52 The Australian Women’s Weekly | JUNE 2018
GETTY IMAGES. © THE AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S WEEKLY/ROB SHAW. THIS IS AN EDITED EXTRACT FROM THE AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S WEEKLY EDITION OF AUGUST 19, 1981.hedral, not too far from the
he Earl of Snowdon was
e Countess of Snowdon, his
arge hat and droopy brim
she sang or, indeed,
so shyly among the guestsmillimetre from the bride’s
7.5-metre long train which lowed back and swelled out to
almost touch their feet, were Lady Diana’s latmates in
single days: Carolyn Pride, Virginia Pitman and Anne
Bolton. They were wearing blue in varying shades, and
either navy or white hats, and they were in the very front
row, the most prestigious place of all in St Paul’s Cathedral.
As at almost any wedding there was time to take stock.
Many of the guests had not seen each other for years and
many members of the royal family had not been seen for a
long time. Noting the changes
was a small and enjoyable part
of the wedding. There was
Princess Alice, the Duchess of
Gloucester, very sweet looking,
wearing amethyst patterned
silk chiffon and a pretty hat,
the dress by Franka, the hat,
of course, by Frederick Fox,
the best-known Australian in
the world of royal headgear.
The Duke of Gloucester wore
uniform, and had some
trouble controlling his son, the
Earl of Ulster, a lively young
chap. The young Duchess of
Gloucester, in a dusty lavender,
also made by Franka, looked more Danish now than when
she married, and immeasurably more stylish in her dress.
Princess Alexandra could again take the prize for the
most elegant guest in a stunning outit by Belinda Bellville,
who made Diana’s going-away dress. Princess Michael of
Kent, whose style has a certain lamboyance, was toned
down and understated in palest grey by Hardy Amies and
another of those divine Gainsborough hats. She clearly had
decided it was the bride’s day.
Once again Lady Helen Windsor was the sophisticate
among the young royals. Princess Alexandra’s daughter
Miss Marina Ogilvy has lost that wild look and was quite
pretty in a pink satin jacket and white skirt. The Duchess
of Kent looked as exquisite as a piece of porcelain in palest
pink with frills, two roses tucked behind her excessively
smooth hairdo, the whole veiled in inest pink net. The
Duchess is in the Bach Choir and would clearly have loved
to be with them.
Whatever the present Countess Spencer, Raine, daughter
of Barbara Cartland, felt about being demoted to a seat in
the Cathedral fourth row back and four in from the end,
she did not show any emotion, yet she must have been
charged with it. She watched her beloved Johnnie, LordSpencer, wincing in pain, pale and shaky and looking older
than his 57 years, give the lovely bride in marriage.
There is nothing more obvious than a monarch alone,
and when ex-King Constantine of Greece arrived at St
Paul’s without his ex-Queen Anne-Marie I wondered why.
But a word with his aide after the royal marriage and the
secret was out. Queen Anne-Marie is expecting her fourth
child, and all engagements have been cancelled.
Princess Grace, who did not get a very good response to
her whiter-than-white outit for Princess Anne’s wedding,
took no chances of offending at Prince Charles and Lady
Diana’s wedding by dressing up her wide-brimmed hat
with three roses, red, white and blue.
Outside the Cathedral the exuberance was still evident.
The Prince and Princess of Wales were now out of sight
and the last of royalty in open carriages were on the
receiving end of the even more deafening cheers. We had
thought the crowds would break up. But the enthusiasm
was still riding high and the other celebrities came under
close scrutiny. Would the King of Tonga squeeze into
the sleek limousine? He did.
Would Spike Milligan go on with his goonery? (He had
been jumping from his car, white-gloved, shaking hands
along the route every time the trafic jammed.) He did. AWWSeated in the body of the Cath
front, beneath the great dome, th
certainly singing. Beside him, the
second wife Lucy, wore such a la
you couldn’t be certain whether
whether it was really her, seated
on such a right royal day.
Singing their hearts out, not aA ROYAL special
The couple walk arm-in-arm
down the aisle at St Paul’s.
Left: Prince Charles chats
playfully to his princess
during their photo session.