четверг, 21 апреля 2011 г.

Interesting facts about past royal brides

As we prepare for Kate Middleton’s historic march down the aisle, here’s eight interesting facts you might not know about past royal brides.

1. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip were secretly engaged in 1946. Her family initially opposed the marriage because she was only 20 years old. The engagement became official on July 9, 1947 and the two were married at Westminster Abbey on November 20 of that year.



 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Queen Victoria can be credited for creating the tradition of the white wedding dress. Prior to her 1840 marriage to Prince Albert, it was common for brides to wear colourful gowns (even black dresses!). Queen Victoria chose to break with tradition and wear an extravagant white gown on her wedding day. Her bold fashion move made white dresses the standard for brides.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.  Diana, Princess of Wales, holds the honour of having one of the most extravagant wedding dresses in royal bridal history. Designed by Elizabeth and David Emanuel, it was made of ivory silk, pure taffeta and antique lace, with 10,000 pearls and sequins and a 25-foot train!


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Royal brides have a history of modesty when it comes to their wedding dresses, and they often show little skin. One of the most modest of all was Princess Anne who wore a medieval, Tudor-style gown for her 1973 wedding to Captain Mark Phillips. The dress was made of white silk and featured a high neckline and huge trumpet sleeves that stretched down to her wrists.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. A wedding band made with Welsh gold is a royal tradition that dates back to the Queen Mother. For her 1923 wedding, the Queen Mother had her band fashioned out of a nugget from a mine in North Wales. Welsh gold is very rare and has a pretty pink hue to it. Diana, Princess of Wales, was the last royal bride to have a ring made from Welsh gold and it is anticipated that Kate will, too.



 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Prince William gave Diana’s engagement ring to Kate, and it seems that heirloom engagement pieces run in the royal family. Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum engagement ring featured stones from Prince Phillip’s mother’s tiara: a large square diamond paired with smaller diamonds on either side.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Gifting a royal bride with a tiara as a wedding present is a long-standing royal tradition. For her 1981 wedding, the Queen gifted Diana with The Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara, which was made in 1911 for Queen Mary. Sarah Ferguson was given a tiara the royals purchased from Garrard. Sophie, Countess of Wessex, was given a custom-made tiara for her wedding to Prince Edward—it featured jewels from a necklace belonging to Queen Victoria.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Queen Elizabeth II’s wedding bouquet was a gorgeous mix of lush white orchids and a sprig of myrtle, a royal tradition. The myrtle was picked from a bush that can be traced back to Queen Victoria’s wedding bouquet. The day following her wedding, Elizabeth’s bouquet was laid on the grave of the Unknown Soldier at Westminster Abbey—it is expected that Kate’s bouquet will be also be laid there after her wedding day.



 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: weddingbells.ca

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