Royal weddings have been fascinating commoners for generations. In 2011, Prince William and Kate Middleton captivated the world, with a gobsmacking 2 billion global viewers. Perhaps it’s the garb: tiaras, 25-foot trains, grooms in full military dress. Perhaps it’s the pomp and circumstance: centuries-old rituals, gilded carriages, and thousands of onlookers. Or, perhaps it’s just a desire to take a glimpse into a fairy tale made real. From Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III to King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Jetsun Pema of Bhutan, here, we take a look back at 30 of the most memorable royal weddings.
1. Prince William and Kate Middleton
When: April 29, 2011
Where: Westminster Abbey
The Bride: Kate Middleton
The Groom: Prince William, third in line to the British throne
It’s generally believed that Prince William met Kate Middleton in 2001 when they were both students at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. By 2003, they were a couple. After a brief split in 2007, they got back together. They announced their engagement in 2010 and got married the following year. They welcomed Prince George in 2013 and Princess Charlotte in 2015, and a third child, Prince Louis, arrived in April 2018.
2. Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly
When: April 18, 1956
Where: The Palace Throne Room
The Bride: Grace Kelly
The Groom: Prince Rainier III, the sovereign of Monaco
American actress Grace Kelly met Prince Rainier III in the French Riviera in 1955. The following year, they married and Kelly retired from acting. She had three children: Princess Stéphanie, Princess Caroline, and Prince Albert ll of Monaco. In 1982, Kelly suffered a stroke while driving, resulting in the car crash that ended her life at 52.
3. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
When: May 19, 2018
Where: St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle
The Bride: Meghan Markle
The Groom: Prince Harry, sixth in line to the British throne
Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle were introduced by a mutual friend. After a transatlantic courtship, the two announced their engagement in November 2018. Their springtime wedding at Windsor Castle enraptured millions with its pomp, circumstance, and grandeur. Nearly a year after their fairytale nuptials, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their first child, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.
4. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling
When: June 19, 2010
Where: Stockholm Cathedral
The Bride: Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, heiress apparent to the Swedish throne
The Groom: Daniel Westling
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden met Daniel Westling in 2002. He was her personal trainer, helping her restore her health, reportedly after a serious bout with an eating disorder. The two fell in love and married eight years later. In marrying Crown Princess Victoria, he officially also became Prince of Sweden and Duke of Västergötland. Since their marriage, they have had two children.
5. Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones
When: May 6, 1960
Where: Westminster Abbey
The Bride: Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II
The Groom: Antony Armstrong-Jones
Queen Elizabeth II’s younger sister, Margaret, fell in love with and married photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones. They had two children and announced their divorce after 18 years of marriage, following rumors of infidelity.
6. Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip
When: November 20, 1947
Where: Westminster Abbey
The Bride: Then–Princess Elizabeth of England
The Groom: Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark
At 13, Princess Elizabeth had a notable meeting with Prince Philip (then 18) on a tour of the Royal Naval College where the young prince was a naval cadet. Following that encounter in 1939, the two began exchanging letters throughout all of World War II and fell in love. Their engagement was formally announced in 1947, and they were married that same year. The royal couple had four children, and lived in Buckingham Palace until both passed away.
7. Princess Caroline of Monaco and Philippe Junot
When: June 28 and 29, 1978
Where: Monte Carlo
The Bride: Princess Caroline of Monaco
The Groom: Philippe Junot
Princess Caroline of Monaco reportedly met French venture capitalist Philippe Junot in 1976 at a disco in Paris. Two years after their wedding, the couple divorced. The couple had no children together and the marriage was eventually annulled by the Roman Catholic Church.
8. Prince Charles and Diana Spencer
When: July 29, 1981
Where: St. Paul’s Cathedral
The Bride: Lady Diana Spencer
The Groom: Charles, Prince of Wales and heir apparent to the British throne
Princess Diana rose to worldwide fame in 1981 when she became engaged to the heir apparent to the British throne, Prince Charles. Loved and revered across the world, Princess Diana dedicated her life to charity work and raising her two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. Rumors of Prince Charles’s infidelity were widespread, and the pair divorced in 1996. The following year, Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris with her boyfriend Dodi Fayed, an Egyptian film producer.
9. Prince Edward and Wallis Simpson
When: June 3, 1937
Where: Château de Candé
The Bride: Wallis Simpson
The Groom: Edward, Duke of Windsor and former King of the United Kingdom
Prince Edward became the King of the United Kingdom in early 1936. Less than a year later, he abdicated the throne in order to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American socialite. Upon his abdication, he received a new title: the Duke of Windsor. Accordingly, Simpson became the Duchess of Windsor.
10. Prince Felipe VI and Letizia Ortiz
When: May 22, 2004
Where: Almudena Cathedral in Madrid, Spain
The Bride: Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano
The Groom: Felipe, then Prince of Asturias, heir apparent to the Spanish throne
Before meeting Prince Felipe VI, Ortiz worked as a television journalist. It’s rumored that after seeing her on television, the then-prince asked a mutual friend to set up a dinner for them to meet. Following their meeting in 2002, they began to date and announced their engagement in 2003. The couple have two daughters.
11. Prince Hamzah bin Hussein and Princess Noor
When: August 29, 2003
Where: Amman, Jordan
The Bride: Princess Noor bint Asem bin Nayef
The Groom: Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, former Crown Prince of Jordan
Prince Hamzah and Princess Noor announced their engagement and were married in 2003. They had one daughter, Princess Haya bint Hamzah, in 2007. They divorced in 2009, and both have since remarried their respective partners.
12. Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist
When: June 13, 2015
Where: Stockholm’s Royal Palace
The Bride: Sofia Hellqvist
The Groom: Prince Carl Philip, third in line to the Swedish throne
Sofia Hellqvist, a former model and reality television personality, and Prince Carl Philip met by chance in 2010 while eating in a restaurant. Both were with friends, and as luck would have it, Hellqvist’s friends knew the prince’s friends. In 2011, they moved in together, and by 2014, they were engaged. The couple have two children.
13. Crown Prince Pavlos and Marie-Chantal Miller
When: July 1, 1995
Where: St. Sophia’s Cathedral
The Bride: Marie-Chantal Miller
The Groom: Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece
These two reportedly met on a blind date in 1992 when they were set up by a mutual friend. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Miller revealed, “It was love at first sight.” The Greek prince proposed about three years later. Since their marriage, they’ve had five children.
14. Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank
When: October 12, 2018
Where: St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle
The Bride: Princess Eugenie of York
The Groom: Jack Brooksbank
The granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth wed her longtime beau, Jack Brooksbank, in a fall wedding at Windsor Castle. The bride wore a custom gown by Peter Pilotto and an emerald and diamond tiara. Her niece and nephew, Princess Charlotte and Prince George, served as a bridesmaid and pageboy, respectively.
15. Crown Prince Naruhito and Masako Owada
When: June 9, 1993
Where: Imperial Palace
The Bride: Masako Owada
The Groom: Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan
Masako Owada, the daughter of a Japanese diplomat, met the prince at a tea in 1986. Over the next few years, Prince Naruhito courted her. He reportedly proposed three times, but she didn’t accept the first two proposals because she didn’t want to give up her career and civilian life. Eventually, however, she accepted, and she became Her Imperial Highness the Crown Princess of Japan and was placed in the Japanese imperial order of precedence. The couple has one child, Aiko, born in 2001.
16. King Constantine II and Princess Anne-Marie
When: September 18, 1964
Where: Metropolis
The Bride: Anne-Marie, Princess of Denmark
The Groom: Constantine II, King of Greece
Princess Anne-Marie met her third cousin and then–Prince Constantine when she was only 13, in 1959. The prince was visiting Denmark with his parents and they paid a visit to the princess’s royal family. At the time, Prince Constantine was 19. In 1961, they met again, and rumor has it, the prince told people that he wished to marry Princess Anne-Marie. Upon the death of his father in 1964, Constantine became king, the same year the couple married. They had five children, and Constantine passed away in January 2023.
17. King Hussein bin Talal of Jordan and Lisa Najeeb Halaby
When: June 15, 1978
Where: Zaharan Palace
The Bride: Lisa Najeeb Halaby
The Groom: King Hussein bin Talal of Jordan
Lisa Najeeb Halaby, the daughter of a prominent businessman, graduated from Princeton in 1974 and met King Hussein bin Talal four years later while working as a planning executive with Royal Jordanian Airlines. The king met, courted, and married Halaby, 16 years his junior, all in the same year. The couple had four children and remained married until the king’s death in 1999.
18. Prince Guillaume and Countess Stéphanie
When: October 20, 2012
Where: Our Lady of Luxembourg Cathedral
The Bride: Belgian Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy
The Groom: Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg
The pair met briefly around 2004 while on holiday in Germany. In 2011, their paths crossed again, and they became romantically involved. De Lannoy was granted Luxembourg citizenship and became the Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg on the day of her marriage to Prince Guillaume.
19. King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Jetsun Pema
When: October 13, 2011
Where: Punakha Dzong
The Bride: Jetsun Pema
The Groom: Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, King of Bhutan
King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck took commoner Jetsun Pema as his bride when he was 31 and she was 21. When their engagement was announced, the king stated the following: “Many will have their own idea of what a Queen should be like—that she should be uniquely beautiful, intelligent, and graceful. I think with experience and time, one can grow into a dynamic person in any walk of life with the right effort. For the queen, what is most important is that at all times, as an individual, she must be a good human being, and as queen, she must be unwavering in her commitment to serve the people and country. As my queen, I have found such a person and her name is Jetsun Pema. While she is young, she is warm and kind in heart and character. These qualities, together with the wisdom that will come with age and experience, will make her a great servant to the nation.”
20. Princess Hajah Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah and Pengiran Haji Muhammad Ruzaini
When: September 20, 2012
Where: Nurul Iman Palace
The Bride: Princess Hajah Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah, daughter of the Sultan of Brunei
The Groom: Pengiran Haji Muhammad Ruzaini
The princess wed the civil servant as 3,000 guests bore witness. The bride was 32 and her groom was 29. He now bears the title Son of His Highness.
21. Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles
When: April 9, 2005
Where: Windsor Guildhall
The Bride: Camilla Parker Bowles
The Groom: Charles, Prince of Wales and heir apparent to the British throne
This royal wedding is memorable mostly because the couple has been mired in controversy for decades. Prince Charles is rumored to have had an ongoing affair with Bowles during his marriage to Princess Diana. Prince Charles took his longtime girlfriend to be his wife eight years after Diana’s tragic car crash in Paris.
22. Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones
When: June 19, 1999
Where: St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle
The Bride: Sophie Rhys-Jones
The Groom: Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
The couple reportedly began dating after a charity event. Sophie Rhys-Jones was working in public relations at the time, while the prince had started his own television company after a short stint in the Royal Marines. They announced their engagement and married in 1999. Prince Edward was 35 and the freshly minted Countess of Wessex was 34. They have two children.
23. Charlotte Casiraghi and Dimitri Rassam
When: June 1, 2019
Where: Prince’s Palace, Monaco
The Bride: Charlotte Casiraghi
The Groom: Dimitri Rassam
Charlotte Casiraghi, granddaughter of Princess Grace, wed Dimitri Rassam in a civil ceremony at Monaco’s Prince’s Palace. Later in the month, they held a larger wedding in Provence, France, where the bride wore Giambattista Valli Haute Couture.
24. Princess Madeleine and Christopher O’Neill
When: June 8, 2013
Where: Royal Palace Chapel in Stockholm
The Bride: Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland
The Groom: Christopher O’Neill
After Princess Madeleine’s previous engagement was broken off, the princess moved to New York City where she met her current husband, Christopher O’Neill. The two were engaged in 2012 and married the following year at the Royal Palace Chapel. They currently have three children together. Since their marriage, O’Neill has declined Swedish citizenship and remains untitled, and their three children had their royal status rescinded by the King in 2019.
25. Princess Marie and Prince Joachim
When: May 24, 2008
Where: Møgeltønder Church
The Bride: Princess Marie Agathe Odile Cavallier
The Groom: Prince Joachim Holger Waldemar Christian
Marie was first publicly seen with Joachim in the summer of 2005 during a private vacation in France. The two started stepping out publicly in 2007, when Marie joined Joachim and his children for a ski vacation and was invited to spend Easter with the royal family at Marselisborg Palace. Their wedding ceremony took place at the Møgeltønder Church after less than a year of being engaged. The couple have two biological children, and Marie is stepmother to Joachim’s two children from his previous marriage.
26. Queen Máxima and King Willem-Alexander
When: February 2, 2002
Where: Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam
The Bride: Queen Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti
The Groom: King Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand
Máxima met Willem-Alexander during the Seville Spring Fair in Spain, unbeknownst to her that she had just encountered the Prince of Orange. The prince chose to introduced himself as “Alexander,” and reveal his princely identity later, only for Máxima to believe he was joking when he did. It’s all very reminiscent of The Prince & Me, we know. The royal pair now have three teenage daughters together.
27. Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene
When: July 1, 2011
Where: Prince’s Palace of Monaco
The Bride: Charlene Wittstock
The Groom: Prince Albert II of Monaco
The only son of Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace, Prince Albert II met Wittstock in 2000. The Monaco prince has previously competed in five Olympics in bobsleighing, while Wittstock represented South Africa in swimming in the 2000 Olympics. The two made their relationship public at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics and got engaged in 2010. The ceremony lasted two full days, with a number of outfit changes from Wittstock, including a wedding dress by Giorgio Armani.
28. Alessandra de Osma and Prince Christian of Hanover
When: March 16, 2018
Where: San Pedro church in Lima, Peru
The Bride: Alessandra de Osma
The Groom: Prince Christian of Hanover
Alessandra de Osma first met Prince Christian when she was his tour guide during one of his visits to Peru. The two started dating years later and got engaged in 2017. The couple had a civil ceremony that same year, and held a second wedding in 2018. The bride wore a stunning wedding gown by Jorge Vázquez paired with a lengthy veil and the Hanover floral tiara.
29. Princess Ekaterina and Prince Ernst August
When: July 7, 2017
Where: Market Church
The Bride: Ekaterina Igorievna Malysheva
The Groom: Prince Ernst August
Princess Ekaterina and Prince Ernst August Jr. dated for six years before getting married in 2017. The royal couple celebrated with a number of wedding festivities, which featured three custom outfits for the bride by Lebanese designer Sandra Mansour.
30. Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit
When: August 25, 2001
Where: Oslo Cathedral
The Bride: Crown Princess Mette-Marit
The Groom: Crown Prince Haakon
When the couple announced their engagement in 2000, the public and media reactions were less than ideal. Mette-Marit was a former waitress and single mother leading to plenty of tabloid speculation around her reputation. But Prince Haakon’s father empathized with his son, as he had previously spent almost a decade convincing his own father to allow him to marry a non-royal citizen (who now serves as the current Queen of Norway). After their marriage in 2001, they have had two more children.
