Royal weddings may be highly publicised events, but there are plenty of personal moments that are kept more private for the bride, groom and their loved ones.
From Queen Elizabeth's wedding morning disaster to Duchess Sophie's strict ban guests broke, even the royals can't prevent their big day from going awry at times. They can, however, redirect our attention with pomp and circumstance!
Join us as we look at what really happened behind closed doors at some of the biggest royal nuptials of all time, including Princess Diana's duplicate dress...
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex
1. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's number plate '190518' on their wedding car referred to their wedding date 19 May 2018.
2. Meghan and Harry's bishop read from an iPad.
3. Meghan's tiara included a detachable brooch made up of ten diamonds.
4. Meghan and Harry's wedding programme was not up to date. It read, "The Bride, having been greeted by the Dean of Windsor, moves in procession through the Nave where she is joined by her father, Mr. Thomas Markle, to the High Altar."
© Getty5. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex purposely used the terms husband and wife in their vows, as opposed to man and wife.
Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi
6. Princess Beatrice's wedding had a 'secret garden' theme.
7. She became the first royal bride to wear a pre-worn gown, tweaking Queen Elizabeth II's Sir Norman Hartnell gown from 1962 to add organza sleeves.
© Getty8. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi's son, Wolfie, whom he shares with his ex, Dara Huang, served as both best man and pageboy.
9. The couple had originally planned to get married at the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, followed by a reception in the Buckingham Palace gardens, but the plans were delayed and the location was changed due to COVID-19 safety measures.
The Prince and Princess of Wales
10. King Charles helped coordinate the music for his son Prince William and Princess Kate's nuptials.
11. William and Harry's uniforms at Kate and William's wedding were sweatproof.
© Getty12. Kate's earrings featured oak leaves to symbolise the trees in Berkshire, where the Middleton family live.
13. The Princess' bridal bouquet featured a flower called Sweet William.
14. Kate and William's floral budget was estimated to have cost them approximately £800,000.
15. The younger bridesmaids and flower girls at Kate and William's big day wore crowns inspired by the one Kate's mother, Carole Middleton, wore to her own wedding in 1980.
16. The honeymoon destination was a surprise for Kate. William kept it to himself before revealing that they would be spending two weeks in a private villa in the Seychelles.
Princess Diana and then-Prince Charles
© Getty17. Princess Diana's dress had to be refitted 15 times, after her waist dropped from 29 inches to 23.5 inches.
18. The soles of Princess Diana's shoes had a C and D painted on them, representing Charles and Diana's initials.
19. Charles and Diana's wedding is believed to have cost the equivalent of £37million.
20. Diana's dress designers, David and Elizabeth Emmanuel, made a backup dress for the big day, in case her gown was leaked or damaged.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip
21. The Queen kept the word 'obey' in her wedding vows with Prince Philip in 1947, despite the word being omitted from the Church of England service in 1928.
22. Her Late Majesty didn't use money to pay for her royal wedding dress; she used clothing ration coupons following World War II.
23. Prince Philip had a secret message inscribed inside the monarch's wedding band that only three people have ever seen.
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank
24. Princess Eugenie's engagement ring was inspired by her personality. She told British Vogue that her husband Jack Brooksbank, "Found the sapphire and thought it looked like me because it changes colour and he thought that that was part of my character, which is quite sweet".
© Getty25. The bride specifically requested Peter Pilotto and Christopher de Vos to design a low-backed gown to display her surgical scar from a scoliosis procedure she had at age 12. She similarly chose to forego a veil to show off her scar.
26. For the private evening reception at Royal Lodge, Eugenie changed into a custom gown by Zac Posen in a blush-pink colour, which was inspired by the White Rose of York.
27. She had a star-studded bridal party including Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Robbie Williams and Ayda Field's daughter, Theodora Williams.
© Getty28. The couple promoted sustainability at their wedding, choosing to go completely plastic-free.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh
29. The reason Duchess Sophie banned guests from wearing hats at her wedding with Prince Edward was in order to maintain a more informal tone. Guests were also advised not to wear headpieces - a rule that the Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth II famously bypassed.
© Getty30. Sophie's second wedding dress was hidden underneath her coat dress.
31. Sophie wore a black-and-white pearl cross necklace and matching drop earrings designed by Prince Edward and crafted by Asprey & Garrard.
Zara and Mike Tindall
32. Zara chose a private ceremony at Canongate Kirk, followed by a reception at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, which was her grandmother's official Scottish residence.
33. She wore the Greek Meander Tiara, which was originally owned by Prince Philip's mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, and was passed down to Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Anne.
34. Following her marriage, Zara initially kept her maiden name, Phillips, for international equestrian competitions, before adopting Mike's surname, Tindall, in 2016.
