The Royal Wedding of Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton of Berkshire, April 29, 2011 and a March Through Time of Royal British Weddings

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The Royal Wedding of Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton of Berkshire, April 29, 2011 and a March Through Time of Royal British Weddings

May 1, 2011 by Vic

Gentle Readers, this lovely post comes from Patty at Brandy Parfums. I think she captured the day and its history perfectly, don’t you?

“Are you happy? Yes, are you happy? Yes, very happy.” These words the experts say were spoken by Prince William and his bride Kate Middleton in the 1902 state landau right after their wedding ceremony at Westminster Abbey.

Catherine and Prince William in the State Landau

How remarkable to witness a royal marriage with British pomp and grandeur with the added pleasure of observing the attractive couple’s affection for each other.

Prince William and his bride in the Landau

The day began auspiciously with the rain that had been forecast never occurring. The crowds that had gathered watched the Welsh Guards band circling about the Queen Victoria Memorial at Buckingham Palace. Then, at various intervals all the royals and members of the wedding party alighted royal limos in black and claret, other limos and mini-vans to go to Westminster Abbey. This was a break with tradition that perhaps was a courtesy to those concerned with security. In years past, horse drawn state landaus and royal coaches with elegant Windsor greys or Cleveland bays transported the wedding party to and from the ceremony. Afterwards, when horse drawn vehicles conveyed the wedding party back to the Palace, the BBC did not focus their cameras on the pageantry – the Household Calvary or any landaus. Besides fairly close shots of Kate and William, there were brief glimpses of the Queen and Prince Philip. Prince Charles was seen only fleetingly as his landau pulled into Buckingham Palace. In this remarkable newsreel from 1923, the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, are shown in elegant horse drawn coaches and landaus.

Duke and Duchess of York, 1923

So important to the festivities were Kate’s lace and satin wedding gown and William’s bright red Irish Guards uniform. The minute Kate stepped out of the 1950 Rolls Royce Phantom IV, the BBC presenters and guests both praised and criticized her Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen creation. One said it was too severe, and the other said she was thrilled it was a Sarah Burton and Kate looked lovely. Many in the press compared Kate’s gown to Grace Kelly’s Helen Rose wedding gown with its lace top. The press also made reference to the times we live in with its economic hardship for many people, and for this reason they speculated that perhaps Kate preferred a less flamboyant gown than Princess Diana’s.

A puff of a breeze lifted Catherine's veil

While similar to Catherine's gown in the front, Grace's elegant gown is quite different from the back.

Diana's wedding gown with large puffy sleeves was perfect for the 1980s

Full British pomp and formality is on display in this 1947 newsreel of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mounbattan getting married at Westminster Abbey. The royal coaches and state landaus are in use, and in the Abbey, the women are wearing evening gowns. The Princess’s gown is by Norman Hartnell. In this video, the commentator describes eloquently the euphoria everyone feels watching the royal wedding, and the same is true for all royal weddings. He says, “For the people who had come from afar, the wedding was a family wedding for the entire British people. Everyone gladly shared in the rejoicings because the Crown once again was serving to remind us of the common humanity that unites us all.” The wedded union of royals represents hierogamy.

Princess Elizabeth and Philip

The marriage ceremony of Princess Elizabeth and Phillip

Click here to see the YouTube video

Princess Elizabeth and Phillip

While it is sad to watch the actual wedding ceremony of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, the procession back to Buckingham Palace in the same 1902 state landau used by Prince William and Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, is still majestic.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana

Click here to see the YouTube video

Prince Charles and Princess Diana

The most fashionable lady at the Prince William/Catherine Middleton wedding may have been the Queen in a flattering, dazzling yellow ensemble and hat designed by Angela Kelly.

The Queen

Queen Elizabeth

A source of great amusement and interest in the Prince William and Kate Middleton wedding were the hats, and fascinators. Many hats were flattering if a trifle large, but the Philip Treacy fascinators worn by Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were singled out by the press as among the most bizarre.

Treacy fascinators

Eugenie (left) and Beatrice (right)

No wedding is complete without a lovely cake. Here are photos of Prince William’s and Catherine’s wedding cake – a fruit cake from baker Fiona Cairns in the language of flowers and a groom’s chocolate biscuit cake from McVities.

William and Kate’s cakes

Kate's and William's wedding cakes

The following newsreel of the 1923 wedding cake for the Duke and Duchess of York completes this royal wedding survey. The cake was ten feet high, designed in St. Brides tiers – an object of great beauty.

1923 Cake

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Posted in Jane Austen's World, Popular culture | Tagged Diana and Charles, Princess Elizabeth and Phillip, The Duke and Duchess of York, The Royal Wedding, William and Catherine | 13 Comments

13 Responses

on May 1, 2011 at 12:50 Raquel

“Are you happy? Yes, are you happy? Yes, very happy.”

How lovely!

I wish them happiness and fortitude to perform their royal functions that are certainly not easy.
on May 1, 2011 at 14:09 Suzanne

Thank you for sharing this wonderful essay, it was so informative and I really enjoyed the video clip from 1923!
on May 1, 2011 at 18:22 It's The Bride In Me – The Royal Wedding of Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine …

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on May 1, 2011 at 23:39 Lauren

This was a wonderful essay; I especially enjoyed the video’s of the late Queen Mother’s wedding day and her cake. It is rather baffling that people keep comparing Kate’s choice of gown to Diana’s. Diana’s gown was a young girl’s gown, which she was (barely 20). I thought Kate’s gown was perfectly chosen: elegant, and more sophisticated, as she is a more mature young woman. She looked stunning. The white gowns that Pippa and the little bridesmaids wore were also lovely. Very well chosen, I thought-no worries about clashing with a uniform or someone else’s outfit in the pictures. (Frankly, I thought Diana’s gown was much too fluffy-only a very young person could get away with it!) The service was beautiful, and perfectly executed. The queen did look elegant in her yellow ensemble; I thought Kate’s mother looked fantastic. As far as some of the hats go, I think that, before too very long, there will be some guests who can’t stand to see the pictures (there IS a difference between fashion and taste!).
on May 2, 2011 at 22:20 John Tessaro

For what it’s worth, here’s an American guy’s take on the wedding…

Grateful for the laughs provided by those hats.

The trees in Westminster Abbey were magic.

The homily by the bishop was worth quoting.

The best thing…Kate looked like Kate. Her hair wasn’t plastered into some sort of meringue helmet. She and the dress worked together in a rare balance.

I don’t think theirs is an easy path, what with all of us feeling free to comment on their every step. I wish them the best.
on May 3, 2011 at 02:20 Mare

I stayed up all night to watch William and Kate marry. I agree with John on the trees–they made the setting magical. I also watched Diana and Charles marry and enjoyed that ceremony as well. Lovely post!

My mind boggles at the thought of what a ceremony including Beatrice (or even worse) Eugenie, might entail. They somehow manage to look dowdy and as though their clothes were made from various textiles found around their home. “Oh look, this slipcover and lace arm rest are just what’s called for!”
on May 3, 2011 at 12:56 Shelley

I was glad to see Kate Middleton looking less vulnerable than Diana.

Austen was always remarkably cool about the royals.
on May 3, 2011 at 23:24 Karen Field

Loved the post! I wasn’t able to stay up but watched Fox News’ 2 hr compilation Fri night and thought it all was beautiful. I cheated during the day and went online to see any pictures that were up and I saw Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie’s hats. I immediately recognized B and thought it looked totally ridiculous. What were they thinking? Poor E didn’t look much better. Kate, rather the Duchess of Cambridge, looked beautiful and confident. William looked like he was suppressing a smile while taking the whole thing very seriously. I am sure Diana would have been very pleased and proud of her son.
on May 5, 2011 at 05:14 roseofthewest

Stayed up past one in the morning to watch the wedding live, but I’m glad I did =) It was all so gorgeous and fairy-tale-ish. This post is great – I loved looking at all the older dresses and styles!
on May 5, 2011 at 18:52 "The Royal Wedding of Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton of Berkshire, April 29, 2011 and a March Through Time of Royal British… | Blog Search

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on May 12, 2011 at 07:53 saleh ibrahim

this marriage is one of the ecstatic marriage in the history of England.It worth talking.
on May 13, 2011 at 14:28 V.E.G.

Prince William is the cousin of Friedrich Wilhelm Von Steuben!
on September 30, 2011 at 01:00 Elene Ipswitch

Wedding day is very important thing in a person’s life, so get the best of it, it’s should be once of a lifetime, plan your wedding day carefully