Once upon a time, a queen named Victoria married a prince named Albert.
They had a big wedding and everyone in town gathered in the streets to see the handsome couple.
They went on to have children and rule for many many years. One might even say they lived happily ever after.
Does this story sound familiar?
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Well that’s because it’s all true. We’re not talking about a fairy tale, we’re talking about the British Royal Family.
Currently helmed by Queen Elizabeth II, the monarchy was established centuries ago and has seen several changes in power.
The Windsor family has been on the throne since 1917 when George V (Queen Victoria’s grandson) was king.
The royals have been a symbol of power and tradition in Great Britain since its inception, and all over the world people not only look up to them, they want to be them.
One aspect in particular that has always caused a frenzy is royal weddings. Ah, love.
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Something about the idea of a prince finding his princess, or a queen taking power in her own hands to choose a suitor strikes a romantic chord in most of us.
On top of that, horse drawn carriages, castles, and the highest luxuries imaginable all seem like the ideal lifestyle. If you’re taking volunteers, please let us know!
While each Royal wedding has always been shrouded in tradition throughout history, recently the ceremonies have evolved in surprisingly modern ways.
We’ve rounded up all the ways royal nuptials have, and haven’t changed.
The Proposal
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When a member of the Royal family gets engaged there are many rules and traditions that must be followed.
According to the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 requires all royal descendants to seek the sovereign’s approval for marriage.
That means that the reigning monarch must approve of the matrimony before any member of the family get engaged.
So yes, Queen Elizabeth II approved of both Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle marrying into the family.
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Oh, to be a fly on the wall during these conversations.
Also, according to the 1701 Act of Settlement royals are not allowed to marry anyone Catholic.
This law is still in place today and has effected marriages as recently as 2008.
If someone Catholic wants to marry into the family they must convert.
The last rule of royal proposals requires the person with higher claim to the throne to propose regardless of gender.
Queen Victoria was required to propose to Prince Albert herself because she had a higher title than him.
We don’t know about you, but that seems like A LOT of pressure.
Wedding Dresses
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You’ve probably imagined wearing a white wedding dress on your special day, and that’s all on Queen Victoria.
Every bride has a different style, and that’s no different for royal brides.
Back in the Victorian era brides would normally wear a dress they had on hand, that is until Queen Victoria came along.
She was the first woman to decide to wear white to her wedding.
Until then,f the color was normally the tradition at funerals.
Why did she decide to push the boundaries?
The reason is simple, she wanted a white lace gown to match her veil.
Unknowingly to Queen Victoria, her decision would start a trend that continues to this day. Not only did she bring white bridal gowns into fashion, she also came up with the rule that only the bride could wear the color.
According to Vogue, Victoria was so excited for her wedding day, and to marry her one true love Prince Albert that she told everyone coming to her wedding that they weren’t allowed to wear white.
Can we talk about about the ultimate power move?
Congrats Queen Victoria, and you were right. When it’s your day, all the attention should only be on you.
Queen Elizabeth II evolved to fit the needs of the people with her wedding gown.
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Married in 1947 Elizabeth II’s wedding served as a welcomed distraction for Britain from the aftermath of WWII.
Like all women of the time she had wartime rations for clothes, and she saved up hers to buy her dress.
She was also granted 200 coupons from the government since it was considered a special occasion.
Hundreds of people tried to send in their rations to help her but it wasn’t allowed at the time. Given the era, Elizabeth II’s dress was simple, off-white, and featured a 15-foot train.
The designer, Sir Norman Hartnell, modeled the dress after the Botticelli painting ‘Primavera’ in order to evoke rebirth and a fresh start.
Elizabeth II married just six years before her coronation as queen and still turns heads with her style over 60 years later.
Princess Diana’s dress became all anyone could talk about.
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Diana’s dress was veiled in secrecy from the first engagement announcement.
The dress was made from famed designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel.
Over the years the royal family tried harder and harder to use resources from around Great Britain, including hunting down British silk worms to make the silk used in her dress.
The ordeal of making the dress was also the first time in wedding history that the paparazzi were so involved in trying to take a picture of the dress beforehand.
The design studio even had to install special blinds. Yeesh.
The final result though was worth the wait. Princess Diana’s dress was the most on trend looking dress a royal wedding had ever seen.
Also the dress made history with a 25-foot train and even longer veil.
The puffy sleeved dress was a true statement piece and inspired brides from all over the world to go for a more lavish bridal look.
Kate Middleton went more streamlined.
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Kate’s dress redefined modern bridal style, which had become more simple and sleek with the dawn of the new millennium. But, kept a sense of tradition.
Like her predecessors her dress was adorned with white lace and was made by the legendary designer Alexander McQueen and was touted by Valentino and Donatella Versace as a “classic Grace Kelly look.”
The Duchess also paid homage to her late mother-in-law with a touching tribute.
Following in Princess Diana’s footsteps, Kate also sewed a blue ribbon onto her dress. Following the wedding, retailers all over the world began making lookalikes of Kate’s dress proving that the influence of the royal family in the fashion world has only expanded over time.
She was also the first bride to have two different dress for the ceremony and the reception.
By the time Meghan Markle got engaged to Prince Harry, the world immediately began speculating about what her dress would look like.
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Kensington Palace managed to keep any word about the dress under wraps until the day of the wedding.
The official announcement came out and said her dress was made by British designer Clare Waight Keller.
The also released a sketch of the dress on their social media account marking the first time a drawing was shared of a royal gown.
The Bouquet
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When Queen Victoria was getting married, she put a lot of though in the small details of her big day.
To symbolize fertility and love Queen Victoria carried the herb myrtle in her bouquet.
She also planted a myrtle shrub at the Osborne House garden and it is still there today.
Every bride since has carried a sprig of the herb taken from the same shrub in her bouquet since. The tradition is now over 170 years old.
The wedding bouquet also has a special tie to the British Armed Forces.
When Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, also know as Queen Elizebeth or the Queen, got married she made a last minute decision.
As she entered Westminster Abbey, she laid her flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior.
According to Kensington Palace, the bride wanted to show support for her brother Fergus who had died during battle, and the millions of soldiers killed in World War I.
She was the only bride to walk down the aisle without a bouquet.
Since then many brides, including Kate Middleton, have laid their flowers on the tomb as they leave the church after the ceremony.
Honestly, we think this tradition is timeless.
The Venue
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As time has gone on, the size of royal weddings has only gotten bigger and more grand.
In the beginning the official site for royal wedding ceremonies was the Chapel Royal at St. James Palace.
Every wedding from 1683 when Queen Anne got married to George V in 1893 was held there.
The chapel however only seats 100 and as each wedding became more and more of a public affair, the venue evolved to match.
Royal weddings were brought back to Westminster Abbey for the first time in 605 years when Princess Patricia got married in 1919.
Queen Elizabeth II and William and Kate were both married in Westminster.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana opted for a smaller venue and got married at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor.
Following in his late mother’s footsteps, Prince Harry married Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle as well.
Reception
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The official receptions for the Royal family is normally held immediately following the ceremony.
Since the weddings take place in the morning, the receptions have historically been held at noon and are a formal luncheon.
When Queen Elizabeth got married her reception was a small intimate affair in the Ball supper-room at Buckingham Palace.
Princess Diana’s was significantly larger with close to 120 guests.
By the turn of the century when William and Kate got married, the couple opted for two ceremonies.
The first was a buffet-style brunch for 600 guests and was hosted officially by the queen.
Later that night, 300 of the couples close friends and family gathered for dinner and a dance party in on of the state rooms.
There were also two cakes, one being fruit cake which is the tradition choice for royal weddings, and the other was chocolate since it’s Prince Willam’s favorite.
Several years later when Harry and Meghan got married they also had two receptions.
The first was hosted by the queen and the evening affair was hosted by Prince Charles.
Breaking away from tradition their wedding was the first to feature a theme, which was reportedly festival.
Meghan also defied expectations by being the first royal bride in history to make a speech to her groom.
Official Photos And Titles
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Following a royal engagement and wedding official photos are always taken by Kensington Palace.
Photos are normally taken between the ceremony and reception. The first photos taken following the invention of photography was for King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra’s wedding.
Before that all royals (including Queen Victoria) had paintings done.
The photographers are normally of high caliber and in recent years have tried to make the photos look less stale.
Who could forget the adorable portrait of Meghan Markle and all of the royal children?
Once a person marries into the Royal family they normally adopt the title of their spouse.
Usually, this comes into play for women.
However, there have been a few exceptions. Camilla took on the Duchess of Cornwall instead of Wales when she married Prince Charles, out of respect for Diana.
Titles also change as positions in the family change and titles are usually matched as the gendered opposite.
So, Kate became ‘Her Royal Highness’ of Cambridge to counterpart William’s ‘His Royal Highness.’
One thing that might surprise you though, you don’t actually become a princess.
The title of princess is reserved for women born into the royal family and can not be adopted by marriage.
So unfortunately, Kate and Meghan will never be princesses, but we have a feeling being a duchess is just as fun.
The Media
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Perhaps the biggest change to royal weddings over the years is the evolution of the media coverage.
Back when Queen Victoria got married word of the wedding day spread around town through word of mouth and dozens of people lined the streets to get a look at the blushing bride.
As the world grew smaller more and more people became heavily invested in the love lives of the Royal family.
Queen Elizabeth II’s wedding was the first wedding to be broadcast on the radio and was listened to by over 200 million people.
Then, in 1981, there was the wedding to top all weddings.
Diana married Prince Charles in the first televised wedding in the history of Great Britain and the monarchy.
All over the word people gathered to watch a real-life fairy tale come true.
Following suit each royal wedding has been televised live and covered by media outlets all over the world.
We still remember waking up in the early hours of the morning to watch Kate Middleton marry her Prince, and most recently to watch Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s nuptials. If Meghan met Harry on a blind date, there’s hope for all of us.
Hey, a girl can dream right?
