Remembering the Wedding of Lady Diana and Prince Charles

If there ever was a real life fairy tale, the wedding of 20-year old Diana Spencer to Prince Charles had to be it, back on July 29, 1981. Being only three years younger than Diana, I was in awe over the immense elegance and beauty of the event. The adoring crowds lining the streets of London were huge and adoring. It must have been so overwhelming for someone so young to undergo this much attention from the whole world like that. Prince Charles was used to that kind of scrutiny, but she had been a private citizen and out of the media eye until she and Charles became a couple.

The wedding procession to the church was enchanting. Seeing the Charles and Diana riding in the ornately decorated royal coach, drawn by regal horses with arched necks, was impressive. The scene didn’t look real at all, because it was so beautiful, but it was real. There were banners and Union Jack flags in the London streets, and excited, waving fans everywhere. The royal couple waved back, Diana looking through her very billowy veil, from the inside of the enclosed coach. Having been to London myself as a tourist two summers before, I knew how gigantic St. Paul’s Cathedral is, and it was amazing to see the building filled to the brim with smartly dressed guests from around the world.

It took some time to get her lovely, silk dress, decorated with pearls and Mother-of-Pearl sequins, out of the carriage, because its train was incredibly long. Attendants worked hard to smooth it out, as she began to walk down the aisle with her father, Earl Spencer. He had just had a stroke, but was well enough to walk her down the aisle. How proud he had to be. The flowers she carried were as spectacular as wedding bouquets for fairytale weddings could possibly be. It had stephanotis, orchids, roses, gardenias, lily of the valley and other flowers, arranged in a lovely drooping design.

During the wedding, it seemed that the royal couple truly did love each-other. It seemed ominous that Camilla Parker-Bowles was watching in the audience, but back then there was no scandal to mar the romance. It was a fairy tale worth getting up at the crack of dawn for. Here in the United States, we had to get up very early in the morning to watch it. My family and I watched it from start to end. After the service, the couple rode in another lovely horse-drawn coach, this one was open, so that everyone could see them. They waved at everyone, with stars in their eyes, Princess Diana’s eyes were sparkling, and this was indeed her day. Roughly 750 million viewers watched in awe from their televisions, from around the world. The event ended with Charles and Diana greeting the world from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. It was a let-down to turn the television after the event ended, but my friends and I were happy and moved by the surreal quality to that lovely day.

It’s hard to believe that this fairytale actually ended, and that such a vibrant young woman as Princess Diana could die so very young. Even if the marriage didn’t last, the legacy carries on with the royal couple’s sons, William and Harry. They have grown up to become compassionate, mannerly and solid young men. Sooner or later, we’ll have another royal wedding to watch, when one of them decides to marry. But, for those of us old enough to remember, the wedding we witnessed back in the summer of 1981 will vividly stay in our minds forever, with all the glitz and sparkle that went with it. All those years ago seem like yesterday to me. Diana may be gone now, but she’s still with us inside, and her sons will go on to remind us of her throughout their lives. The legacy lives on.