{"id":2118,"date":"2019-06-06T10:00:45","date_gmt":"2019-06-06T10:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wedding-photography-secret.com\/?p=2118"},"modified":"2019-06-05T14:51:09","modified_gmt":"2019-06-05T14:51:09","slug":"royal-wedding-history-vintage-queen-elizabeth-king-george-vi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theweddingsecret.co.uk\/magazine\/royal-wedding-history-vintage-queen-elizabeth-king-george-vi\/","title":{"rendered":"A Quick History of Royal Weddings: King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Royal\nweddings continue to captivate the nation, and this is amplified when the royal\nin question will rule the country. Especially in times of hardship, it is these\nfigures we look to. Certain weddings shaped the monarchy that we know today. Never\nhas this been truer than with the post-war weddings of King George VI and\nElizabeth II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Britain,\nand the rest of the world, experienced many years of unrest in the first half\nof the 20th<\/sup> century. While many struggled to find their feet after\nthe catastrophic world wars, the royal family knew how important morale was.\nTherefore, their weddings were as much about the country as the couple. They\nneeded to be big enough events to be a celebration and a promise that things\nwould improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 26th<\/sup>\nApril 1923, the Duke of York married Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon; on 20th<\/sup>\nNovember 1947 their daughter married Philip Mountbatten. These weddings were\namong the most memorable of the century. So, let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

King George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was born in 1900 as the ninth of ten children to a British peer and landowner. However, her happy childhood ended abruptly when England declared war on Germany on her 14th<\/sup> birthday. The First World War<\/a> took its toll on her family, as her elder brother, Fergus, died in action. Moreover, Michael, another brother, went missing in action and was later discovered in a prisoner of war camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Young<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Albert (as he was known at the time) spent time fighting in the war. Three weeks after war broke out, he was discharged to Scotland to have his appendix removed. He spent time between the Navy and the hospital and eventually transferred to the newly formed Royal Air Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\""Bertie",<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Albert never expected to be king, as his elder brother Edward<\/a> was due to inherit the throne. Nevertheless, Elizabeth was nervous about not being able to speak her own mind when she joined royal life. The two had played together when they were young and so were very familiar with each other. Albert\u2019s mother had her eye set on Elizabeth as the perfect match for her son and did everything she could to set them up. Eventually, after two years of asking, she finally accepted his marriage proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Royal Wedding<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The\ncouple married at Westminster Abbey on 26th<\/sup> April 1923. This took\nplace, of course, before television. Moreover, the Archbishop of Canterbury\nforbade a radio recording for fear that men would listen in from pubs and clubs.\nNevertheless, it was still considered a public affair and all eyes were on the\nnews to find out about it. Furthermore, being in Westminster Abbey, it sent a\nsignal to the country that all was right following The Great War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And also, it is important not to ignore the political decision that the duke made by deciding against marrying a princess. This was seen as a great push towards modernisation and greatly needed in the post-war years. Suddenly, everyone started to dream that they could do anything again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Elizabeth had eight bridesmaids, the two youngest being eleven year old nieces of the bride. She wore a deep ivory dress<\/a> designed by Madame Handley-Seymour, supposedly inspired by Jeanne Lanvin<\/a> and medieval<\/a> Italian in style. The press published details of the dress before the wedding day. Newspapers told of the chiffon moire fabric and that it was to be embroidered with pearl beads, pearls and silver lam\u00e9. They also explained how part of Queen Mary\u2019s train would be repurposed to form \u201cBetty\u2019s\u201d train. The bride also chose to add a \u201csilver and rose thistle\u201d to honour York and Scotland. The prince, meanwhile, wore his RAF group captain uniform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After the ceremony in the Abbey, Elizabeth stopped and laid her wedding bouquet at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. She did this to commemorate her brother, as well as all others who had lost their lives in the war. Other royal brides, including her daughter, copied thi act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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