"All comparisons are lame, but it's inevitable," the Daily Mirror commented on two totally different weddings of Prince Charles with his two wives.
The 1st wedding with Princess Diana Spencer: Luxurious, grandeur but lack of love
On July 29, 1981, Diana - a young, beautiful girl from the prestigious Spencer family entered the aisle of St Paul's Church (London) to marry Prince Charles of England. At that time, the royal bride had just turned 20, 10 years younger than her fiance.
According to People, from the beginning to the end, every detail of the wedding was like a fairy tale. An estimated 750 million people around the world watched the proclaimed national holiday on television. In addition, about 2 million people lined the road from Clarence House to the church to see the beautiful bride. About 3,000 guests attended the wedding ceremony, including many heads of state and incumbent leaders.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
On the most important day of her life, Princess Diana walked three and a half minutes on the red carpet to the aisle with a 7.6-meter veil. The wedding dress she wore was worth £12,000, equivalent to £41,000 today. It is a dress completely handmade by Elizabeth and David Emanuel design team, with high quality silk and lace, set by more than 1,000 pearls and sequins. A small gold horseshoe encrusted with diamonds is attached to the bride's dress for good luck. The bride's head scarf is made of ivory-colored glossy woven fabric, lined with lace. The Duchess also wore an heirloom tiara from the Spencer family on her head, while Prince Charles beamed at the bride in a navy uniform.
During the wedding, Charles gave Diana a wedding ring made of Welsh gold. It was a gift from Queen Elizabeth II's mother in 1923. Before that, the groom had put on the bride's hand an engagement ring made of 18 carat white gold, encrusted with an 18 carat oval sapphire, surrounded by 14 a diamond. To go to the wedding, Princess Diana sat on a horse-drawn carriage like in a fairy tale, while Prince Charles waited for her in the church.
The cost of organizing this century's wedding is estimated at about 2 million USD and it collected 1,600 official gifts. After the wedding, the bride and groom honeymooned in two days of fishing in the Broadlands, followed by a two-week cruise on the royal yacht Britannia. From then, Princess Diana was called Princess of Wales.
The wedding of Charles and Diana is still listed as one of the most spectacular weddings in the world. But only 10 years after the fairy wedding, rumors about the marriage between the two began to be revealed. Prince Charles had long been in love with his ex, and Princess Diana later also began dating many other men.
The couple announced their separation in December 1992, but still carried out royal duties together. In August 1996, the couple officially divorced. Back at the wedding ceremony, when asked if he loved his wife, Prince Charles asked: "What is love?". This saying is like a prediction about the end of a marriage with only one-sided love, where the groom entering the aisle still felt confused with his choice.
Second wedding with Mrs. Camilla Parker Bowles: Simple but full happiness
On April 9, 2005, nearly 10 years after divorcing Princess Diana, Prince Charles remarried Camilla Parker Bowles. At the time of marriage, the Crown Prince had two sons and Camilla was also divorced and had two children, she herself is 1 year older than the groom. It is worth noting that Camilla is the one that Prince Charles had cherished and longed for for decades, even though he had a beautiful wife who loved him wholeheartedly, Princess Diana.
Not as monumental as the first wedding, but the cost of the second wedding of Prince Charles is also up to 1 million USD. The wedding ceremony was conducted according to the civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, followed by a blessing ceremony at St George's Church, presided over by the archbishop of Canterbury.
Entering the church with the groom, the bride Camilla wore a long blue silk dress with a gentle, graceful tail. The wedding dress, designed by fashion house Robinson Valentine, is woven with 5 different gold threads. Bridal headwear designed by designer Philip Treacy. In general, despite facing opposition from many people because of her complicated love story, Camilla - who is about to take the place of Diana and who Prince Charles loves dearly - is still loved by the Royal Family.
Not traveling by royal horse-drawn carriage, the bride and groom traveled together in a 1962 Rolls-Royce Phantom V, once used by Queen Elizabeth II's mother. In the wedding, the number of guests is only about 30 people, at the blessing ceremony and reception, the number of guests is about 750 people. The wedding received 25 official gifts.
Charles and Camilla's engagement ring is a platinum Windsor heirloom ring set with a square diamond. Their wedding rings, made of Welsh gold, were a gift from Queen Elizabeth II in 1981.
After the wedding, the Crown Prince and his wife enjoyed their honeymoon for about 10 days at Birkhall - where once was the residence of Queen Elizabeth's mother in Balmoral. Camilla also officially became the Princess of Wales, but people called her the Duchess of Cornwall.
Despite getting together when they are both old, Prince Charles and Princess Camilla have proven their sincere feelings for each other. When taking Diana's hand into the aisle, the groom Charles could only utter one sentence, "What is love?". At the wedding with Camilla, when asked about his feelings, the heir to the British throne affirmed: "I am happy!".
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