Royal Wedding Scandals Throughout British History

The British royal family has had its fair share of scandals, and many of them took place in royal weddings no less. Here are some of the biggest wedding controversies that have occurred throughout British history.

​1. Queen Elizabeth II skipped Prince Charles’ wedding to Duchess Camilla

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall married in a civil wedding ceremony in 2005. Charles’ sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, attended the wedding, and so did Camilla’s children, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes.

However, Charles’ mother, the Queen, was noticeably absent from the service. She skipped the ceremony as she feels like Charles and Camilla’s wedding interfered with her royal duties. The Queen told a friend that it feels inappropriate for her to attend a civil wedding ceremony being the Supreme Governor of the Church.

“The Queen feels she has to put her role with the Church before her role as a mother,” a source told Telegraph in 2005, “The Queen takes her position as Supreme Governor of the Church of England incredibly seriously. She also has great personal faith,” a senior royal official also told the publication.

The wedding caused a huge controversy at the time because both Charles and Camilla were divorcees. The Prince of Wales was previously married to Princess Diana, while the duchess was wedded to Andrew Parker Bowles. The Queen made up for her absence by hosting the couples’ wedding reception.

2. Princess Diana saying the wrong name

The wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana took place on July 29, 1981. More than 750 million people all over the world tuned in on their televisions, making it one of the most watched events in British history. About 600,000 people turned up all around St. Paul’s Cathedral to get a glimpse of the huge event in person. This is likely one of the reasons Diana — and Charles as well — suffered a bit of the wedding jitters.

According to a BBC article recalling the day’s events, while saying her vows, Diana called his husband-to-be “Philip Charles,” instead of the other way around, “Charles Philip.” “Wedding day nerves were apparent during the ceremony. Diana mixed up the Prince's names, calling him Philip Charles Arthur George, rather than Charles Philip,” the article reads.

Charles also made a mistake of his own. Instead of saying “my worldly goods” in his vows, he said “thy goods.”

3. King Edward VIII abdication crisis

On Dec. 11, 1936, King Edward VIII renounced the British throne to marry American socialite Wallis Simpson. Edward first met still-married Simpson in early 1934. Simpson was already divorced from her first marriage and was pursuing another divorce from her second one at the time of her affair.

Edward became king on January 1936 after the death of his father, George V. Edward was intent on marrying Simpson, but the rest of the royal family did not approve of her. This led to him giving up the crown, finally marrying Simpson in France on July 1937, and the “abdication crisis,” where his decision caused his descendants to lose their place in line. Edward’s brother, Prince Albert, father of current reigning Queen Elizabeth II, became King George VI shortly afterward.

4. Meghan’s dad not attending her wedding

Months of speculation have appeared on tabloids about Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle Sr., claiming he won’t get to walk his daughter down the aisle. Kensington Palace said otherwise, confirming his “important” role in the wedding in a tweet.

Five days before the big day, news emerged that he would not be present at the royal wedding. TMZ claims the father of the bride is backing out after allegations of staging paparazzi photos of himself preparing for her daughter’s big day and Markle Sr. also suffered a heart attack during the same period.

Then two days before the royal wedding, Meghan confirmed her father’s absence while he recovered. Prince Charles accompanied her down the aisle instead.

5. Princess Eugenie postponing her wedding because of Harry and Meghan

Eugenie got engaged in January 2018 to Jack Brooksbank. The couple officially wedded on October 2018. They have originally hoped for a September wedding but had to push it back so as not to interfere with Harry and Meghan’s foreign tours.