10 Times Princess Diana and Prince Charles Broke Royal Traditions in Their Marriage
Did you know Prince Charles accidentally forgot to kiss her at the ceremony?
Although Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been hot in the press for breaking royal traditions recently, Princess Diana was the OG royal rulebreaker. She put her family before her royal duties, refused to wear gloves and hats in public, and paved her own way in the style world, exposing her shoulders and wearing black outside of funerals (hello, revenge dress). One of the reasons Lady Di remains so iconic today is because of the traditions she broke within her marriage, specifically during her wedding. She was the first to change her vows, leading Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle to follow in her footsteps, and she had the longest wedding dress train in royal history. Here, L’OFFICIEL rounds up 10 ways Princess Diana and Prince Charles broke royal traditions in their marriage, and why their wedding went down as one of the most historic, maybe ever.
Diana changed her vows.
Diana was the first to omit the word “obey” from her wedding vows—instead she promised to “love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health.” Prince William and Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle and Prince Harry followed in her footsteps and also omitted the word from their vows.
The princess also chose her own engagement ring.
Diana’s classic sapphire and diamond engagement ring wasn’t custom-made by her fiancé, as was tradition. Instead, it was chosen from the Garrard catalog. The ring is still extremely special to their family, though, as Prince William later proposed to Kate Middleton with it.
Diana called Charles the wrong name at the wedding.
During the wedding, she accidentally called him “Philip Charles Arthur George” instead of “Charles Philip Arthur George”—on accident, of course.
Diana had the longest wedding dress train in royal history.
We all know and love Diana’s infamous wedding dress—embroidered with 10,000 pearls and a 25-foot-long train, saying this dress is impressive would be an understatement. The dress was designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel.
Charles forgot to kiss Diana at the wedding.
Later in the ceremony, Charles forgot to kiss his bride. However, he made up for his mishap by kissing her later on the balcony in front of a massive crowd, and Prince William repeated this tradition at his wedding to Kate Middleton in 2011.
Diana was the first to have a paying job before her marriage.
Even though Lady Diana Spencer already had noble blood, her dad being 8th Earl Spencer, she was a nursery school teacher and nanny in London before getting married.
The princess gave birth in a hospital.
Whereas all previous monarchs gave birth at home, Diana gave birth to Prince William at the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s hospital in 1982, and Prince Harry at the same hospital in 1984. Kate Middleton followed suit, giving birth in the very same wing.
The Prince and Princess of Wales sent their kids to public school.
While royal kids are usually homeschooled by a governess at the palace, Prince William was the first royal heir to attend public school at Jane Mynor’s nursery school nearby Kensington Palace.
Lady Di was honest with the press about the marriage.
Diana was always upfront with the media about her life, while other royals were more reserved. After Charles and Diana separated in 1992, Diana had an interview with BBC’s Panorama where she answered questions about her husband's affair. “Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded,” said the princess about Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Charles' then-mistress and current wife.
Diana was the first to don the "revenge dress."
Last but not least, Princess Diana wasn’t afraid to wear black. In fact, she was the first royal to wear it outside of mourning. The "revenge dress"—widely considered a historic fashion moment—was a black off-the-shoulder dress that Diana wore to dinner at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens in 1994. It was interpreted as having been worn “in revenge” after Prince Charles cheated on her.
