英國皇家婚禮趣味史

By Mark Mason

In the build-up1 to their grand wedding， Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are probably too busy to read up on trivia about previous royal weddings. Which is a pity， as they might get some tips on things to include （such as rich tea biscuits2） and things to avoid—like spending your wedding night drunk on the floor by the fireplace…

2011： Prince William and Kate Middleton

Having chosen the same date for their wedding as Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun （April 29）， Wills and Kate tied the knot at Westminster Abbey. She omitted the promise to “obey” her husband （just as his mother Diana had done at her wedding in 1981）. The military uniforms worn by William and his brother included specially-tailored sweat guards to keep them dry under the TV lights. David Beckham entered the abbey wearing his OBE3 on the wrong lapel （that is， the right）—someone must have had a word， because he left the abbey with it on the left lapel. Guests departed to enjoy a wedding cake containing 1，700 rich tea biscuits， a favourite snack of the groom.

2005： Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles

Guests included Stephen Fry， Joanna Lumley and the brides ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles—but not the grooms mother.4 As Supreme Governor of the Church of England， the Queen is forbidden to attend the wedding of a divorcée5.

1994： Sarah Armstrong-Jones and Daniel Chatto6

Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones might have thought they were keeping it low-key with their 1999“no hats” edict，7 but five years earlier Princess Margarets daughter got married so quickly that the chauffeurs were caught unawares. Guests at St Stephens Walbrook church in the City of London—including the Queen， Prince Philip and Princess Diana—had to make small talk until the cars appeared.

1981： Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer

Still the biggie—the last “fairytale” royal wedding， before the Queens children started getting divorced and public deference disappeared over the horizon for good. Although Diana herself never signed up to the fairytale in the first place： the wedding was only her 14th meeting with Charles， and at the rehearsal two days before she had broken down in tears. （The BBC crew kept that a secret， making sure the footage never emerged.） On the morning of her marriage Diana sang “Just One Cornetto”8 as she sat in her dressing gown having her make-up done. Then she accidentally spilt perfume over her dress—she had to hold the folds in her hand to cover up the stain. During the service she got Charless names in the wrong order， putting his middle name Philip first. Prince Andrew9 later teased her that shed married his father instead.

1973： Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips

The Queens second-oldest had a wedding cake that was exactly five feet six inches tall—because so is she.

1947： Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh

The Queen （as she then wasnt） had her wedding dress designed by Norman Hartnell—and paid for it with ration coupons10. Hundreds of people sent her their own coupons to help out： but this would have been illegal， so she returned them all. The bride did her own make-up. As she got dressed for the service her tiara snapped—the court jeweller was given a police escort to his workshop so he could repair it in time.

1923： Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth BowesLyon

On her way into Westminster Abbey， the future Queen Mother unexpectedly laid her wedding bouquet on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. This was in memory of her brother Fergus， who had been killed during World War I. Subsequent royal brides at the Abbey—including the Queen and Kate Middleton—have kept up the tradition.

1840： Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

Previous royal brides had tended to favour blue or black wedding dresses， but Victoria （by then the reigning monarch） chose white so crowds along the processional route could see her clearly. Her decision is credited with spreading the modern tradition of brides wearing white.（She also banned her wedding guests from wearing the colour， and had the pattern for her dress destroyed so that no one could copy it.） Among the couples wedding presents was the largest cheddar cheese11 ever made. It contained the milk of 750 cows from Somerset， weighed 88 stone and had a circumference of over nine feet.12

1795： Prince of Wales and Caroline of Brunswick

The future George IV and his cousin Princess Caroline werent a match made in heaven， but a match made by his father George III. Seeing her for the first time， the prince said： “I am not well， pray get me a glass of brandy.” His bride-to-be was equally unimpressed， telling a friend that George was very fat and “nothing like as handsome as his portrait”. After their wedding George got stupendously13 drunk and spent the night lying on the bedroom floor by the fireplace.

1736： Prince Frederick and Princess Augusta

The Prussian princess was just as reluctant about her marriage as Caroline had been about hers. On the way to the wedding she clung to her mother， begging“please dont leave me”. Though she did it in German—she didnt speak a word of English. Unsurprisingly this made the ceremony a bit of a challenge for her： a less than sympathetic Frederick shouted her lines into her ear so she could repeat them phonetically14. As soon as the proceedings were over Augusta was physically sick.

1501： Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon

Catherine would go down in history as the first of Henry VIIIs wives， but she had first married his elder brother Arthur.15 Her vows included a promise to be“bonny and buxom in bed and at board”.16

1468： Charles the Bold and Margaret of York

Charles， Duke of Burgundy， married the sister of Edward IV and Richard III in Bruges. The celebrations， which included jousting17 and feasts， went on for 12 days. This was longer than had been planned， and at one point workers from nearby cities had to be rushed to Bruges to help serve the food.

1328： Edward III and Philippa of Hainault

Proof that even the royal family can have problems with wedding venues. York Minster was still being built when Edward and his bride got married there. The nave18 didnt yet have a roof， and as it was January the couple had to say their vows in a snow storm.

哈里王子和梅根·馬克爾籌備大婚時，估計是忙得沒空去鉆研皇室前輩婚禮的細(xì)節(jié)了。這倒是有點可惜，他們本來可以瞧瞧有什么必不可少的（比如佐茶餅干），又有什么是千萬要避免的——比如新婚之夜就躺在壁爐邊上，爛醉如泥……

2011年：威廉王子與凱特·米德爾大婚

威廉王子和凱特在威斯敏斯特教堂結(jié)下連理，時間是4月29日，跟阿道夫·希特勒和愛娃·布勞恩成婚的日子一樣。凱特沿襲了威廉王子的母親戴安娜在1981年大婚時的做法，在誓詞中刪去了原有的“順從丈夫”一說。威廉王子和弟弟哈里王子穿的軍裝有特制的防汗功能，以保證衣服在媒體的燈光下依然干燥筆挺。貝克漢姆入場時，官佐勛章戴反了，戴在了右邊的領(lǐng)子上。可能有人提醒了他，出教堂的時候，勛章已經(jīng)換到左邊了。出了教堂之后，賓客開始享用由1，700塊佐茶餅干做成的蛋糕，因為佐茶餅干是威廉王子最喜歡的零食。

2005年：查爾斯王子與卡米拉大婚

到場賓客有史蒂芬·弗萊、喬安娜·林莉和新娘的前夫鮑爾斯，而新郎的母親——女王伊麗莎白二世卻沒有出席。因為女王是英國圣公會的最高元首，按規(guī)定不能出席再婚女人的婚禮。

1994年：薩拉·阿姆斯特朗-瓊斯與丹尼爾·查托大婚

愛德華王子和索菲·里斯-瓊斯可能覺得他們在1999年婚禮中規(guī)定“不戴帽子”已經(jīng)夠低調(diào)了，但是五年前瑪格麗特公主的女兒結(jié)婚時更為倉促，甚至連車夫都有點措手不及。賓客齊聚在倫敦的圣史蒂芬沃爾布魯克教堂時，婚車還沒有來，女王、菲利普親王、戴安娜王妃不得不發(fā)表講話以避免尷尬。