Royal Tradition

The tradition of royal weddings at the Abbey began when Henry I wed Matilda of Scotland within its walls in 1100, but no more royal weddings took place there after the 1382 nuptials of a teenage Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. It was not revived as a Royal marriage venue until 1919 when Victoria's granddaughter, Patricia of Connaught, chose it for her wedding to naval aide-de-camp Alexander Ramsay.

William is following in the footsteps of his grandparents, Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten, great-grandparents Albert (later George VI) and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, who exchanged their wedding vows at the Abbey's magnificent High Altar.

Royal Weddings at the Abbey

11 November 1100: King Henry I of England was
married to Matilda of Scotland
9 April 1269: Edmund of Crouchback, 1st Earl of
Leicester and Lancaster, son of King Henry III was
married to Lady Aveline de Forz
30 April 1290: Joan of Acre, daughter of King
Edward I was married to the 7th Earl of Gloucester
8 July 1290: Margaret of England, daughter of
King Edward I was married to John II, son of Duke
of Brabant
20 January 1382: King Richard II of England was
married to Anne of Bohemia
27 February 1919: Princess Patricia of Connaught
was married to Commander Alexander Ramsay
28 February 1922: The Princess Mary, daughter of
King George V was married to Viscount Lascelles
26 April 1923: The Prince Albert, Duke of York
(later King George VI), second son of King George
V was married to Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (later
to become The Queen Mother).
29 November 1934: The Prince George, Duke
of Kent, son of King George V was married to
Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark
20 November 1947: The Princess Elizabeth (later
Queen Elizabeth II), elder daughter of King George
VI was married to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten
RN (later Duke of Edinburgh).
6 May 1960: The Princess Margaret, second daughter
of King George VI was married to Antony Armstrong-
Jones (later Earl of Snowdon)
24 April 1963: Princess Alexandra of Kent was
married to Angus Ogilvy
14 November 1973: The Princess Anne, only
daughter of Queen Elizabeth II was married to Captain
Mark Phillips
23 July 1986: The Prince Andrew, Duke of York,
second son of Queen Elizabeth II, was married to
Miss Sarah Ferguson.
29 April 2011: Prince William of Wales was married to
Miss Catherine Middleton.