May 19,2018
The royal wedding of Prince Harry of England and American actress Meghan
Markle is making many statements in the world.
Now another has been added to
the list - the duo will become the sixteenth royal couple to get married at
Windsor Castle since 1863 - according to the Kensington Palace.
The palace
shared a listicle documenting the royal marriages at Windsor in over 150 years.
The first wedding which the Castle saw in last 150 years was of The Prince of
Wales and Princess Alexandra of Denmark in 1863.
According to the Kensington
Palace, "Prince Albert, the future Edward VII, known to his family as 'Bertie',
met Danish Princess Alexandra in 1861 at the Cathedral in Speyer, Germany. He
proposed on the 9 September 1862. The wedding took place at St George's Chapel,
Windsor Castle, and was witnessed by his mother, Queen Victoria who was seated
in the Catherine of Aragon closet. Born on 9 November 1841 as Prince Albert
Victor, Bertie was the oldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and was
baptised at St George's Chapel on 25 January 1842."
The second wedding came
three years later in 1866 of Princess Helena and Prince Christian of
Schleswig-Holstein.
"Following their engagement on 5 December 1865, Princess
Helena, who was the fifth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, married
Prince Christian in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle. The Princess was given
away by her mother, Queen Victoria, who added a white mourning cap to her black
mourning dress. Louise was also accompanied up the aisle by The Prince of Wales
and her eight bridesmaids", the description read.
Princess Louise and The
Marquess of Lorne became the third couple to marry at Windsor Castle in 1871.
Their description read, "Princess Louise, the sixth child of Queen Victoria and
Prince Albert, married John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, heir to the Dukedom of
Argyll, at St George's Chapel after becoming engaged on 3 October 1870. On the
wedding day, Louise wore a wedding veil of Honiton lace that she designed
herself, and was escorted into the Chapel by her mother and her two eldest
brothers - The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Edinburgh. The couple later
became The Duke and Duchess of Argyll."
Next came the marriage of Prince
Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia in 1879.
Prince Arthur, the seventh child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, married
Princess Louise at St George's Chapel. Louise was the daughter of Prince
Frederick Charles and was a great-niece of the German Emperor, Arthur's
godfather, Wilhelm I. The couple went on to have three children, who were all
raised at Bagshot Park in Surrey, which is the current residence of The Earl and
Countess of Wessex - who were also married at St George's Chapel, according to
the Kensington Palace.
In 1880, Princess Frederica of Hanover and Luitbert,
Von Pawel Rammingen married at Windsor and became the fifth couple.
"Princess
Frederica, the elder daughter of King George V of Hanover (a grandson of George
III) and Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg, married Baron Alfons Von
Pawel-Rammingen at St George's Chapel. Alfred Tennyson, the Poet Laureate, wrote
a quatrain in honour of Frederica's marriage, focusing on her relationship to
her blind father, who had died two years earlier", read the description in the
listicle.
Sixth wedding came of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany and Princess
Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont in 1882.
Prince Leopold, the eighth child of
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, married Princess Helena Friederike, the
daughter of Georg Viktor, reigning Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont at St George's
Chapel. On the wedding day, Princess Helena was given away by her father and her
brother-in-law, King Willem III of the Netherlands. The Prince of Wales and The
Duke of Connaught acted as the Groom's Best Men, as per the Kensington Palace.
In 1891, the Castle saw its seventh wedding - of Princess Marie Louise of
Schleswig-Holstein and Prince Aribert of Anhalt.
Kensington Palace said,
"Princess Marie Louise, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, followed in the
footsteps of her parents, Princess Helena and Prince Christian, when she married
Prince Aribert at St George's Chapel. Prince Aribert was the third son of
Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt and Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg."
Princess Alice Mary of Albany and Prince Alexander of Teck married in 1904 and
marked the eighth wedding.
Princess Alice, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria,
also followed in the footsteps of her parents, Prince Leopold and Princess
Helena, by marrying Prince Alexander at St George's Chapel. Prince Alexander was
the brother of Princess Mary, The Princess of Wales (later Queen Mary, consort
of George V). The couple later became known as The Earl and Countess of Athlone,
said the Kensington Palace.
Just a year later, in 1905, Princess Margaret of
Connaught and Prince Gustaf Adolph of Sweden married at the Windsor Castle.
Princess Margaret, the daughter of The Duke of Connaught, whose wedding took
place at St George's Chapel in 1879, married Prince Gustaf who later became King
Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden. The couple met during a visit to Egypt, and Gustaf
proposed during a dinner held by Lord Cromer at the British Consulate in Egypt.
One of Margaret's wedding presents was the Connaught tiara, which remains in the
Swedish Royal Jewellery collection today.
The year 1919 saw the 10th wedding
at Windsor, of Lady Helena Cambridge and Major John Gibbs.
According to the
Kensington, Lady Helena, who was the daughter of the Marquess of Cambridge and
niece of Queen Mary, married Major Gibbs of the Coldstream Guards at St George's
Chapel.
Then after a long time, in 1957, came the next wedding - of Anne Abel
Smith and David Liddell-Grainger.
Anne, a granddaughter of The Earl and
Countess of Athlone, married David Liddell-Grainger at St George's Chapel. In
1904, The Earl and Countess, then Prince Alexander of Teck and Princess Alice
Mary of Albany, had also married at St George's Chapel, said the Palace.
Next
one came in 1992, when Lady Helen Windsor married Timothy Taylor.
Lady Helen
Windsor, the daughter of The Duke of Kent, married Timothy Taylor at St George's
Chapel. Helen wore a dress designed by Catherine Walker, which was inspired by
the architecture of the wedding venue.
The year 1999 saw the thirteenth
wedding - of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones.
Prince Edward, The Queen's
youngest child, married Sophie Rhys-Jones at St George's Chapel. The Earl's two
brothers, The Prince of Wales and The Duke of York acted his supporters during
the Service. After the ceremony, the newly married couple rode in an open,
horse-drawn carriage around the town of Windsor. Edward was created The Earl of
Wessex on the morning of the ceremony, and the couple is now known as The Earl
and Countess of Wessex, said the statement.
Then in 2005, when Prince Charles
remarried after the death of Princess Diana, it became the fourteenth wedding at
Windsor Castle. He married The Duchess of Cornwall.
The statement read: The
Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall were married at a civil ceremony at
Windsor Guildhall. A Service of Prayer and Dedication at St George's Chapel
followed. The Service was attended by The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, and
was led by The Archbishop of Canterbury. The Duchess's flower bouquet contained
daffodils, jasmine, Lily of the Valley, pink and cream lillies, camellias,
hydrangeas, and rose which came the garden at Highgrove House.
Then in 2008,
the youngest son of Queen, Peter Philips married Autumn Kelly and became the
couple number 15 to be married at Windsor Castle.
Peter Philips, the eldest
child of The Princess Royal and The Queen's first Grandson, married Autumn Kelly
at St George's Chapel.
Now the next couple in row is Prince Harry and the
people's princess, Meghan Markle. The royal wedding is scheduled for Saturday,
May 19.
The description read, "Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle have chosen
St George's Chapel as the venue for their wedding. The couple also announced
plans to involve members of the public in their wedding day by inviting 2,640
people into the grounds of Windsor Castle. They will be able to watch the
arrivals at St George's Chapel and the carriage procession as it departs from
the castle."