What’s the story behind the way royal weddings are celebrated today? A Right Royal Wedding What’s the story behind the way royal weddings are celebrated today?

These people are often in the news. Do you know who they are? What special event is taking place in May?   On Saturday 19 May 2018, HRH Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle will marry in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. What do you imagine a royal wedding to be like? Much of what we imagine and see at weddings goes back to Queen Victoria and the fashions that she set. Prince Harry and Meghan announced their engagement in the gardens of Kensington Palace.

But who should this important princess marry? Let’s travel back in time and meet Prince Harry’s great-great- great-great grandmother In Kensington Palace, Princess Victoria spent her childhood training to become Queen. But who should this important princess marry?   Princess Victoria was born in Kensington Palace in 1819. Her mother and uncle were eager to choose her mate. Many princes were brought to Kensington to meet the princess. Yet time after time, Victoria resisted. She did not want to marry a man she did not love.   Kensington Palace at the time of Princess Victoria’s birth.

Queen Victoria proposing to Prince Albert. Then one afternoon – shortly before her seventeenth birthday - Princess Victoria looked down from the palace’s grand staircase and spied Albert, her cousin and future husband. To begin with Albert wasn’t particularly interested in Victoria, and Victoria did not wish to become a wife. But over time, they fell in love. In 1839, two years after becoming Queen, Victoria proposed marriage to Albert. A date was set – 10 February 1840. It was to be a royal wedding like no other. Queen Victoria proposing to Prince Albert.

Royal weddings weren't always big public affairs Royal weddings weren't always big public affairs. Weddings of kings and queens were often small with few guests. They took place in Royal Chapels behind firmly closed doors. A very different sort of wedding was planned for Queen Victoria. Her advisers wanted to use the event to connect the young royals to the people. So it took place in the day time with Queen Victoria travelling from Buckingham Palace to St James’s Palace in full view of excited onlookers.   In spite of heavy rain, enormous crowds gathered at Buckingham Palace and St James’s Park.

Souvenirs were produced in their thousands to celebrate the wedding from special medals to wedding lace. Some lucky children received prints of the Queen and Prince Albert to colour in and cover in tinsel. A child might have coloured in parts of this tinsel print of Prince Albert.

What do you think a queen would wear to her wedding? Queen Victoria wearing her white wedding dress featuring lace made in Devon. Queen Victoria surprised many. She did not wear plush royal robes. Instead she wore a simple white dress, decorated with orange blossom flowers. She started a trend for brides to wear white wedding dresses that continues today.

What promises do people make to each other on their wedding day? In Victorian times, brides promised to obey their husbands. This raised a problem for Queen Victoria. Should she promise to do whatever her husband said or as Queen should Prince Albert obey her? The marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert at St James’s Palace

How would you decorate it? Queen Victoria and Albert’s wedding cake was huge. It weighed more than five seven-year-olds. On top of the cake, surrounded by angels, stood a model of the bride and groom with a faithful dog at their feet. More than 30 official wedding cakes were made to celebrate the Queen’s marriage. Imagine HRH Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle have asked you to make their wedding cake. How would you decorate it?

A horse-drawn coach carried the Queen and Prince Albert to Windsor Castle through crowded streets, glowing with crowns and stars. Thirty triumphal arches lined the route, some covered with flowers while others carried goodwill messages. The arrival of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in Windsor.

It is over 170 years since Queen Victoria married yet her wedding still influences the way in which marriages are celebrated today. Will HRH Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle’s wedding have a similar impact? How might their wedding reflect Victorian traditions? In what ways might it be different?

Image credits Slide 1: Getty Images and Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2018 Slide 2: Getty Images Slide 3: Historic Royal Palaces Slide 4: Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2018 Slide 5: Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2018 Slide 6: Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2018 Slide 7: (c) Museum of London Slide 8: Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2018 Slide 9: Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2018 Slide 10: Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2018 Slide 11: Getty Images