The Past and Present of Royal Weddings

With the Royal Wedding of 2011, between Prince William and his bride-to-be Kate Middleton approaching fast, excitement in Britain is mounting. With almost 30 years having passed since the spectacle of the marriage of William's parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, a new generation is set to be introduced to the pomp, ceremony and splendour that only a Royal Wedding can provide.



The venerable Westminster Abbey has long been a favoured place for Royal Wedding ceremonies. The tradition was started in the year 1100 when King Henry I married Matilda of Scotland at the Abbey, previously used for the coronation of all kings since William the Conqueror in 1066. All Royal Weddings took place here until 1382 when the tradition was abandoned. At the beginning of the twentieth century, it was revived when one of Queen Victoria's granddaughters elected to marry in the Abbey.



The current queen, Elizabeth II, exchanged wedding vows at Westminster Abbey with Prince Philip in November 1947. The marriage was actually quite controversial at the time as Philip was foreign-born and had abandoned his claims to the thrones of Greece and Denmark, and much of his wealth along with it. Members of Philip's family had married German aristocrats with links to the Nazi party and were not invited to the nuptials. On the day, however, the wedding passed off without a hitch and as a significant public spectacle. It was broadcast around the world via BBC Radio, with an estimated 200 million people listening in.



Perhaps the most iconic Royal Wedding of all time was the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer on 29 July 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral. The event was a major public spectacle and attracted an audience of over 750 million watching on television around the world. The British media became obsessed with the wedding and everything from the guest list to Diana's wedding dress were scrutinised with great interest. Again, the ceremony was not without controversy, with several European heads of state refusing to attend due to disputes with Britain.



With almost 25 years having passed since the last major Royal Wedding - the marriage of Prince Andrew to Sarah Ferguson (later Duchess of York) - anticipation is running high for the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton on the 29th of April 2011. All over Britain, ordinary people are preparing to celebrate on the day, which has been declared a public holiday. Many are planning street parties where young and old come together to wish the young couple well while others are planning specially themed parties with everything from bunting and flags to Royal Wedding costumes.



The Royal Wedding is set to be one of the biggest media events of 2011 and may even attract a television audience that surpasses that of its predecessors.



Daniel Collins writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.