Every Shocking Royal Wedding Moment We Never Expected to See (Plus the 1 Most People Missed)
Millions woke up at all hours of the night and morning to witness the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. It was a beautiful event that seemed to go on without a hitch, with the happy couple looking absolutely dazzling. But not every royal wedding has gone on with so few mishaps.
From Princess Diana to Kate Middleton, we recall some of the most shocking royal wedding moments you absolutely can’t forget about. (And check out the one you definitely didn’t know happened on page 7.)
1. Meghan and Harry’s program said Thomas Markle would walk Meghan down the aisle
Thomas Markle did not, in fact, walk Meghan down the aisle. | Jonathan Brady – WPA Pool/Getty Images
In true royal wedding fashion, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding wasn’t mishap-free, either. We remember all the controversy over Meghan’s dad, Thomas Markle. While he reportedly was going to walk his daughter down the aisle, unexpected health complications caused him to miss out.
Cosmopolitan notes someone forgot to tell this to the person writing the programs, however. The program read that Meghan would be “joined by her Father, Mr. Thomas Markle, to the High Altar.”
Next: This princess allegedly called her wedding the worst day of her life.
2. Princess Diana tried to call her wedding off completely
Prince Diana may not have been too thrilled about this union. | Getty Images
Princess Diana’s life was anything other than drama-free. And her wedding to Prince Charles was full of mishaps, which should have been a sign. At the time of the wedding, the Daily Star notes Charles was still seeing his mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles. And when Diana found out, she threatened to call the whole thing off.
We know she went through with the wedding in the end, but the princess allegedly said it was “the worst day in my life,” the Independent reports.
Next: We can’t believe this really happened to Queen Elizabeth.
3. Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond tiara snapped right before her wedding
This tiara mishap could have ruined everything. | AFP/Getty Images
The queen was the perfect image of beauty and grace on her wedding day, but even she experienced issues. Vogue notes Queen Elizabeth planned to wear a diamond tiara attached to her veil. Just hours before the ceremony, the beautiful hairpiece snapped in two. What’s worse, the tiara was the “something borrowed” element that originally belonged to Queen Mary.
Lucky, the tiara could be welded back together just moments before the ceremony began. But you can see a strange gap between the middle diamond spikes.
Next: These wedding photos surprised us — but we couldn’t help smiling.
4. Prince William and Kate’s wedding photo was ruined by an angry 3-year-old
Who wouldn’t love this photo? | Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
No royal wedding would be complete without the perfect kiss. Unfortunately for Duchess Kate and Prince William, however, their moment was sabotaged by an upset bridesmaid. Harper’s Bazaar notes 3-year-old Grace van Cutsem was not too happy with the noisy crowd at the time. So while Kate and William were having the perfect photo moment on the balcony, she covered her hands with her ears and wore a heavy scowl.
We can’t help but laugh at this adorable photobomb, but we’re sure Kate and William wanted more serious photos than this one.
Next: Yes, Princess Diana really did say this during her wedding.
5. Princess Diana flipped around the name of her husband during the ceremony
This name mix-up was totally cringe-worthy. | AFP/Getty Images
Not only did Princess Diana allegedly not want her wedding to occur, but The Cut reminds us she also messed up the name of the groom. While the two were saying their vows at the altar, Diana mixed up Charles’ first and middle name, calling him “Philip Charles” instead of “Charles Philip.” Perhaps the stress of the wedding — and the fact that her soon-to-be husband was in love with Camilla — really got to her.
Next: There was a reason Kate and William were fumbling at the altar.
6. Kate’s wedding ring got stuck as William tried to put it on
We can’t believe the ring barely fit. | Dave Thompson/AFP/Getty Images
Every bride and groom ever are double-checking their wedding rings after this mishap. Reader’s Digest explains prior to the ceremony, Kate had Princess Diana’s engagement ring resized smaller so it would fit her finger. At the same time, she also had her wedding band resized to be a bit smaller. But it turns out it was too snug, as it took a Herculean effort on William’s part to get it on to Kate’s finger.
The couple laughs about it now, but we can imagine the moment was quite stressful.
Next: You probably had no idea this was happening to Diana during her wedding.
7. The moment you missed: Diana held her wedding dress up because of her spilled perfume
She hid the perfume spill well. | STR/AFP/Getty Images
No bride would dare eat anything messy in their wedding dress for fear of spillage. And while Princess Diana followed that rule, she had a different spill mishap — this time, with perfume. InStyle notes just seconds before Diana was set to walk down the aisle, she spilled her perfume all down the front of her dress after the lid of the bottle came loose.
The perfume left a large stain, of course. So the only solution to hide it from the public was for Diana to hold her dress up to make it look like she was avoiding stepping on it.
Next: Diana wasn’t the only one to mess up the vows.
8. Prince Charles’ wedding vows turned totally inappropriate
Prince Charles had a fumble of his own. | STR/AFP/Getty Images
Diana flipped around the groom’s name — but Charles didn’t get away with zero mishaps of his own, either. The New York Times reports directly after the name flub, he meant to say he would share “all his worldly goods” with her, as tradition dictates. But he accidentally omitted “worldly” from the vows. Therefore, he pledged to share “all his goods.” Yikes.
Next: Royal wedding slip-ups have been happening long before Queen Elizabeth II.
9. A clergyman at the queen mother’s ceremony fainted and fell to the floor
Someone literally fainted at the queen mother’s wedding. | Evening Standard/Getty Images
Even back in 1926, there was plenty of wedding day drama to go around. Grazia Daily UK explains a mishap occurred when Lazy Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon married Prince Albert (more commonly known as King George VI later). While the wedding was going on, one of the clergymen at Westminster Abbey hit the floor due to a fainting spell. This, of course, caused quite a scene.
Next: Here’s why brides get fitted for their dresses several times.
10. Brides now have 3 to 5 dress fittings before the ceremony thanks to Marie Antoinette
Her wedding dress just didn’t quite fit. | Kunsthistorisches Museum/Wikimedia Commons
Wondering why brides get fitted again … and again … and again for their dress before the big day? You can thank Marie Antoinette for that. HowStuffWorks explains the dressmakers miscalculated the measurements and made the dress much too small. There ended up being a gap between the rows of diamonds in the back because it simply could not be cinched tightly enough.
So, what did she do? Antoinette rocked it, awkward gap and all. Now, it’s just fair warning for all future brides to get properly fitted.
Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook!