 | |
| Date | 10 February 1840 |
|---|---|
| Venue | Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace |
| Location | London, England |
| Participants | Queen Victoria Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha |
The wedding of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (later Prince Consort) took place on 10 February 1840 at Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace, in London.
Though she was queen, Victoria as an unmarried young woman, was required by social convention to live with her mother, despite their differences over the Kensington System and her mother's continued reliance on Sir John Conroy. [1] Her mother was consigned to a remote apartment in Buckingham Palace, and Victoria often refused to meet her. [2] When Victoria complained to Lord Melbourne that her mother's close proximity promised "torment for many years", Melbourne sympathised but said it could be avoided by marriage, which Victoria called a "shocking alternative". [3] She showed interest in Albert's education for the future role he would have to play as her husband, but she resisted attempts to rush her into wedlock. [4]
Victoria continued to praise Albert following his second visit in October 1839. Albert and Victoria felt mutual affection and the Queen proposed to him on 15 October 1839, just five days after he had arrived at Windsor. [5] They were married on 10 February 1840, in the Chapel Royal of St. James's Palace, London. Victoria was besotted. She spent the evening after their wedding lying down with a headache, but wrote ecstatically in her diary:
I NEVER, NEVER spent such an evening!!! MY DEAREST DEAREST DEAR Albert ... his excessive love & affection gave me feelings of heavenly love & happiness I never could have hoped to have felt before! He clasped me in his arms, & we kissed each other again & again! His beauty, his sweetness & gentleness—really how can I ever be thankful enough to have such a Husband! ... to be called by names of tenderness, I have never yet heard used to me before—was bliss beyond belief! Oh! This was the happiest day of my life! [6]
Albert became an important political adviser as well as the Queen's companion, replacing Lord Melbourne as the dominant, influential figure in the first half of her life. [7]
The wedding of Victoria and Albert remains the most recent wedding of a reigning British monarch. All monarchs since Victoria were already married when they ascended the throne, except for Edward VIII, who married Wallis Simpson after abdicating the throne.
The lace was designed by William Dyce, head of the then Government School of Design (later known as the Royal College of Art), and mounted on a white satin dress made by Mary Bettans. [8]
The plain, cream-coloured satin wedding dress was made from fabric woven in Spitalfields, east London, and trimmed with a deep flounce and trimmings of lace hand-made in Honiton and Beer, in Devon. [8] This demonstrated support for English industry, particularly the cottage industry for lace. [8] [9] The handmade lace motifs were appliquéd onto cotton machine-made net. [10] Orange flower blossoms, a symbol of fertility, also trimmed the dress and made up Victoria's wreath, which she wore instead of a tiara over her veil. The veil, which matched the flounce of the dress, was four yards in length and 0.75 yards wide. Her jewellery consisted of diamond earrings and necklace, and a sapphire brooch given to her by Albert. The slippers she wore matched the white colour of the dress. The train of the dress, carried by her bridesmaids, measured 18 feet (5.5 m) long.
Queen Victoria described her choice of dress in her journal thus: "I wore a white satin dress, with a deep flounce of Honiton lace, an imitation of an old design. My jewels were my Turkish diamond necklace & earrings & dear Albert's beautiful sapphire brooch."[ citation needed ]
The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the groom's father The Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the groom's brother [11] 
Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days, which was longer than any of her predecessors, is known as the Victorian era. It was a period of industrial, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. In 1876, the British Parliament voted to grant her the additional title of Empress of India.
Lady Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth Ramsay was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Upon her marriage to Alexander Ramsay, she relinquished her title of a British princess and the style of Royal Highness.
Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, later Princess of Leiningen and subsequently Duchess of Kent and Strathearn, was a German princess and the mother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. As the widow of Charles, Prince of Leiningen, from 1814, she served as regent of the Principality during the minority of her son from her first marriage, Karl, until her second wedding in 1818 to Prince Edward, fourth son of George III.
Duchess of Kent is the principal courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Kent. There have been four titles referring to Kent since the 18th century. The current duchess is Katharine, the wife of Prince Edward. He inherited the dukedom on 25 August 1942 upon the death of his father, Prince George, the fourth son of George V.
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The wedding dress of Princess Victoria Mary of Teck is the gown worn by the future Queen Mary at her wedding to Prince George, Duke of York on 6 July 1893 at the Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace, in London. The dress now belongs to the British Royal Collection and is part of a collection of royal wedding dresses at Kensington Palace in London.
Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha on 10 February 1840. She chose to wear a white wedding dress made from heavy silk satin, making her one of the first women to wear white for their wedding. The Honiton lace used for her wedding dress proved an important boost to Devon lace-making. Queen Victoria has been credited with starting the tradition of white weddings and white bridal gowns, although she was not the first royal to be married in white.
The wedding dress of Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia was worn by her at her wedding to Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, on 13 March 1879. Prince Arthur was the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
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Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India, died on 22 January 1901 at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, at the age of 81. At the time of her death, she was the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Her state funeral took place on 2 February 1901, being one of the largest gatherings of European royalty.
The wedding of Princess Alexandra of Kent and The Honourable Angus Ogilvy took place on Wednesday, 24 April 1963 at Westminster Abbey. Princess Alexandra was the only daughter and second child of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, while Ogilvy was the second son and fifth child of the 12th Earl of Airlie and Lady Alexandra Coke.
The wedding of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott took place on Wednesday, 6 November 1935, in the private chapel at Buckingham Palace. A larger public ceremony had been planned for Westminster Abbey, but plans were scaled back after the bride's father, the 7th Duke of Buccleuch, died of cancer on 19 October.
The wedding of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones took place on Friday, 6 May 1960 at Westminster Abbey in London. Princess Margaret was the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II, while Antony Armstrong-Jones was a noted society photographer.
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The wedding of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, and Princess Alexandra of Denmark took place on 10 March 1863 at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. It was the first royal wedding to take place at St. George's, and the last wedding of a prince of Wales until Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer's 1981 wedding.
The wedding of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Scania, and Princess Margaret of Connaught was held on Thursday, 15 June 1905, at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
