royal weddings begin with: the engagement. But unlike regular weddings, these ones involve
an elaborately choreographed event that will be watched by an audience of millions. One of the first decisions a couple makes
is deciding where to actually do the thing. If theyre really into history and tradition, theres
really only one choice: From the solemnity of the abbey But not this time.
The big change is this wedding between Prince
Harry and Meghan Markle, You don't have all the ambassadors from all
the different countries, you don't have heads of state coming to this wedding. One reason is because the Chapel Windsor can
only take 600 people and therefore there simply isn't space. But it's also clearly the desire of Prince
Harry and Meghan Markle to have a more informal wedding. At around two months before the big day, the
Lord Chamberlains office sends out individually handcrafted invitations.
Theres flowers and fittings and the entirety of the city to prepare. While the bride and groom head to sleep in
different homes spectators who want a decent view of the public
processions will be sleeping outside. And just a few hours later, Some have traveled hundreds or even thousands of miles and they camped out overnight to get a prime position along that procession route. The general rule of royal weddings is the
the less important you are, the earlier you arrive, and the farther back you sit.
If youre there representing a charity, if
a member of the armed forces, or a celebrity, youre relegated to the nave of the church,
which means you might not even get to see the actual ceremony. Close friends of the bride and groom and other
guests will head in at least an hour and a half before. Most of the time it is: groom up at the front. The royal procession comes in order In order
of precedence, which means the more junior royals come first and
last comes the Queen and her husband Prince Philip.
Lots of fanfare as they come
and then the bride turns up. When the bride arrives, the details of the
dress are finally revealed after months of top secrecy. I am beside myself. This is such a fashion moment, I can't tell you.
And regardless of who the designer is, shell
be wearing white and will carry a sprig of myrtle in her bouquet, which symbolizes love
and marriage both of which are trends started by Queen Victoria. The brides tiara is almost always the something
borrowed, likely from one of the familys collections of jewels. Since 1923, the ring placed on the brides
finger is always made from Welsh gold Elizabeth and Dianas rings even came from the same
nugget. The ceremony's performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and only takes about an hour.
Towards the end, the bride, groom, and their
two witnesses go into a private room to sign the registrar. At that point the wedding is sanctified in
law, as it was sanctified by religious service a few minutes previously. Officially married, the bride and groom exit,
closely followed by the Procession of the Queen. If there's any heart that hasn't been run over by her today, it can kindly surrender now.
Theres a good chance youll hear Pomp
and Circumstance around this time although Americans associate it with high school graduations,
it was originally written for the coronation of King Edward VII. The bride and groom will likely make their
way into the open 1902 State Landau for the official carriage procession around the city
thats when the crowds who have been waiting for hours, or possibly days, will get
their first look at the royal couple. This usually concludes with the iconic appearance
on the Buckingham Palace balcony on which Diana and Charles were the first
to kiss. The kiss is a critical moment in the entire
royal wedding ceremony.
You don't just throw it away in the middle
of church. It has to be seen live by hundreds of thousands
of peoples. And just in case anyone had missed it, Prince William suggests one more kiss. Because Meghan and Harrys wedding is 20
miles outside of London, their first public kiss as a married couple will have to happen someplace else.
Afterwards, the wedding party takes official photos, and ceremony guests gather for the wedding breakfast," complete with a traditional fruit
cake. Though in the past the bride and groom would
change clothes and depart for their honeymoon directly afterwards,
current royals have gone for a more modern approach with a real party. And they wont be the only ones celebrating. It is generally seen as an excuse to have
a good time and somewhat buttoned up Brits who don't really have a good time in public
that much, let their hair down and enjoy themselves in the middle of their street.
At that point its a pretty normal wedding reception although normal ones dont
generally include (rumoured) performances by Elton John and the Spice Girls. The royal couple will head off for the honeymoon which is almost certainly within the British Commonwealth, while the rest of the country nurses a hangover. As they leave far behind them, an exhilarated, exhausted London, for them, as for any newlyweds, the adventure is just about to begin..
No comments:
Post a Comment