King Charles III (then Prince Charles) and Princess Diana were married in what was coined as “the wedding of the century” 44 years ago today.
Charles And Diana’s Wedding Attracted 750 Million TV Viewers
Charles and Diana were joined as husband and wife on July 29, 1981. The young bride-to-be was only 20 years old.
Their union created significant interest in the royal family. The occasion marked the first time a British citizen wedded an heir to the throne in 300 years.
A record-breaking 750 million individuals in 74 countries tuned in to watch the (then) Prince and Prince of Wales marry.
The marriage started with a grand and extravagant fairytale wedding, resulted in the birth of two princes, and ended in a bitter divorce.
The couple were married at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Years later, Diana referred to her wedding as “the worst day of my life.”
It is said that the night before the wedding, Charles informed Diana that he didn’t love her, which led to Diana’s fit of bulimia, which she struggled with for many years to come. Diana attended 15 dress fittings prior to the wedding to accommodate her rapid weight loss.
Charles apparently didn’t want to go into the marriage with a false pretense. He thought he should be honest with Diana.
Still, Lady Diana showed up, looking the perfect picture of elegance. Diana’s iconic and romantic gown was created from ivory silk taffeta and lace with a fitted bodice and was embroidered and decorated with over 10,000 pearls.
The dress also included a piece of lace that once belonged to Queen Mary. Diana’s bridal look also boasted the longest train in royal history.
Diana And Charles’s divorce Was Final In August 1996
The train measured 25 feet. Elizabeth and David Emmanuel were commissioned to create her historic wedding dress. The sequins and pearls created a glimmering, dramatic finish.
Diana also bucked royal tradition and chose to wear a tiara that belonged to her father, John Spencer. The Spencer tiara dates back to 1919.
It was crafted using diamonds from her family collection. Charles and Diana’s guests were invited to a wedding breakfast following the ceremony.
The wedding cake was a traditional fruit cake with cream cheese frosting. It was a five-tiered cake that weighed a whopping 225 pounds.
Charles and Diana’s kiss on the palace balcony started a royal tradition that continues to this day.
The wedding guests included Charles’s mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, and other members of the royal family.
Some of the other guests included Margaret Thatcher, the United States First Lady, Nancy Reagan, and Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco.
Not to mention, Charles’s not-so-secret mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles. Diana wasn’t too thrilled about her attendance.
Diana and Charles’s firstborn was Prince William, who was born in June 1982, and his brother, Prince Harry, followed in September 1984.
It wasn’t too long after Harry’s arrival that there was trouble in Diana and Charles’s marriage. By 1986, both Charles and Diana had extramarital affairs.
The couple separated in 1992. The divorce was final in August 1996. One year later, Princess Diana tragically died in a car accident in Paris. She will always be remembered as “The People’s Princess.”
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