King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) 1923 Wedding Photo

Posted by From the Bygone on May 11, 2017

NPG x158916; The wedding of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother by Bassano Ltd

The wedding of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother by Bassano Ltd
bromide print, 26 April 1923. © National Portrait Gallery, London via

NPG x11910; Royal Family Group by Bassano

The wedding of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother by Bassano Ltd
sepia-toned platinotype on original card mount, 26 April 1923. © National Portrait Gallery, London via

Rita Hayworth & Prince Aly Khan Wedding (1948)

Posted by From the Bygone on June 1, 2016

In 1948, at the height of her fame, Hollywood actress Rita Hayworth left her film career to marry Prince Aly Khan, a son of Sultan Mahommed Shah, Aga Khan III, the leader of the Ismaili sect of Shia Islam. Because Hayworth was already one of the most well-known celebrities in the world, the courtship and the wedding received enormous press coverage around the world.

They were married on May 27, 1949. Her bridal trousseau had been influenced by Dior’s “New Look”, launched in 1947. The wedding marked the first time a Hollywood actress became a princess.

On December 28, 1949, Hayworth gave birth to the couple’s only daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan.

Though Hayworth was anxious to start a new life abroad, away from Hollywood, Aly Khan’s flamboyant lifestyle and duties proved too difficult for Hayworth. She struggled to fit in with his friends, and found it difficult to learn French. Aly Khan was also known in circles as a playboy, and it was suspected that he had been unfaithful to Hayworth during the marriage. In 1951, Hayworth set sail with her two daughters for New York. Although the couple did reconcile for a short time, they officially divorced by 1953.

ritah

Rita Hayworth on her wedding day, 1948 via

rita1

Prince Ali Khan and Rita Hayworth on their wedding day, 1948 via

004-rita-hayworth-and-ali-khan-theredlist

Rita Hayworth riding in a car with her husband Ali Khan after their wedding at Vallauris to the reception at Chateau de l’Horizon, May 27, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman via

002-rita-hayworth-and-ali-khan-theredlist

Prince Ali Khan and Rita Hayworth cutting into their wedding cake at Khan’s Riviera Chateau de L’Horizon, May 27, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman via

003-rita-hayworth-and-ali-khan-theredlist

Rita Hayworth at Chateau de l’Horizon with Prince Aga Khan and his fourth wife, May 27, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman via

009-rita-hayworth-and-ali-khan-theredlist

Rita Hayworth and Prince Ali Khan at Chateau de l’Horizon, May 27, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman via

008-rita-hayworth-and-ali-khan-theredlist (1)

During the wedding reception of Rita Hayworth and Prince Ali Khan at Chateau de l’Horizon, May 27, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman via

006-rita-hayworth-and-ali-khan-theredlist

During the wedding reception of Rita Hayworth and Prince Ali Khan at Chateau de l’Horizon their initials float in the pool, May 27, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman via

Grace Kelly & Rainier III, Prince of Monaco Wedding (1956)

Posted by From the Bygone on June 8, 2015

Invited at Cannes’ Film Festival, in 1955, Grace Kelly meets the prince of Monaco and in 1956, the American actress becomes a princess while she settles in Monaco after a sumptuous wedding. News of the engagement was a sensation, even though it meant a probable end to Kelly’s film career.

The Napoleonic Code of Monaco and the laws of the Roman Catholic Church necessitated two ceremonies – both a civil ceremony and a religious wedding.

The 16-minute civil ceremony took place in the Palace Throne Room of Monaco on April 18, 1956, and a reception later in the day was attended by 3,000 Monaco citizens. To cap the ceremony, the 142 official titles that she acquired in the union (counterparts of his) were formally recited.

The following day the church ceremony took place at Monaco’s Saint Nicholas Cathedral, before Monaco’s Bishop Gilles Barthe.

The wedding was estimated to have been watched by over 30 million viewers on live television, and was described by biographer Robert Lacey as “the first modern event to generate media overkill.”

Her wedding dress, designed by MGM’s Academy Award–winning Helen Rose, was worked on for six weeks by three dozen seamstresses. The bridesmaids’ gowns were designed by Joe Allen Hong at Neiman Marcus.

The 700 guests included several famous people, including Aristotle Onassis, Cary Grant, David Niven and his wife Hjördis, Gloria Swanson, Ava Gardner, the crowned head Aga Khan III, Gloria Guinness, Enid, Lady Kenmare, Daisy Fellowes, Etti Plesch, Lady Diana Cooper, Louise de Vilmorin, Loelia Lindsay, and Conrad Hilton.

She and Rainier left that night for their seven-week Mediterranean honeymoon cruise on his yacht, Deo Juvante II.