Royal Wedding, Whoops & Trivia

This Day in History: July 29, 1981

An estimated 750 million television viewers in 74 countries tune in on July 29, 1981 to witness the now-legendary royal wedding of Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, to Lady Diana Spencer, a young English schoolteacher. An additional 600,000 lined the streets of London hoping to catch even a mere glimpse of the wedding couple. This was the spectacular extravaganza of the decade setting the bar for royal weddings to come with Princess Diana wearing a silk taffeta and lace gown by David and Elizabeth Emanuel for her walk down the aisle — attached to it, the now-infamous 25-foot-long train.

If you missed it...

 

Whoops! What endearing mistake did Lady Diana make during her wedding ceremony with Prince Charles? Lady Diana mixed up the order of Prince Charles' many names — Charles Philip Arthur George — when reciting her vows. She called him Philip Charles Arthur George. Also of note, she did not say she'd "obey," her future husband.

Did the Royal Prince royally goof? The groom referred to "thy goods" rather than "my worldly goods".

Cake, cake, cake and more cake!

Royal Wedding Cake
(Photo by Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images)

Diana and Charles inaugurated the balcony kiss at Buckingham Palace, where not just one cake would do for the reception ...try 27 wedding cakes! While most were donated by royal watchers, the Royal Wedding Cake was prepared by Chief Petty Officer chef David Avery, senior instructor of the Royal Naval Cookery School. Topping out at more than five feet high, the cake was adorned with both the Prince and his family's royal coat of arms, the couple's first initials and a spray of roses, lilies of the valley and orchids. In the photo at left, Chef Avery is putting the finishing touches to the five tier royal wedding cake. A slice of the cake given to Moyra Smith, who worked for the Queen Mother at Clarence House, sold at auction for $1,830. 

Cinderella perhaps!

Do you know what special conveyance carried Princess Diana to St. Paul's Cathedral for her wedding? Relating to Cinderella is a give-away for the answer to this trivia question. Princess Diana arrived at St. Paul's in the horse-drawn "glass coach" escorted by five mounted military police officers. The carriage was too small to comfortably seat Diana's father and Diana in her dress, especially with the 25-foot train. Diana's wedding dress was a puff ball meringue wedding dress, with huge puffed sleeves and a frilly neckline. The dress was decorated with lace, hand embroidery, sequins, and 10,000 pearls.

While this was the wedding of the decade, it was not the marriage of a lifetime. The couple divorced in August 1996 with the Princess continuing to live at Kensington Palace and carrying out public work. Tragically, Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997. On 9 April 2005, the Prince of Wales married Camilla Parker Bowles.

The Smiles of Diana

Lady Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales, Great Britain
July 1, 1961 - August 31, 1997