10 Immutable Customs of British Royal Family Weddings That Few Know

The marriage of members of the British royal family must obey many traditions, rules and prescribed protocols, formulated by decades of existence of the Royal House of Windsor. This considering that British monarchs are the bastion of traditionalism and that marriage will be remembered forever in history… So we decided to investigate what are the important rules of royal weddings.

O awesome.club will show you interesting wedding traditions of the British royal family.

According to the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, the first 6 people on the list to succeed to the throne must receive the Queen’s permission to marry. The agreement for the marriage between Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, who is sixth in the line of succession, was granted by Elizabeth ll on March 14. The consent was read and reinforced by a letter to the Privy Council, a group of sovereign advisers.

The beginning of this tradition of making wedding rings for brides of the British royal family from Welsh gold was laid in 1923, for the wedding of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the so-called Queen Mother, mother of Elizabeth II and great-grandmother of William and Harry.

The resources of the mine whose metal was used to produce the royal rings have now been depleted and are closed. Welsh gold is in short supply, so it is 5 times more expensive than other types of gold. The wedding rings of Queen Elizabeth ll, Princess Diana of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duchess of Cambridge were also made from this metal. Meghan Markle’s ring was also made from a Welsh gold nugget, given as a gift from Elizabeth II.

Instead of tossing the bouquet to a crowd of single girlfriends, royal brides place the bouquet at the tomb of an unknown soldier in London’s Westminster Abbey. This tradition was established by Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, mother of Queen Elizabeth II. Before entering Westminster Abbey on her wedding day, she stopped to lay flowers on the tomb of an unknown soldier. Thus, she paid tribute to the memory of her brother Fergus, who died in 1915 at the Battle of Loos, and to all British soldiers who died in the First World War.

Elizabeth was the first bride to arrive at the altar without a bunch of flowers in her hands, as she had placed them in the tomb before entering the church. Currently, royal brides do this the day after the ceremony, when all the official wedding photographs have been taken.

Another royal wedding tradition is the official photo session. Typically, they are produced between the wedding ceremony and the reception. The first British sovereign to do something similar was King Edward VII.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle chose Alexi Lubomirski for their wedding, one of the most successful fashion photographers today and who photographed the couple for their official engagement portrait. In addition to the traditional images with the bride and groom surrounded by their family, as well as the bride’s pages and godmothers, Lubomirski took a romantic photo, in which the newlyweds pose sitting on the steps of Windsor Castle.

Men of the British royal family must serve in the army, have a military rank and be assigned to a regiment. According to tradition, they must marry in military uniform and present all the decorations they have received. There is no place for tuxedos, tailcoats or ties at a wedding.

The wedding dress and veil of Elizabeth II, who was married in 1947, featured an ornament of flowers, as a symbol of the advent of peace after the end of World War II.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, asked to embroider 53 plants on her veil, each symbolizing the countries that are members of the Commonwealth (Community of Nations, in Portuguese), the voluntary union of sovereign countries and which includes the United Kingdom and almost all its former colonies. Elizabeth ll, who is head of the Commonwealth, has appointed Prince Harry as the Commonwealth of Nations Youth Ambassador. Meghan’s choice for this embroidery symbolizes her pride in her husband and her readiness to help him in that position.

In addition to the plants from the Commonwealth countries, Meghan chose two more: the veronica hederifoliawhich grows on the territory of Kensington Palace, and the Eschscholzia californica, flower of California, where Meghan was born. On the royal family’s official page, you can see the complete list of plants embroidered on the veil.

According to tradition, all English brides must have in their dress: “something old, something blue, something borrowed, something new”this is something old, something blue, something borrowed and something new.

At Kate Middleton’s wedding, earrings were new, which her parents gave her. Irish lace was the antique piece, which adorned the bodice of the dress. A piece of blue ribbon was sewn into the lining of her dress. As for the loan: a tiara, which was lent by Queen Elizabeth II, as well as Meghan Markle.

This is a protocol requirement and is explained by the ancient tradition of obligatorily covering the head in the presence of monarchs. The parade of hats at royal weddings is more surprising than at the horse races at Ascot.

The main ornament of the wedding table is usually a gorgeous, multi-tiered cake with fruits, the preparation of which begins about a month before the ceremony. For the Prince William and Kate cake (pictured on the left), it took 5 weeks. After roasting, it is soaked daily with rum and brandy. This cake can be preserved for decades.

Meghan and Harry broke with tradition a bit and chose a cake with lemon and elderberry syrup, decorated with live flowers. For its creation, 200 lemons and 10 bottles of elderberry syrup were used, which bathed the dough filling. Furthermore, this cake was extraordinary because it was not made in the traditional way: its parts stood on separate golden pedestals.

Shortly after the wedding day, each guest receives a piece of wedding cake in a metal keepsake box, along with a letter with words of appreciation. The newlyweds keep the top of the cake, to be served at the christening of their future children, and another piece is left to be sold at auction, as it is also a royal family tradition.

Which of the traditions of British sovereigns did you find most surprising?