Princess Diana Royal Wedding to Prince Charles (1981)

Описание: The wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer took place on Wednesday, 29 July 1981, at St Paul's Cathedral in London, United Kingdom. The groom was the heir apparent to the British and Commonwealth thrones, and the bride was a member of the Spencer family.

The ceremony was a traditional Church of England wedding service. Alan Webster, Dean of St Paul's, presided at the service, and Robert Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury, conducted the marriage. Notable figures in attendance included many members of other royal families, republican heads of state, and members of the bride's and groom's families. After the ceremony, the couple made the traditional appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. The United Kingdom had a national holiday on that day to mark the wedding. The ceremony featured many ceremonial aspects, including use of the state carriages and roles for the Foot Guards and Household Cavalry. Their marriage was widely billed as a "fairytale wedding" and the "wedding of the century". It was watched by an estimated global television audience of 750 million people. Events were held around the Commonwealth to mark the wedding. Many street parties were held throughout the United Kingdom to celebrate the occasion.

The wedding took place on 29 July 1981. 3,500 guests made up the congregation at St Paul's Cathedral. Charles and Diana selected St Paul's over Westminster Abbey, the traditional site of royal weddings, because St Paul's offered more seating[9] and permitted a longer procession through London.

The ceremony was a traditional Church of England wedding service, presided over by the Most Reverend Robert Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Very Reverend Alan Webster, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral. Two million spectators lined the route of Diana's procession from Clarence House, with 4,000 police and 2,200 military officers to manage the crowds. The security increased and sharpshooters were stationed due to the potential threat of an attack by the Irish Republican guerrillas. The security screenings in the airports also increased. The cost of the wedding was later estimated to be $48 million in total (between $70M and $110M when adjusted for inflation), with $600,000 being spent on security. Regiments from the Commonwealth realms participated in the procession, including the Royal Regiment of Canada.

At 10:22 BST the Queen and the royal family were taken to the cathedral in eight carriages, the Prince of Wales in the 1902 State Landau, which was later used following the ceremony to take the couple back to Buckingham Palace. Lady Diana arrived at the cathedral in the Glass Coach with her father, John Spencer; she was escorted by six mounted Metropolitan Police officers. She arrived almost on time for the 11:20 BST ceremony. The carriage was too small to hold the two of them comfortably due to her voluminous dress and train. As the orchestra played Trumpet voluntary, an anthem by Jeremiah Clarke, the bride made the three-and-a-half minute walk up the aisle.

Diana accidentally changed the order of Charles's names during her vows, saying "Philip Charles Arthur George" instead of the correct "Charles Philip Arthur George". She did not promise to "obey" him as part of the traditional vows. That word was eliminated at the couple's request, which caused a sensation at the time.[28] Charles also made an error. He said he would offer her "thy goods" instead of "my worldly goods". In keeping with tradition, the couple's wedding rings were crafted from Welsh gold from the Clogau St David's mine in Bontddu.The tradition of using Welsh gold within the wedding rings of the Royal Family dates back to 1923. Upon marriage Diana automatically acquired the title of Princess of Wales.

Diana's wedding dress was valued at £9,000 (equivalent to £34,750 in 2019). The dress was made of ivory silk taffeta, decorated with lace, hand embroidery, sequins, and 10,000 pearls. It was designed by Elizabeth and David Emanuel and had a 25-foot (7.6 m) train of ivory taffeta and antique lace. The dress was designed according to Diana's wishes who wanted it to have the longest train in the royal wedding history. The bride wore her family's heirloom tiara over an ivory silk tulle veil, and had her hair styled short crop down by hair dresser Kevin Shanley. She wore a pair of low-heeled Clive Shilton shoes "with C and D initials hand-painted on her arches" and decorated with 132 pearls. For the customary bridal themes of "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue", Diana's wedding dress had an antique lace "made with a fabric spun at a British silk farm" (the "old"), the Spencer family tiara and her mother's earrings (the "borrowed"), and a blue bow sewn into the waistband (the "blue").