However, nothing, not even the proverbially uncertain British weather, could dampen the enthusiasm of the crowds which crammed the wedding route to St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. They waved scores of flags, yelled greetings, sent up rousing cheers, The emotion was almost tangible.
An Audience of Millions
Around the world, nearly one billion viewers were glued to TV screens. Some, in faraway time zones, sat up all night to take advantage of the satellite pictures and quadrophonic sound that linked them to London, half a world away.
All eyes were on Diana as she emerged that morning from the Glass coach and climbed the red-carpeted steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral. The wedding dress, a frilled, romantic taffeta confection, was revealed at last. Its train was so long that it covered the steps behind her as she walked up to what everyone believed was her date with a dazzling destiny.
Prince Charles, splendidly dressed in his naval No. 1 ceremonial uniform, awaited his bride at the altar. She was very nervous, so was Charles. During the wedding ceremony, she got his names in the wrong order. He endowed her with all her worldly goods instead of his. Nobody minded. It simply added a human touch to the solemnity of a great state occasion.
Back to Buckingham Palace
As Diana, now a Royal Highness, emerged on the arm of her new husband, the crowds outside burst into deafening cheers. Every inch of the ride back to Buckingham Palace, the royal couple were surrounded by a sea of Union Jacks, streamers, balloons and festive hats.
Later, more crowds surged around the Palace as Charles and Diana appeared on the famous balcony for the expected kiss. At that, there were yet more roars of delight and approbation.
The crowds were still there in force as Charles and Diana set off for Waterloo Station to catch a train to Broadlands, the Hampshire home of his father’s family, the Mountbattens, where they were to spend the first days of their honeymoon.
Cruising in the Royal Yacht Britannia
The second part of Charles and Diana’s honeymoon was spent on board the royal yacht Britannia, which Charles and Diana joined at the Rock of Gibraltar in the Mediterranean. The plan to embark at Gibraltar had caused problems for the King and Queen of Spain.
They had not attended the wedding because of Spain’s longstanding dispute with Britain over the possession of the Rock. Later, Diana would get to know King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia well, but this was her first taste of the way in which royal arrangements can have political connotations.
Britannia set sail after an emotional farewell from thirty thousand Gibraltarians who lined the route to the dock to send the royal couple off in showers of confetti. In the two weeks that ensued, the yacht cruised to Algeria on the North African cost, then on to Tunisia. Sicily, the Greek islands and finally, Egypt.
Encountering an Unexpected Shark
Free for a time from eyes watching their every move and trying to lip read their every word, Charles and Diana went snorkelling, scuba diving, windsurfing and sunbathing. Ashore, they enjoyed beach barbecues and, though boats full of eager cameramen and reporters were prowling the Mediterranean, they managed to elude them.
During a stopover in Egypt, President Anwar Sadat and his English-born wife Jihan came aboard Britannia for dinner. Then, it was on through the Suez Canal to the Red Sea, where Charles and Diana went swimming, unaware that there was a ten-foot shark in the vicinity. The presence and size of the shark were revealed only when sailors among the Britannia’s crew caught it.
The Sadats were there again when Charles and Diana arrived at Hurghada military airfield to board the RAF VC-10 that was to fly them to Scotland where the third part of their honeymoon was to be spent with the Royal Family at Balmoral Castle.
The Honeymoon Ends, Royal Duty Beckons
The newlyweds were still there when President Sadat was assassinated during a military parade and Charles had to leave to attend his funeral. Once again, Diana discovered that royal duty and public life could intrude both cruelly and suddenly on private royal time. It was a lesson that would be brought home to her time and time again in future years.
Charles and Diana’s honeymoon officially ended three months after their wedding, at the end of October 1981. With the rest of the royals HRH Diana, Princess of Wales packed up at Balmoral and headed for London and her new, strictly timetabled, dutiful life of social engagements, public appearances, and royal days in which she would be on show for fifteen hours or more, shaking hands and smiling all the way.
Sources
Burnet, Alastair: In Private-In Public: The Prince and Princess of Wales(Sedburgh, Cumbria, UK: Summit Books 1986) ISBN-10: 067163304X/ISBN-13: 978-0671633042
Royal Wedding 1981: A Picture Album of the Engagement and Marriage of H.R.H. The Prince of Wales and The Lady Diana Spencer (Orangeville, Ontario, Canada: Prescott-Pickup, 1981
Brenda Ralph Lewis - My interest in history dates from childhood. I am presently the author of 120 books and hundreds of articles, all on historical ...
