1981
Charles and Diana wed
A great wedding and a terrible marriage. On this day in 1981, Lady Diana Spencer and His Royal Highness Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales, KG, KT, GCB, OM, AK, CC, QSO, PC, ADC, Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland, Field Marshal, Admiral of the Fleet in the Royal Navy, Marshal of the Royal Air Force and Colonel in the Papua New Guinea Defence Force, (MA Cantab), were wed at St Paul’s Cathedral in London in a ceremony watched by 3,000 in the church, 750,000,000 on television around the world. Among the guests were most of the crowned heads of the planet, including the dispossessed claimants to monarchies that had ceased to exist, such as Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia.
As heir to the throne it was essential that Charles should wed. Though he had had numerous girl friends and mistresses before his proposal to Lady Diana, none of these women were considered suitable marriage partners or a future Queen — soft porn actresses, wives of his friends, and Catholic princesses all fell short of the required standard. It does not appear that he was much in love with his intended spouse but she was young, beautiful, of noble birth, and a virgin: four qualities rarely found in the same woman in England at the time. They became engaged in February 1981 and plans for a sumptuous ceremony were set in motion immediately.
The bride wore a gown of ivory silk taffeta, decorated with lace, hand embroidery, sequins, and 10,000 pearls with a 25-foot train of ivory taffeta and antique lace. The dress had to be altered considerably as Diana had suffered a weight loss due to bulimia. (One critic called the outfit “too much dress, too little princess.”) Charles wore the uniform of a naval commander, festooned with the decorations of the Orders of the Garter, Thistle, and the Bath. Three choirs, three orchestras and a brass ensemble provided the music; the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Dean of St Paul’s, a Catholic cardinal and sundry Protestant clerics conducted the service.
The marriage soon fell apart. Charles insisted on the royal prerogative of keeping a mistress and Diana took to preying on other women’s husbands.