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
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
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. Rita Hayworth wore a Jacques Fath dress as her wedding dress. 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.
Rita Hayworth on her wedding day, 1948 via
Rita Hayworth wore a Jacques Fath dress for her wedding to Prince Aly Khan via
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
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
Rita Hayworth at Chateau de l’Horizon with Prince Aga Khan and his fourth wife, May 27, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman via
Rita Hayworth and Prince Ali Khan at Chateau de l’Horizon, May 27, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman via
During the wedding reception of Rita Hayworth and Prince Ali Khan at Chateau de l’Horizon, May 27, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman via
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
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.
Grace Kelly & Rainier III, Prince of Monaco Wedding Day, April 19, 1956 via
Grace Kelly & Rainier III, Prince of Monaco Wedding Day, April 19, 1956 via
Grace Kelly & Rainier III, Prince of Monaco Wedding Day, April 19, 1956 via
Grace Kelly & Rainier III, Prince of Monaco Wedding Day, April 19, 1956 via
Grace Kelly & Rainier III, Prince of Monaco Wedding Day, April 19, 1956 via
Grace Kelly & Rainier III, Prince of Monaco Wedding Day, April 19, 1956 via
Grace Kelly & Rainier III, Prince of Monaco Wedding Day, April 19, 1956 via
Grace Kelly & Rainier III, Prince of Monaco Wedding Day, April 19, 1956
Grace Kelly & Rainier III, Prince of Monaco Wedding Day, April 19, 1956 via
Grace Kelly & Rainier III, Prince of Monaco Wedding Day, April 19, 1956 via
In April 19th 1956, the world watched as Prince Rainier of Monaco wed Hollywood actress Grace Kelly at the Cathedral of St Nicholas.
Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840; this is a middle aged Victoria and Albert who recreate their wedding day. Queen Victoria chose to marry in a white silk satin gown featuring Honiton lace, an unusual color choice for bridal gowns at the time; she started the white wedding gown tradition that remains today.
1858 photo of princess royal victorias wedding dress. She was the oldest daughter of queen Victoria. She married Frederick, Crown Prince of Germany and Prussia later Frederick III, German Emperor and King of Prussia (1831–1888); 4 sons, 4 daughters (including Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia and Sophia, Queen of Greece)
1863 Princess Alexandra Of Denmark, later Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India as the wife of King-Emperor Edward VII.
Princess Louise (1848-1939) in her wedding dress. Married 1871, John Douglas Sutherland Campbell (1845–1914), Marquess of Lorne, later 9th Duke of Argyll.
Princess Helena (1846-1923) in her wedding dress. Married 1866, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (1831–1917); 4 sons (1 still-born), 2 daughters.
1885 Princess Beatrice, the fifth daughter and youngest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Married 1885, Prince Henry of Battenberg (1858–1896); 3 sons, 1 daughter (Victoria Eugenie, Queen of Spain).
Victoria of Baden. She married in Karlsruhe on 20 September 1881 Crown Prince Gustaf of Sweden and Norway, the son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway and Sofia of Nassau.
Annie Chinery. The daughter of Dr Edward Chinery from Lymington, married the photographer Julia Cameron’s son Ewen in 1869
Bride from the 1850s
American bride
Baroness Christine von Linden (1879-1969). She married diplomat and adventurer Cecil Gosling (1870-1943) on the 13th of May 1898. They married in London. She was the only daughter of Baron Adhémar Rudolph Caesar Conradin von Linden from Germany and Helene Euphrosyne Casavetti from London.
Bride getting dressed, 1890s
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