Saturday May 19th is being looked forward to by the whole world for the upcoming royal wedding: Ms. Meghan Markle to Prince Harry. On this occasion how can we forget Harry’s mother, the Queen of Hearts, Lady Diana who is among us no more. This piece is a not just a throwback to Lady Diana’s wedding but also a tribute to the queen of hearts who continues to live with us despite departing to her final abode.
Here are some quick facts about Lady Diana’s wedding to Prince Charles which was stated to be wedding of the century.
An expensive affair
Lady Diana’s wedding to Prince Charles was a traditional Church of England wedding service. Almost 750 million people watched the ceremony worldwide on television. 660,000 spectators lined the route of Diana’s procession with 4,000 police and 2,201 military officers to manage the crowds. This high profile wedding had an extremely tight security. The cost of the wedding was $ 48 million (forget the inflation factor) where $600,000 was spent merely on the security.
The Bridesmaids and Wedding Party
The bridal party was arranged and not the usual kind. Brides.com reports they included the Winston Churchill’s great-granddaughter; Charles’ goddaughter India Hicks; Charles’ racehorse trainer’s daughter; and the daughter of close friends of the prince. Fashion editor Suzy Menkes wrote in The Times that they looked like “they could have been plucked from a Victorian child’s scrapbook,” with the girls carrying baskets of the yellow roses and wildflowers that coordinated with the yellow sashes of their dresses.
(Courtesy: Reader’s Digest)
Diana’s Dress
Diana’s dress costing around £9,000 was made of ivory silk taffeta adorned with an antique lace, embroidery, sequins and over 10,00 pearls. The designers were Elizabeth and David Emanuel.
The train was almost 25 feet long as the bride wished to have the longest train in the history of royal weddings. Since the bride had to get in and out of the cars keeping this train unwrinkled was quite a task. However it did get a little messed up at the ending pats. Diana wore her Spencer family’s heirloom tiara.
The Ever Shrinking Bride
Diana’s wedding dress underwent fifteen fittings. Yes you read it right. Starting from the first day with a 29 inches waist she was reduced to merely 23.5 inches. The dress needed constant fittings and pattern change.
Custom Made Shoes
Diana wore a pair of low heeled shoes with C and D initials on the sole. Although it wasn’t visible but she wanted everything to be perfect. The lace shoes had an elaborate heart and were a perfect fit for the princess.
Spilling the perfume
The 20 year old Diana accidentally spilled her House of Houbigant perfume on her dress while dishing out some. To cover this she used her hand pretending she was lifting the wedding gown.
Not a tradition follower
The new bride broke away with the tradition by omitting the word ‘obey’ from her wedding vows. It created quite a stir and sensation at that time.
Saying the wrong name
Diana won hearts by innocently saying the groom’s name wrong . She said ‘Phillip Charles’ instead of ‘Charles Phillip’.
That wedding kiss
Since Prince Charles forgot to kiss his bride when the vows were made, they smooched on the balcony of Buckingham palace making it the most iconic moment of our times.
How much we wish the beautiful mother of Prince Harry Lady Diana was here to bless her son’s wedding! Although she is among us no more, her memory and fragrance will stay with us forever. Diana, you will always remain the queen of our hearts.
(Courtesy Reader’s Digest)