In the build-up1 to their grand wedding， Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are probably too busy to read up on trivia about previous royal weddings. Which is a pity， as they might get some tips on things to include （such as rich tea biscuits2） and things to avoid—like spending your wedding night drunk on the floor by the fireplace…
　　2011： Prince William and Kate Middleton
　　Having chosen the same date for their wedding as Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun （April 29）， Wills and Kate tied the knot at Westminster Abbey. She omitted the promise to “obey” her husband （just as his mother Diana had done at her wedding in 1981）. The military uniforms worn by William and his brother included specially-tailored sweat guards to keep them dry under the TV lights. David Beckham entered the abbey wearing his OBE3 on the wrong lapel （that is， the right）—someone must have had a word， because he left the abbey with it on the left lapel. Guests departed to enjoy a wedding cake containing 1，700 rich tea biscuits， a favourite snack of the groom.
　　2005： Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles
　　Guests included Stephen Fry， Joanna Lumley and the bride’s ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles—but not the groom’s mother.4 As Supreme Governor of the Church of England， the Queen is forbidden to attend the wedding of a divorcée5.
　　1994： Sarah Armstrong-Jones and Daniel Chatto6
　　Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones might have thought they were keeping it low-key with their 1999“no hats” edict，7 but five years earlier Princess Margaret’s daughter got married so quickly that the chauffeurs were caught unawares. Guests at St Stephen’s Walbrook church in the City of London—including the Queen， Prince Philip and Princess Diana—had to make small talk until the cars appeared.
　　1981： Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer
　　Still the biggie—the last “fairytale” royal wedding， before the Queen’s children started getting divorced and public deference disappeared over the horizon for good. Although Diana herself never signed up to the fairytale in the first place： the wedding was only her 14th meeting with Charles， and at the rehearsal two days before she had broken down in tears. （The BBC crew kept that a secret， making sure the footage never emerged.） On the morning of her marriage Diana sang “Just One Cornetto”8 as she sat in her dressing gown having her make-up done. Then she accidentally spilt perfume over her dress—she had to hold the folds in her hand to cover up the stain. During the service she got Charles’s names in the wrong order， putting his middle name Philip first. Prince Andrew9 later teased her that she’d married his father instead. 　　1973： Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips
　　The Queen’s second-oldest had a wedding cake that was exactly five feet six inches tall—because so is she.

　　1947： Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh
　　The Queen （as she then wasn’t） had her wedding dress designed by Norman Hartnell—and paid for it with ration coupons10. Hundreds of people sent her their own coupons to help out： but this would have been illegal， so she returned them all. The bride did her own make-up. As she got dressed for the service her tiara snapped—the court jeweller was given a police escort to his workshop so he could repair it in time.
　　1923： Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth BowesLyon
　　On her way into Westminster Abbey， the future Queen Mother unexpectedly laid her wedding bouquet on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. This was in memory of her brother Fergus， who had been killed during World War I. Subsequent royal brides at the Abbey—including the Queen and Kate Middleton—have kept up the tradition.
　　1840： Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
　　Previous royal brides had tended to favour blue or black wedding dresses， but Victoria （by then the reigning monarch） chose white so crowds along the processional route could see her clearly. Her decision is credited with spreading the modern tradition of brides wearing white.（She also banned her wedding guests from wearing the colour， and had the pattern for her dress destroyed so that no one could copy it.） Among the couple’s wedding presents was the largest cheddar cheese11 ever made. It contained the milk of 750 cows from Somerset， weighed 88 stone and had a circumference of over nine feet.12
　　1795： Prince of Wales and Caroline of Brunswick
　　The future George IV and his cousin Princess Caroline weren’t a match made in heaven， but a match made by his father George III. Seeing her for the first time， the prince said： “I am not well， pray get me a glass of brandy.” His bride-to-be was equally unimpressed， telling a friend that George was very fat and “nothing like as handsome as his portrait”. After their wedding George got stupendously13 drunk and spent the night lying on the bedroom floor by the fireplace.
　　1736： Prince Frederick and Princess Augusta 　　The Prussian princess was just as reluctant about her marriage as Caroline had been about hers. On the way to the wedding she clung to her mother， begging“please don’t leave me”. Though she did it in German—she didn’t speak a word of English. Unsurprisingly this made the ceremony a bit of a challenge for her： a less than sympathetic Frederick shouted her lines into her ear so she could repeat them phonetically14. As soon as the proceedings were over Augusta was physically sick.

　　1501： Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon
　　Catherine would go down in history as the first of Henry VIII’s wives， but she had first married his elder brother Arthur.15 Her vows included a promise to be“bonny and buxom in bed and at board”.16
　　1468： Charles the Bold and Margaret of York
　　Charles， Duke of Burgundy， married the sister of Edward IV and Richard III in Bruges. The celebrations， which included jousting17 and feasts， went on for 12 days. This was longer than had been planned， and at one point workers from nearby cities had to be rushed to Bruges to help serve the food.
　　1328： Edward III and Philippa of Hainault
　　Proof that even the royal family can have problems with wedding venues. York Minster was still being built when Edward and his bride got married there. The nave18 didn’t yet have a roof， and as it was January the couple had to say their vows in a snow storm.
　　哈里王子和梅根·馬克尔筹备大婚时，估计是忙得没空去钻研皇室前辈婚礼的细节了。这倒是有点可惜，他们本来可以瞧瞧有什么必不可少的（比如佐茶饼干），又有什么是千万要避免的——比如新婚之夜就躺在壁炉边上，烂醉如泥……
　　2011年：威廉王子与凯特·米德尔大婚
　　威廉王子和凯特在威斯敏斯特教堂结下连理，时间是4月29日，跟阿道夫·希特勒和爱娃·布劳恩成婚的日子一样。凯特沿袭了威廉王子的母亲戴安娜在1981年大婚时的做法，在誓词中删去了原有的“顺从丈夫”一说。威廉王子和弟弟哈里王子穿的军装有特制的防汗功能，以保证衣服在媒体的灯光下依然干燥笔挺。贝克汉姆入场时，官佐勋章戴反了，戴在了右边的领子上。可能有人提醒了他，出教堂的时候，勋章已经换到左边了。出了教堂之后，宾客开始享用由1，700块佐茶饼干做成的蛋糕，因为佐茶饼干是威廉王子最喜欢的零食。
　　2005年：查尔斯王子与卡米拉大婚
　　到场宾客有史蒂芬·弗莱、乔安娜·林莉和新娘的前夫鲍尔斯，而新郎的母亲——女王伊丽莎白二世却没有出席。因为女王是英国圣公会的最高元首，按规定不能出席再婚女人的婚礼。
　　1994年：萨拉·阿姆斯特朗-琼斯与丹尼尔·查托大婚
　　爱德华王子和索菲·里斯-琼斯可能觉得他们在1999年婚礼中规定“不戴帽子”已经够低调了，但是五年前玛格丽特公主的女儿结婚时更为仓促，甚至连车夫都有点措手不及。宾客齐聚在伦敦的圣史蒂芬沃尔布鲁克教堂时，婚车还没有来，女王、菲利普亲王、戴安娜王妃不得不发表讲话以避免尴尬。
　　1981年：查尔斯王子与戴安娜大婚
　　随着女王的子女们一个个离婚，公众对皇室成员的拥戴也一去不返，当初这场婚礼无疑是一桩大事，也成了最后一个童话般的皇家婚礼，尽管戴安娜本无意成为童话的主角：婚礼之前，两人见面不过13次；婚礼两天前的排练中，她还落下了泪水。（BBC工作人员一直保守着这个秘密，没有把视频公开。）婚礼的那天早晨，戴安娜穿着婚纱化妆时，唱起了《不过是一个甜筒》。后来，她不小心把香水洒在了裙子上，不得不一直抓着裙褶来遮掩污渍。婚礼当中，她念错了丈夫名字的顺序，把应该放在中间的“菲利普”放在了最开头。安德鲁王子后来还揶揄她说，她应该嫁给自己的公公。 　　1973年：安妮公主与马克·菲利普斯大婚
　　安妮公主是女王的第二个女儿，她的结婚蛋糕刚好五英尺六英寸高（约168厘米）——这也正是她的身高。
　　1947年：伊丽莎白公主和爱丁堡公爵菲利普亲王大婚
　　女王（当时还不是）的婚纱是诺曼·哈特内尔设计的，付钱则是靠的配给券。当时，上百民众给这对准新人寄来配给券，以帮他们渡过二战后的经济难关。但因为此举违法，所以女王把它们都还了回去。新娘的妆是自己化的。穿婚纱的时候，她的头冠坏了，警察赶紧护送皇家珠宝制作人到工作室，以便他能及时修复。
　　1923年：艾伯特王子和伊丽莎白·鲍斯-莱昂大婚
　　这位未来女王的母亲在前往威斯敏斯特大教堂的路上，出人意料地把捧花放在了无名战士的墓前。此举是为了纪念她在一战中丧生的哥哥费格斯。此后在威斯敏斯特大教堂举办婚礼的新娘们继承了这一传统，包括女王和凯特王妃。
　　1840年：维多利亚女王和阿尔伯特亲王大婚
　　此前的皇家婚礼喜欢用蓝色或黑色的婚纱，但维多利亚女王（当时正在执政期间）选择了白色，这样婚车两旁的民众就能清晰地辨认出她了。她的这一决定开启了后来的白色婚纱传统。（她还禁止婚礼嘉宾穿白色礼服，并在婚礼后毁掉了衣服上的圖案，防止有人复制。）婚礼宴席上的切达奶酪是有史以来最大的。它由萨默塞特郡的750头奶牛的牛奶制成，重达88英石（约560千克），周长9英尺有余（约3米）。
　　1795年：威尔士亲王和伯伦瑞克的卡洛琳大婚
　　未来的乔治四世和表妹卡洛琳公主的婚姻，并非两情相悦，而是奉父亲乔治三世之命。看到卡洛琳的第一眼，威尔士亲王就说：“我不舒服，给我来杯白兰地。”她未来的妻子也对他无感，跟朋友说他长得胖，还“一点也不如他画像上的帅”。婚礼之后，威尔士亲王喝得烂醉如泥，在卧室壁炉边的地板上躺了一晚。
　　1736年：弗雷德里克王子与奥古斯塔公主大婚
　　和卡洛琳一样，这位普鲁士的公主对这段婚姻也极不情愿。在前往英国的路上，她一直抓着母亲不放，哀求道：“求求你，别扔下我。”当然她是用德语说的，当时她还一句英语也不会说。这也使婚礼成为一个很大的挑战：一点也不温柔的弗雷德里克王子把她的台词冲着她的耳朵咆哮给她，她再学样念出来。婚礼一结束，奥古斯塔公主就病了。
　　1501年：亚瑟王子和阿拉贡的凯瑟琳大婚
　　在史书上，凯瑟琳公主的身份是亨利八世的第一个妻子，但她先嫁给的是亨利八世的哥哥亚瑟。在婚礼誓词中，她承诺会“上得厅堂，下得厨房”。
　　1468年：大胆的查理和约克的玛格丽特大婚
　　勃艮第公爵查理的婚礼在比利时布鲁日举行，新娘是爱德华四世和理查德三世的妹妹。婚礼包括比武和宴会在内，共持续了12天。原计划没有这么久，以至于附近城市的工人一度需要赶到布鲁日帮忙上菜。
　　1328年：爱德华三世与埃诺的菲利帕大婚
　　这场婚礼说明，即便是皇家婚礼，地点的选择也是个问题。这对新人结婚时，约克大教堂正在建造，教堂正厅的屋顶还没有盖好。当时正值一月，两位新人只得在暴风雪中说出了他们的结婚誓词。
　　1. build-up： 事前准备期。
　　2. rich tea biscuit： 佐茶饼干。英国人在喝下午茶时搭配的点心，因为味道比较淡，所以特别适合蘸着茶或者咖啡吃。
　　3. OBE： Officer of the Order of the British Empire，大英帝国官佐勋章，授予对艺术或科学有卓越贡献的人。应该佩戴在左胸。
　　4. Stephen Fry： 史蒂芬·弗莱（1957— ），演员、编剧、导演、制片人，录制过哈利·波特系列有声读物，因迷人的英伦腔调而深受欢迎；Joanna Lumley：乔安娜·林莉（1946— ），演员、导演、制片人，出演过《复仇者》和《僵尸新娘》。
　　5. divorcée： 离过婚的女人。卡米拉在与查尔斯王子结婚前，有过一段婚姻，且前夫依然在世。而英国圣公会反对教徒在前配偶在世时再婚。
　　6. Sarah Armstrong-Jones： 萨拉·阿姆斯特朗-琼斯（1964— ），是玛格丽特公主的独女，女王伊丽莎白二世的外甥女；Daniel Chatto： 丹尼尔·查托（1957— ），英国演员。
　　7. Prince Edward： 爱德华王子，是女王伊丽莎白二世的三子；edict： 告示。一般在皇家婚礼中，新郎和宾客都要戴帽子以示庄重。为了提倡更加轻松随意的风格，两位新人要求宾客不戴帽子。
　　8. Cornetto： 英国一个甜筒冰淇淋的品牌。婚礼间隙播放品牌广告时，戴安娜跟着哼唱了起来。
　　9. Prince Andrew： 安德鲁王子，女王的次子，查尔斯王子的弟弟。
　　10. ration coupon： 配给券。二战期间，由于物资匮乏，英国开始对一些基本的生活用品实行配给制度。1940年后，开始对布料实行配给，因此女王要做婚纱，也需要配给券。
　　11. chedder cheese： 切达奶酪，质地较硬、米黄色的一种奶酪，因发源于英国一个叫切达的乡村而得名，是英国最受欢迎的奶酪品种。
　　12. stone： 英石，重量单位，约等于6.35千克；circumference： 周长。
　　13. stupendously： 惊人地。
　　14. phonetically： 语音表示地。
　　15. 凯瑟琳公主在嫁给亨利七世的长子亚瑟王子之后几个月内，亚瑟王子就病逝了，于是亨利七世的二儿子，也就是后来的亨利八世，娶了凯瑟琳公主。
　　16. bonny and buxom in bed and at board： 在16世纪，bonny的意思是“好的”，而非现在的“美丽健康的”；buxom的意思是“顺从的”，而非现在的“健美丰满的”；in bed是指在晚上，at board指上菜的时候，也即白天。全句的意思是，不管在白天还是晚上，都要表现得谦恭顺从。因为到今天，句意已经发生了很大的变化，所以婚礼誓词中不再有这个说法了。
　　17. jousting： （旧时）马上长矛比武（或打斗）。
　　18. nave： 教堂的中殿，正厅。