The Wedding Kiss
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Charles & Diana's Wedding
29 July 1981


Prince Charles's love life had often been the subject of press speculation, and he was linked to many glamorous and aristocratic women, including Diana's older sister Sarah. Charles had also dated Davina Sheffield, Scottish heiress Anna Wallace, the Honourable Amanda Knatchbull (granddaughter of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma), Susan George (actress), Lady Jane Wellesley, heiress Sabrina Guinness and Camilla Shand, among others. In his early thirties, he was under increasing pressure to marry. Legally, his marriage required the Queen's formal consent. The only requirement was he could not marry a Roman Catholic or lose his place in the order of succession; a member of the Church of England was preferred. In order to gain the approval of his family and their advisers, any potential bride was expected to have a royal or aristocratic background, be a virgin, as well as be Protestant.

Prince Charles had known Diana for several years, but he first took a serious interest in her as a potential bride during the summer of 1980, when they were guests at a country weekend, where she watched him play polo. The relationship developed as he invited her for a sailing weekend to Cowes, aboard the royal yacht Britannia, followed by an invitation to Balmoral Castle, the Windsor family's Scottish home, to meet his family. Diana was well received at Balmoral by Queen Elizabeth II, by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the Queen Mother. The couple then had several dates in London. The prince proposed on 6 February 1981, and Diana accepted, but their engagement was kept secret for the next few weeks.


Engagement and wedding

Their engagement became official on the 24th February, 1981, after Diana selected a walnut-sized £30,000 ring consisting of 14 diamonds surrounding a sapphire, similar to her mother's engagement ring.

The 20-year-old became The Princess of Wales when she married Charles on 29 July 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral, which offered more seating than Westminster Abbey, generally used for royal nuptials. It was widely billed as a "fairytale wedding," watched by a global television audience of 750 million. At the altar Diana accidentally reversed the order of Charles's names, saying Philip Charles Arthur George instead. She also did not say she would "obey," which caused a sensation at the time. The ceremony began at 11:20 A.M. BST, and Diana wore a dress valued at £9000 with 25 foot train. The couple's wedding cake was created by Belgian pastry chef S. G. Sender, who was known as the "cakemaker to the kings.