Pink Floyd, Wombles and natty cravats! CRAIG BROWN on the other pioneering royal weddings

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 1) The wedding of Kate and William in 2011 was the first at which a royal bride’s family set up a tasteful stall at the back of the cathedral selling an attractive assortment souvenir brochures, balloons, crackers, replica rings and commemorative china mugs.

Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge following their marriage at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011

2) At the 1893 marriage of King George V to Princess May of Teck, the groom walked up the aisle carrying one of his many stamp albums ‘just in case’.

Prone to restlessness, he planned to stave off boredom during the hymns and sermon by discreetly leafing through his collection of first day covers from the Dutch East Indies.

‘May didn’t mind at all,’ he confided to his diary. ‘She was absorbed in her knitting.’

King George V and Queen Mary during their tour of East London on the 34th anniversary of their wedding on the July 7, 1937

3) In 1986, The Duke and Duchess of York were determined to introduce a ‘fun, inclusive novelty theme’ to their wedding service. After they had exchanged their solemn vows, the organist struck up a hearty rendition of Remember You’re A Womble and the Duke’s younger brother, Edward, and three of his showbiz chums processed down the aisle dressed as Wombles. ‘Brill fun!’ recalled Sarah, Duchess of York in her sixth volume of memoirs, Little Me.

The Duke and Duchess of York waving to the crowds from the balcony at Buckingham Palace on their wedding day on July 23, 1986

4) The 1973 wedding of Princess Anne to Captain Mark Phillips is thought to be the first to have been conducted entirely on horseback.

The bride and groom rode their mounts from Buckingham Palace to St Paul’s, to be greeted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, astride an ancient and much respected rocking horse.

Guests also came on horseback. Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe cut a dash on a white thoroughbred called Rabbits, while top British TV stars Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy — whose long-running show George & Mildred was a personal favourite of the groom — lent a touch of glamour to the proceedings by entering on a piebald called Scamp.

At the reception, Pink Floyd played a medley of songs from their new album, Dark Side Of The Moon, while sitting on shetland ponies, to allow easier access to the volume controls and ‘wah-wah’ pedals on the floor.

Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips leaving the west door of Westminster Abbey in London after their wedding ceremony on November 14, 1973

5) Camilla Parker Bowles’ wedding to the Prince of Wales in 2005 was the first at which the bride wore not one hat, but two. It later emerged that she had suffered a trauma in childhood when a favourite hat had fallen off in a high wind.

This meant that on the big day, under her broad-brimmed feathery hat, Camilla wore a fascinator ‘just to be on the safe side’. As a symbol of his commitment, the Prince of Wales wore a tiny child-size bowler hat beneath his traditional topper.

Prince Charles wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles (now Duchess of Cornwall) after the blessing of their marriage at St George's Chapel, Windsor on April 9, 2005

6) Married in exile in the South of France in 1937, the embittered Duke and Duchess of Windsor chose to ‘cock a snook’ at royal convention by insisting all their male guests wore brightly coloured cravats and straw boaters, with feather boas for the women.

Sadly, the Duke and Duchess of Argyll adhered too strongly to the instructions on the invitation. The Duke entered the chapel wearing a cravat and a boater, while the Duchess wore a feather boa. Neither wore anything else.

Fortunately, the day was saved by a stroke of luck. ‘Happily,’ wrote the Duchess of Windsor in her autobiography, ‘the Order of Service was printed on extra-large sheets of paper, so the poor things were able to cover themselves up, as best they could.’

Duke of Windsor & Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson on their wedding day in 1937

7) Sadly, few now remember the wedding of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex to Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999. ‘I’m pretty sure the groom wore a tail-suit, and the bride wore white but I’ll have to check,’ says veteran BBC Royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell.

Wedding of Prince Edward, youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II, to Sophie Rhys-Jones at St George's Chapel Windsor on June 19, 1999

8) There was a strong sporting theme at the marriage of the Princess Royal’s showjumping daughter Zara Phillips to rugby-player Mike Tindall in 2011.

On their way into the chapel, guests were obliged to leap across a small fence before throwing a tasteful lozenge-shaped ball over a miniature rugby post by the font.

During the service, discreet wide-screen televisions were available in a side chapel, allowing guests access to the Welsh Rugby quarter-finals taking place at the same time. Despite a certain amount of to-ing and fro-ing, the majority of guests managed to catch at least some of the wedding itself. 

Zara Phillips, granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth, kisses her husband, England rugby star Mike Tindall, after their marriage at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland July 30 2011