Royal Wedding Special
It was of course Prince Charles and his fiancée Lady
Diana Spencer who flouted family tradition and married in another iconic London building: St Paul’s Cathedral. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren, St Paul’s was built between 1675 and 1710 after its predecessor was destroyed by the Great Fire of London – today’s cathedral is in fact the fourth to stand on this site. On 29 July 1981 the cathedral hosted 3,500 guests to watch Diana make the three-and-a-half minute walk up the red-carpeted aisle, beneath the magnificent 365-foot-high dome, and promise to “love” but not “obey” her husband-to-be – a rather telling omission from the traditional vows. But Charles and Diana are not the only couple to have avoided the lure of Westminster Abbey. During the reign of
30 BRITAIN
Top: The 25-foot train of Lady Diana Spencer's wedding dress. Above left: St Paul's Cathedral, where she married Prince Charles in 1981. Above right: The wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1840, painted by Sir George Hayter
Queen Victoria, The Chapel Royal in St James’ Palace was a popular choice, witnessing Victoria’s own marriage to Prince Albert in 1840, and that of her eldest daughter, Victoria, in 1858. Many of her other children, including Princess Helena, Princess Louise, Prince Arthur and Prince Leopold, were married within the magnificent gothic St George’s Chapel, at Windsor Castle – home to the tombs of ten monarchs, including Henry VIII. Still in mourning from the death of her beloved Albert, Queen Victoria could watch her childrens’ weddings from the relative seclusion of the Catherine of Aragon closet. It is thought that Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall might
wed here in May. As a relatively low-key couple, this would seem the ideal choice of venue.
www.britain-magazine.com
PHOTOS: REX FEATURES/COURTESY OF ST PAULS CATHEDRAL
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