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Our bejeweled tribute to the legacy of Queen Elizabeth II continues right now with probably the most vital days of her whole life: her royal wedding ceremony to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
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After Elizabeth and Philip’s royal engagement was formally introduced in July 1947, plans had been instantly set in movement to organize for the upcoming royal wedding ceremony. The situation could be Westminster Abbey, and the date was set for November 1947.
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Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, gave his official consent for the couple’s marriage, and the license for the marriage was granted in September 1947 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher.
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In the meantime, the Queen’s favourite couturier, Norman Hartnell, was laborious at work on designs for Princess Elizabeth’s wedding ceremony gown. The home windows of his London studio, pictured in October 1947, had been whitewashed to forestall curious eyes from discovering the small print of the gown’s design earlier than the massive day.
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Right here’s a have a look at among the sketches that Hartnell produced for the event. The marriage robe he created for the royal bride was made from duchesse satin, closely embroidered with floral designs, together with orange blossoms and star lilies. Hundreds of pearls had been sewn on to the robe, and further ration playing cards had been offered in order that the bride may have a marriage robe match for a princess.
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Elizabeth had eight bridesmaids: her sister, Princess Margaret; her cousins, Princess Alexandra of Kent, Margaret Elphinstone, Diana Bowes-Lyon, and Woman Mary Cambridge; Philip’s cousin, Woman Pamela Mountbatten; and two extra up to date aristocrats, Woman Caroline Montagu-Douglas-Scott (daughter of the Duke of Buccleuch) and Woman Elizabeth Lambart (daughter of the Earl of Cavan). Hartnell additionally designed elaborate clothes for every bridesmaid, impressed by royal work by Winterhalter and Tuxen.
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The outfits created by Hartnell for Princess Elizabeth’s wedding ceremony additionally included a going-away ensemble, that includes a crepe gown and matching velour coat in a shade dubbed “love-in-the-mist blue.”
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The marriage befell on the morning of Thursday, November 20, 1947. Earlier than the marriage, King George VI gave Philip a brand new set of titles: Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, Baron Greenwich. The morning was grey as the brand new Duke arrived on the Abbey, however the scene inside was splendid. Princess Elizabeth was escorted down the aisle by her father, and the couple had been married by Archbishop Fisher. Philip slipped a marriage ring made from Welsh gold on to his bride’s finger in the course of the ceremony, which was witnessed by royal members of each households.
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After the wedding was solemnized, the couple processed down the aisle of the Abbey with their bridal celebration. The group additionally included Philip’s greatest man, the Marquess of Milford Haven, and two web page boys, Prince William of Gloucester and Prince Michael of Kent.
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The couple seemed radiant of their wedding ceremony apparel as they departed for the marriage breakfast at Buckingham Palace.
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Right here’s a have a look at the couple’s wedding ceremony garments, displayed 60 years later in an exhibition celebrating their Diamond Marriage ceremony Anniversary in 2007.
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The bride’s jewels had been displayed as properly. Elizabeth borrowed Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara from her mom. The diamond fringe was made in 1919 utilizing diamonds taken from Mary’s personal wedding ceremony tiara, the Collingwood Fringe. The tiara was used typically by Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mom) each earlier than and after this royal wedding ceremony. Famously, although, because the tiara was positioned on Princess Elizabeth’s head on the marriage day, the body snapped and needed to be rapidly repaired earlier than the ceremony. Later, the Queen Mom additionally loaned the tiara to Princess Anne for her wedding ceremony in 1973, and in 2020, Queen Elizabeth II loaned the jewel to her granddaughter, Princess Beatrice, to put on on her wedding ceremony day as properly.
Princess Elizabeth additionally wore pearls together with her bridal ensemble. She chosen a pair of pearl and diamond earrings, given to her by Queen Mary in January 1947, with an extended royal historical past. They’d initially belonged to Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh, one of many daughters of King George III, and had been handed down via the Teck household.
Her necklaces additionally had spectacular royal provenance. The Queen Anne and Queen Caroline Pearl Necklaces had been wedding ceremony presents from Elizabeth’s father. One is claimed to have belonged to Queen Anne, the final Stuart monarch; the opposite is claimed to have been worn by Caroline of Ansbach, spouse of King George II. The necklaces had been on show at St. James’s Palace on the marriage day and needed to be shortly retrieved by the princess’s personal secretary, Jock Colville, so she may put on them for the ceremony.
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On the palace after the ceremony, the couple posed for formal wedding ceremony portraits.
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They had been joined by members of their household and the bridal celebration for this picture. The bride’s household—King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, and Queen Mary—are pictured right here, as are members of the groom’s household, Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark and the Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven.
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The couple made a number of appearances on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, cheered on by the large crowd that had gathered beneath on the Mall.
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Different family members joined them on the balcony, too, together with the Kents, the Gloucesters, Princess Andrew, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Mary.
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This 12 months would have marked the couple’s seventy fifth wedding ceremony anniversary. They got here shut: in November 2020, shortly earlier than Prince Philip’s loss of life on the age of 99, they celebrated a exceptional 73 years of marriage collectively. Theirs stays probably the most enduring royal marriages in British historical past.
