There’s a major royal wedding Queen Elizabeth missed and it’s changed the monarchy forever.
- The late Queen Elizabeth attended all of her children’s weddings except King Charles and Queen Camilla’s nuptials in 2005.
- Her Majesty hosted a reception and was present at a religious blessing for her son and daughter-in-law but didn’t see their civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall.
- This royal news comes as Princess Anne's two-tone turquoise flared coat proved huge lapels are back in style.
If there’s any event guaranteed to whip up a frenzy of excitement across the world it’s a royal wedding and in recent years fans have been left transfixed by the Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding and the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes’ nuptials. From which of the late Queen Elizabeth’s tiaras the bride might wear, to the surprising royal wedding that was watched by more at the time than Prince Harry and Meghan’s, there are plenty of details to keep us intrigued. Whilst these more recent ceremonies are iconic, the Queen’s children also all had incredibly high-profile and magnificent big days.
In King Charles and Princess Anne’s cases they actually had two wonderful weddings each as both have been married twice. However, unlike the moment the then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana tied the knot in 1981 and all his siblings’ wedding days, Queen Elizabeth wasn’t present when he married Camilla Parker-Bowles.
The King and Queen Consort married on April 9, 2005 at Windsor Guildhall in a civil ceremony, as both had previously been divorced. Neither Queen Elizabeth nor Prince Philip attended the ceremony, though they did join the happy couple and their 800 guests for a Service of Prayer and Dedication at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle afterwards.
The Queen also hosted a reception for the newlyweds, despite not being present for the entire day’s events. Reports have speculated over the years that Queen Elizabeth didn’t attend the ceremony because of her position as Head of the Church of England and her son and daughter-in-law's divorcee statuses.
This was never confirmed by the Queen, but as per The Guardian (opens in new tab), Buckingham Palace did release a statement which suggested she didn’t want to detract attention from the couple.
“The Queen will not be attending the civil ceremony because she is aware that the prince and Mrs Parker Bowles wanted to keep the occasion low-key,” it said. “The Queen and the rest of the royal family will, of course, be going to the service of dedication at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. She is very pleased to be giving the wedding reception at the castle."
So whilst this was a royal wedding Queen Elizabeth missed, she did show her support for her son and daughter-in-law on this special day that changed the future of the monarchy.
She highlighted her trust and bond with Camilla in 2022, when she expressed her “sincere wish” that when King Charles became monarch, his wife would be known as Queen Consort. This has now come to pass and King Charles and Queen Camilla will celebrate 18 years of marriage in April 2023. The couple will both be crowned in May at King Charles’ coronation and plans and details have already started to be announced for the royal occasion.
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