Wedding planners and brides take special pains to make sure disasters are averted on the big day. They can’t always control unfortunate incidents, so sometimes it’s best to go with a plan B or just roll with the punches.
It can happen to anyone – even royal families. Leading up to the wedding, the finest details are attended to, but nothing can account for someone’s nerves or plain old human behavior. With royal weddings, there’s so much splendor and fanfare that one almost expects things to be flawlessly perfect.
It hasn’t always been the case, and as you’ll see from these examples below, wedding blunders have been going on for centuries. Some of these are major and had no remedy, and others were turned around just in the nick of time.
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Kate and William’s Horse-Thrown Rider
On the way to Buckingham palace following the ceremony, a horse in the carriage procession bucked and threw its rider. Though it was sidelined and stopped from going into the crowd, it still managed to break free and ran past the carriage, and into the Horse Guard’s stables. Luckily, the rider was uninjured.
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The Vows of Prince Charles
In his marriage vows to Diana, the prince said “all thy goods with thee I share” instead of “all my worldly goods with thee I share”.
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Diana’s Vows
Also nervous while reciting her vows, Diana referred to Prince Charles as “Philip Charles Arthur George” rather than “Charles Philip Arthur George”. The other guy was actually Prince Philip, her father-in-law.
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Diana’s Perfume Mishap
While getting primped and prepped for the ceremony, Princess Diana accidentally spilled some of her favorite perfume down the front of her gown. To cover it up, strategically held her hands or her bouquet throughout the entire day.
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Queen Elizabeth’s Tiara
On her wedding day, Queen Elizabeth’s hairdresser broke her tiara. Though the Queen Mother suggested wearing a different one, the bride was not having it. The tiara was rushed to a jeweler for repairs and was ready just in time.
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King George IV Was Drunk and Not in Love
It’s said that he wasn’t really into his blushing bride, so he drank himself into a stupor. He was so drunk that he had to be propped up.
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Princess Caroline’s Burden
King George wasn’t the only one struggling to stand. His bride, Princess Caroline, was wearing a dress so heavy she could hardly stand upright.
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Upset Tummy
Princess Augusta Saxe-Gotha (King George IV’s grandmother) vomited on her mother-in-law during her 1736 nuptials to the Prince of Wales. But she was understandably a ball of nerves. The 17-year-old had arrived from Germany the same day as her wedding.
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No Bouquet to Carry
Princess Nathalie of Denmark made it to the church – sans her wedding bouquet. She waited 10 minutes for the forgotten flowers to arrive before she walked down the aisle.
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Deadly Drinking Habits
King Harthacnut died during a wedding celebration for some friends. His was drinking heavily all day and stood during a toast to the bride, dropped to the floor and died. It’s thought he had a stroke that was connected to his alcohol consumption.
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Marie Antoinette’s Dress Size
Although she was only 14 when she got married, Marie Antoinette’s small frame was still a little too big for her dress. Her attendants couldn’t lace it up in the back. According to the Duchess of Northumberland (a guest): “the corps of her robe was too small and left quite a broad stripe of lacing and shift quite visible. . .”
To hear about more royal wedding mistakes and snafus, click on this video from Wochit. See if you remember any of them!
Were you aware of these royal wedding mishaps? Do you have your own wedding disaster story to share?