Church law forbade a man to marry his brother's widow, so the second match needed a special dispensation.

Which composer's Wedding March caught on after Queen Victoria's eldest daughter chose it for her 1858 wedding?

Felix Mendelssohn wrote the march in 1842 for a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. The bride's mother loved his music, and he often played for her on his visits to Britain.

How were Queen Victoria and Prince Albert related to each other before they married in 1840?

First cousins, they became engaged when she proposed to him in October 1839, only five days after he had arrived at Windsor Castle on a visit.

Which future British king turned up drunk to his 1795 wedding to Princess Caroline of Brunswick?

George IV, then heir to the throne, had agreed to marry only so that his father would help with his debts. The pair separated soon after their daughter was born in 1796.

Which Russian tsar married Alix of Hesse in 1894, just a week after his father's funeral?

Nicholas II married her in the Grand Church of the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, seven days after burying Alexander III. As Alexandra Feodorovna she was Russia's last empress.

Storms that drove which Scottish king's bride, Anne of Denmark, back to Norway in 1589 were later blamed on witches?

James VI saw a conspiracy and set up his own tribunal, and the North Berwick trials that followed implicated more than 70 people. He later wrote a book on witchcraft, Daemonologie.

Which Indian port came to England in the dowry of Catherine of Braganza when she married King Charles II?

Bombay arrived with Tangier and two million Portuguese crowns, and the king passed its islands to the East India Company in 1668. His bride is also credited with making tea fashionable in England.

Daniel Westling first met his future wife, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, in 2001 while working as her what?

Her personal trainer ran a company with three gyms in central Stockholm. The couple married in 2010, when he became Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland.

In which city did Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik meet his future wife, Mary Donaldson, at a pub during the Olympics?

Sydney was hosting the 2000 Games when the pair met at a bar called the Slip Inn. Mary, born in Tasmania, became the first Australian-born queen consort of any country in 2024.

Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria was expected to propose to Duchess Helene in 1853 but chose which younger sister?

Elisabeth, the 15-year-old known as Sisi, had only come along on the trip. He told his mother that if he could not have her he would not marry at all, and she became empress the next April.