Princess Diana’s wedding to King Charles, when he was the Prince of Wales, was 44 years ago today. While the wedding, which was held at St Paul’s Cathedral on July 29, 1981, was over four decades ago, many still remember some sweet details from the day.
Although the couple seemed in love at the time, with many tuning in on the TV to watch them pledge their love to each other, the marriage did not last as long as originally hoped, with the pair splitting in 1992 before divorcing in 1996. This was not something Diana reportedly ever wanted to happen, with the princess even having a bizarre item sewn into the back of her wedding dress to give the pair as much good luck as possible.
This was an 18-carat Welsh-gold horseshoe brooch, which was sewn into the back of the gown.
It has been reported that Diana had requested her wedding dress designers Elizabeth and David Emanuel to do this as the horseshoe was often associated with good luck.
Sarah McCann, trends expert at luxury diamond jewellery company Diamonds Factory, said: “On the Princess of Wales’s wedding day to King Charles, it is reported that she actually had a little 18-carat gold horseshoe brooch sewn into the back of her wedding gown for an extra helping of prosperity on her big day.
“The horseshoe has been a common good luck charm in the United Kingdom since 969AD.”
Although the horseshoe was supposed to bring good luck, this wasn’t necessarily the case on Diana and Charles’ special day.
This is because the wedding day came with a few mishaps, with Diana’s dress facing numerous problems on the big day, from being creased to having perfume spilled on it.
It is believed the princess also had a mishap during the exchange of vows, calling her husband by the wrong name as the nerves got the better of her.
As widely reported, Diana called Charles Philip Charles Arthur George, rather than his real name of Charles Philip Arthur George, with this believed to have been a result of her nerves on the day.
While these nerves may have been present, Diana and Charles did seem happy on the big day, despite the fact Diana later said it was “the worst day” of her life.