Princess Diana’s 3 royal wedding disasters at ceremony 45 years ago today
The princess married then-prince Charles in 1981 – and a few things went wrong on the big day.
The couple were married for 15 years (Image: Getty)
Diana, Princess of Wales married the then-Prince Charles and their tumultuous relationship began on July 29, 1981. They were married for 15 years before they separated, which happened just one year before Diana’s untimely death. Exactly 45 years ago to this day, 3,500 people gathered for their wedding – and the day didn’t go as smoothly as planned.
The extravagant wedding took place at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, and it was watched by a record-breaking 750 million viewers across 74 countries. The day marked the first time in 300 years that a British citizen married an heir to the throne. The wedding cost $48million (£36million), which today would be a hefty price tag of $180million (£135million).
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The pair married at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London (Image: Getty)
Diana split perfume on her dress
According to a royal insider, Diana reportedly spilt an entire bottle of perfume over her dress while getting ready for the special occasion.
The perfume was made by the official royal perfumer, House of Houbigant, so luckily she would have smelt great, reports My London.
Speaking about the dress in 2020, designer Elizabeth Emanuel told British Vogue: “It was all about drama and making Diana a fairytale princess,” she added, “The gown was typical of early ’80s style — overblown, romantic, flouncy — but we had to get it right because we knew it would go down in history.”
The pair later welcomed their two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry (Image: Getty)
Diana’s dress was all crinkled
Princess Diana’s gown was crafted in the space of three months, it was made with ivory silk taffeta that was dyed. The gown was decorated with ornate hand embroidery, including no fewer than 10,000 micro pearls.
The dress was one of the most anticipated parts of the grand wedding, but the journey to the ceremony almost ruined it.
The enormous ivory silk taffeta and lace dress boasted a full skirt, big puffy sleeves, and a 25-foot train.
The famous 80s dress was then stuffed into a rather small carriage to take Diana and her father to the church, leaving it pretty wrinkled on arrival.
Diana called Charles by wrong name in the vows
Diana made a slight mistake during her vows and got Charles’s name wrong.
The nervous bride accidentally swapped Charles’ two first names and called him Philip Charles Arthur George, instead of Charles Philip Arthur George.
Diana also put her own spin on her wedding vows, opting not to use the word “obey”.
Instead, she said during the widely-watched ceremony at St. Paul’s Cathedral that she would “love him, comfort him, honour and keep him, in sickness and in health”.