The wedding of Prince Albert, Duke of York, and

Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...

took place on 26 April 1923 at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. The couple were later known as King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

Courtship and proposals

Prince Albert, Duke of York, "Bertie" to the family, was the second son of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

. He was second in

line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Art ...

to succeed his father, behind his elder brother

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...

, Prince of Wales. He initially proposed to

in 1921, but she turned him down, being "afraid never, never again to be free to think, speak and act as I feel I really ought to". When he declared he would marry no one else, his mother, Queen Mary, visited Glamis, Elizabeth's home, to see for herself the girl her son wanted to marry. She became convinced that Elizabeth was "the one girl who could make Bertie happy", but nevertheless refused to interfere. At the same time, Elizabeth was courted by James Stuart, Albert's equerry, until he left the prince's service for a better-paid job in the American oil business. In February 1922, Elizabeth was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Albert's sister, Princess Mary, to Viscount Lascelles. The following month, Albert proposed again, but she refused him once more. Eventually, on 13 January 1923, Elizabeth agreed to marry Albert, despite her misgivings about royal life.

Wedding

Prince Albert, Duke of York, and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon were married on 26 April 1923 in

. The couple's wedding rings were crafted from 22 carat

Welsh gold Welsh gold is gold that occurs naturally in two distinct areas of Wales and highly prized because of its origin and scarcity. One area it is found in is north Wales in a band stretching from Barmouth, past Dolgellau and up towards Snowdonia. ...

from the Clogau St David's mine in Bontddu. In the following years, the use of Clogau Gold within the wedding rings of the royal family became a tradition. In an unexpected and unprecedented gesture, Elizabeth laid her bouquet at the Tomb of

The Unknown Warrior The British grave of the Unknown Warrior (often known as 'The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior') holds an unidentified member of the British armed forces killed on a European battlefield during the First World War. Hanson, Chapters 23 & 24 He was g ...

on her way into the Abbey, in memory of her brother Fergus. Ever since, the bouquets of subsequent royal brides have traditionally been laid at the tomb, though after the wedding ceremony rather than before. Lady Elizabeth was attended by eight bridesmaids: * The Lady Mary Cambridge (26), daughter of the Marquess and Marchioness of Cambridge, niece of Queen Mary and thus a cousin of the groom * The Lady May Cambridge (17), daughter of Princess Alice and the Earl of Athlone, niece of Queen Mary and thus first cousin of the groom *The Lady Mary Thynn (20), daughter of the Marquess and Marchioness of Bath *The Lady Katharine Hamilton (23), daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Abercorn *The Hon Diamond Hardinge (22), daughter of

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage ...

and Lady Hardinge *The Hon Cecilia Bowes-Lyon (11), daughter of

and Lady Glamis, niece of the bride *The Hon Mary Elizabeth Elphinstone (11), daughter of

and Lady Elphinstone, niece of the bride *Miss Betty Cator (later sister-in-law to the bride, as Hon Mrs Michael Bowes-Lyon) The newly formed

British Broadcasting Company The British Broadcasting Company Ltd. (BBC) was a short-lived British commercial broadcasting company formed on 18 October 1922 by British and American electrical companies doing business in the United Kingdom. Licensed by the British General ...

had wanted to record and broadcast the event on radio, but the Chapter vetoed the idea (although the Dean, Herbert Edward Ryle, was in favour). Albert's freedom in choosing Elizabeth, not a member of a royal family, though the daughter of a peer, was considered a gesture in favour of political modernisation; previously, princes were expected to marry princesses. The event was not broadcast on the radio due to the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Just ...

's concern "that men might listen to it in public houses".

Wedding attire

Wedding portrait of Duke and Duchess of York

Bride's dress

Elizabeth's wedding dress was made from deep ivory chiffon moire, embroidered with pearls and a silver thread. It was intended to match the traditional

Flanders lace Flanders lace (point de Flandres) was made in Flanders, which was particularly well known for its bobbin lace. The supreme epoch of Flemish lace lasted from about 1550-1750. The lacemaking areas of Antwerp, Mechlin, Binche and Valenciennes are re ...

provided for the train by Queen Mary. Elizabeth's dress, which was in the fashion of the early 1920s, was designed by Madame Handley-Seymour, dressmaker to Queen Mary. Its design was reportedly based on a dress created by Jeanne Lanvin and was "suggestive of a medieval Italian gown". Elizabeth chose not to wear a tiara, and instead a chaplet of leaves secured the veil. A strip of Brussels lace, inserted in the dress, was a Strathmore family heirloom. A female ancestor of the bride wore it to a grand ball for "Bonnie Prince Charlie", Charles Edward Stuart. The silver leaf girdle had a trail of spring green tulle, trailing to the ground; silver and rose thistle fastened it. According to an era news article: "In the trimming the bride has defied all old superstitions about the unluckiness of green." Elizabeth wore "an

orange blossom Orange Blossom is a French band that plays a mix of electronic and world music. The band was formed in Nantes in 1993 with Pierre-Jean Chabot (known as ''PJ Chabot'') on violin and Jean-Christophe Waechter (known as ''Jay C.'') on percussions ...

wreath", which featured " white roses of York". The dress had two trains: "one fastened at the hips, the other floating from the shoulders". Unlike more recent dresses, details of this one were publicly revealed in advance of the wedding day. However, the dress was worked on until the last possible opportunity: the day before the wedding, Elizabeth divided her time between the wedding rehearsal and her dressmakers. A prototype of the wedding dress was sold at an auction in 2011 for £3,500. It was one of the three initial designs prepared for the wedding and the one used for the final design.

Groom's uniform

Prince Albert wore RAF full dress in the rank of

group captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

, his senior service rank at the time of his marriage.

Honeymoon

Upon their marriage, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was styled Her Royal Highness the Duchess of York. Following a wedding breakfast at Buckingham Palace prepared by chef

Gabriel Tschumi Gabriel Tschumi (1883–27 April 1957) was a native of Switzerland who served as Master Chef to three British monarchs: Queen Victoria and Kings Edward VII and George V. Early life Tschumi was born in about 1883, in Moudon, Switzerland, where his ...

, they honeymooned at

Polesden Lacey Polesden Lacey is an Edwardian house and estate, located on the North Downs at Great Bookham, near Dorking, Surrey, England. It is owned and run by the National Trust and is one of the Trust's most popular properties. This Regency house was ex ...

, a manor house in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, and then went to Scotland, where she caught "unromantic" whooping cough.Letter from Albert to Queen Mary, 25 May 1923, quoted in Shawcross, p. 185

Notes

References

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External links

Order of Service for the wedding
{{British Royal Weddings Albert, Duke of York, and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon 1923 in London Albert, Duke of York, and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon George VI Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother April 1923 events Albert, Duke of York, and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon 1920s in the City of Westminster