The Queen Arrives at Royal Wedding
Times Have Changed Attitudes About Royal Marriage and Divorce
At one time, divorce was not an option to even be considered for the royal British family. It was almost impossible to obtain a divorce among the royal class. But over the years there were some exceptions, probably beginning with King Henry VII and his six wives. In his case, he did manage to divorce his first wife. The other wives had less fortunate endings. But divorce among the royalty was still considered taboo and likewise, they were not allowed to marry a person who was divorced. King Edward VIII gave up the throne to be able to marry the twice divorced Wally Simpson. Things began to change during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Her sister and three of her children’s fairy tale weddings ended in divorce. Just recently Prince Charles the heir to the British throne and his son Prince Harry have both been allowed to marry divorced women. It is looking very likely that the fairy tale wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will quite likely end in another royal scandal. As a matter of fact, this royal fairy tale has already become a major scandal for the British monarchy.
The Prince and Princess of Wales
Prince Charles and Princess Diana marriage begins to crack.
Not long after Prince Harry was born, things began to deteriorate between the young couple. Charles had done his royal duty and produced an heir and a spare heir. By 1986, rumors began that Prince Charles was rekindling his old romance with Camilla Parker Bowles. Then the rumors began about Princess Diana and other men. How much was true may never be fully known, but we do know for certain that Prince Charles did have an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, and he did marry her several years after Diana’s death. The fairy tale had become a rocky road. In February of 1989, Princess Diana had an occasion to confront Camilla and let her know that she knew what was going on behind her back. By 1990, the marriage was on very shaky ground and at some point, Prince Charles admitted his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles. Diane famously said that there were three people in their marriage.
Princess Margaret the Queen’s Rebellious Sister
Princess Margaret had a reputation for being a rebellious royal. When she was very young and quite beautiful, she fell in love with Captain Townsend. The two privately planned on being married but the captain who was divorced was not considered a good match for Margaret. He was not of noble birth but even worse he was a divorced man which was not acceptable at that time. Margaret at that time needed both the permission of her sister, the Queen Elizabeth, and parliament to marry Captain Townsend. Privately, her sister would have granted her permission but it was well known that parliament would not give their consent. Eventually Captain Townsend and Margaret called off their romance.
On May 6, 1960, Princess Margaret married a thirty year old photographer and commoner, Anthony Armstrong Jones. It was a lavish fairy tale wedding with thousands of guests, royals and heads of states from other countries. It was also watched by millions around the world on national television. On November 3, 1961, their first child David arrived followed by a sister, Sarah on May 1, 1964. Upon the arrival of the children, it was decided that Anthony Armstrong Jones needed to be given a royal title for the sake of the children. He was given the title of Earl of Snowden and his son the title of Viscount Linley. A few years after the birth of the children, the marriage began to sour. The couple loved partying which ended up involving affairs, drugs and alcohol, all the aspects of the modern 1960s. The two separated and on July 11th 1978, after eighteen years of marriage the fairy tale ended in divorce. Princess Margaret twenty years earlier could not marry a divorced man but 1960s changed attitudes so by 1978 divorce among the royals was not quite so scandalous.
Princess Margaret in her Wedding Dress
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson
Prince Andrew was formally introduced to Sarah Ferguson at a party given by Princess Diana. They immediately hit it off with Prince Andrew falling for the fiery red haired beauty. On March 18th 1986, they announced their engagement. On July 23, 1986, they were married at Westminster Abbey where many of the royal family have been married.
Almost from the start, theirs was a rocky road. Prince Andrew’s position in the Royal Navy kept him from home for long periods of time for the first five years of their marriage. Sarah or (Fergie) as she was known had deep security issues relating back to being abandoned by her mother at an early age. The couple did have two daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie. Sarah was perhaps never fully supported by the royal family. She didn’t fit the royal mold and was bold and outgoing. At any rate, the marriage floundered and the Duke and Duchess of York announced their separation in 1992 and were divorced in May of 1996. Along the way there were scandals and other relationships as was the case in most of the other royal fairy tales. However, their story may yet have a happy ending. Prince Andrew and Sarah have always remained close friends and both were very involved in the raising of their two daughters. It seems that today they live together and there are rumors that the two may remarry someday. Let’s hope that this royal fairy tales ends like fairy tales are supposed to end and they live the rest of their lives happily as fairy tales are meant to end.
Sarah Ferguson on Her Wedding Day
The scandal That Splits The Royal Family
The latest royal scandal is still brewing. This one involves the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the former Prince Harry and his bride Meghan Markle an American Hollywood actress. The couple married on May 19, 2018. Their son Archie was born the following year on May 6, 2019. In January 2020, they made headlines around the world with their decision to leave the British royal family and move to Canada.
Some Fairy Tales End Happily
Everyone, including me loves a fairy tale. When we see a young beautiful prince or princess marry in a huge fairy tale wedding complete with beautiful white dresses, horse drawn carriages, famous and titled guests, we can’t help but still believe in fairy tales like Cinderella, Snow White and Beauty and the Beast and happy endings. After all, some of the royal family such as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip and Queen Victoria and Prince Albert somehow managed to live out their fairy tale.
Copyright Linda Hosler March 10, 2014
History Lovers Corner 