Royal weddings are the crème de la crème of the royal family.
They’re watched and adored by millions all over the world, and remembered for many decades to come.
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But that’s not to say that royal weddings go on without a hitch. There have been plenty of cases of scandal ruining a special day.
Here are 10+ royal weddings that couldn’t escape scandal.
1. When Meghan Markle’s dad missed her royal wedding to Prince Harry.
Before his daughter’s wedding, Thomas Markle was caught doing a number of bizarre things. This included staging photos with the paparazzi to make money and help his reputation.
This came after the palace had asked the paparazzi to stop harassing Mr. Markle.
It was then reported that he wouldn’t be walking Meghan down the aisle following an alleged heart attack.
There is still speculation that he faked this too.
2. When the Queen skipped Prince Charles and Camilla’s wedding.
Since the couple had a civil wedding, the Queen was forced to skip her son’s wedding ceremony.
The Telegraph reported that she had to put her duties ahead of her family feelings.
As head of the Church of England, she didn’t feeling she could attend a civil wedding ceremony.
She didn’t “want to set a precedent that could damage the Church of England,” per The Telegraph .
She was, however, able to attend the Guildhall at Windsor Castle for the Service of Prayer and Dedication afterward.
3. When Prince William and Kate Middleton had one angry guest at their wedding.
Their big day was pretty much perfect… except for flower girl Grace van Cutsem who went viral for looking unimpressed when Kate and William shared a kiss on the balcony.
4. When Princess Diana said Prince Charles’s name wrong in their vows.
Yep, she pulled a Ross Gellar from Friends ! According to CBS , she said I “take thee Philip Charles Arthur George,” therefore switching Charles’s first and middle names.
5. When King Edward VIII abdicated just to marry Wallis Simpson.
Since this marriage was so scandalous, it was covered by The Crown .
Simpson was still married when she got involved with the King. She later divorced her husband (divorce is also frowned upon by the royal family) to marry Edward.
6. When Prince Harry invited two of his exes to his wedding to Meghan Markle.
Can you say awkward? This was Cressida Bonas and Chelsy Davy , two exes he’s on good terms with.
What’s even more surprising is that Meghan must have signed off on it!
7. When Fergie made a big deal out of not getting invited to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding.
No, not the Black-Eyed Peas Fergie. We’re talking about Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York.
Her daughter, Princess Eugenie, married Jack Brooksbank in 2018.
But since she’s no longer married to Prince Andrew, the royal family had no obligation to invite her to the wedding.
Fergie called the snub ” so difficult ” while on The Oprah Winfrey Show . “Because I wanted to be there with my girls … to be getting them dressed and to go as a family.”
8. When major secrets came out before Princess Charlene of Monaco’s wedding to Prince Albert II.
Footage showed her crying all throughout her wedding.
But instead of tears of joy, they were tears of sadness over learning that Albert had fathered a third love child.
9. When the BBC reportedly refused to air Princess Eugenie’s wedding.
We’re certain Fergie wasn’t too happy about this… Her wedding was shown on ITV instead since the BBC was reportedly worried that not enough people would tune in.
10. When Princess Diana was extremely upset to see Camilla at her wedding to Prince Charles.
This stems from the fact that Charles and Camilla had feelings for each other at the time.
They would later start an affair in 1986, according to Charles’s authorized biography .
So when Diana saw Camilla, the moment ruined her special day.
“I knew she was in there, of course. I looked for her. … So walking down the aisle, I spotted Camilla, pale gray, veiled pillbox hat, saw it all, her son Tom standing on a chair. To this day you know—vivid memory,” she told biographer Andrew Morton.
11. When Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond tiara broke in two on her wedding day to Prince Philip.
Every bride’s nightmare , amirite?!
Thankfully, a royal jewelry house was on standby. They were able to weld it back together just in time for the wedding.
12. When only one family member attended Meghan Markle’s wedding to Prince Harry.
After all the drama with her father, only Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, attended.
To put that into perspective, 600 people attended the royal wedding!
13. The date of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding.
Although most likely a coincidence, it’s certainly awkward that they share a wedding date with Adolf Hilter and Eva Braun.
They were married on April 29, 1945.
14. When Kate Middleton made Meghan Markle cry before her wedding to Prince Harry.
This wasn’t revealed until Meghan’s sitdown interview with Oprah.
Meghan set the record straight on the reports that Meghan had made Kate cry.
This all had to do with a disagreement involving bridesmaids dresses.
“And I don’t say that to be disparaging to anyone, because it was a really hard week of the wedding, and she was upset about something,” Meghan told Oprah .
“But she owned it, and she apologized and she brought me flowers and a note apologizing.”
