The ghosts of royal weddings past! When any member of the royal family weds it becomes a celebration that the entire world has its eyes on.
When Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip tied the knot in 1947, the United Kingdom was in the midst of recovering from the aftermath of World War II. Supplies and materials — especially for a wedding dress — were scarce. She saved up her clothing coupons and even received donations from the public to get her dream gown: a Norman Hartnell piece with 10,000 pearls sent from the United States.
The couple’s wedding ceremony took place at Westminster Abbey in London and Her Majesty ascended to the throne a few years later. The twosome were married for more than 70 years and shared four children: Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.
Nearly 40 years later, Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest son Prince Charles wed Princess Diana (née Spencer). The event was deemed the “wedding of the century” with more than 750 million people tuning in. The former couple was the first to start the tradition of sharing a kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in front of a crowd.
While Charles and Diana were married they welcomed sons Prince William and Prince Harry in 1982 and 1984, respectively. However, the two ultimately divorced in 1996 after 15 years of marriage. Diana was killed in a tragic car crash the following year.
Charles’ sons were the next two royals to tie the knot. Prince William married Duchess Kate in 2011 at Westminster Abbey after dating off and on for years. His younger brother stood by his side as his best man while Kate’s sister Pippa Middleton served as her maid of honor. William later returned the favor when Harry and Meghan Markle wed in 2018.
However, the Suits alum revealed in March 2021 that she and Harry secretly said their vows in their backyard three days before their televised ceremony.
“Three days before our wedding, we got married,” the “Archetypes” podcast host said during the couple’s CBS interview at the time. “We called the Archbishop [of Canterbury, Justin Welby] and we just said, ‘Look, this thing, this spectacle is for the world, but we want our union between us.’”
The Archbishop also officiated their official ceremony at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Take a trip down memory lane of all the most iconic royal weddings throughout history: