Who Can Attend Royal Weddings?

Royal weddings are a spectacle, from the grand ceremony entrances and cheering crowds to the jaw-dropping gowns and dazzling tiaras. The public is often invited to the grounds of the wedding venue, as was the case for Princess Eugenie and Mr Jack Brooksbank's wedding, where 1,200 members of the public were invited to the grounds of Windsor Castle. For those who cannot get an invitation, many travel to the location of the wedding to soak in the atmosphere and be amongst the crowds. This was the case for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, where an estimated 600,000 tourists, many from the US, travelled to London.

Invited to the grounds

If you are one of the lucky few to be invited to the grounds of a royal wedding, here is what you need to know.

Firstly, you are in for a treat! Being invited to the grounds of a royal wedding means you will get to experience the excitement and pageantry of this historic event up close. The grounds of royal weddings are often filled with guests, including members of the public, charity representatives, and other invitees. In the case of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's wedding, 1,200 members of the public were invited to the grounds of Windsor Castle, joining the couple's family and friends.

Now, for the practical considerations. If you are travelling from overseas, particularly from the United States, you can expect to pay a pretty penny for the privilege. Round-trip tickets can start at around $800, and hotel rooms can cost several hundred dollars per night. If you are looking for a more budget-friendly option, consider camping at an official wedding campground, which offers access to basic amenities for a fraction of the cost of a hotel.

As for what to wear, guests at royal weddings must adhere to a strict dress code. For women, this typically includes elaborate hats or fascinators, as well as conservative day dresses. For men, military uniforms, full morning coats, or lounge suits are usually acceptable.

Finally, don't forget to bring your own food! While this may seem unusual for a wedding guest, it has been a requirement for some royal weddings in the past. So, pack a snack and get ready to celebrate this momentous occasion in style!

Royal dress code

The royal dress code for guests is a strict one. For women, the dress code is a day dress and a hat. The dress should be conservative, with covered shoulders, no cut-outs or sheer details, and closed-toe shoes. The length should be tasteful, falling slightly above, below the knee, or tea-length. The colour should be vibrant and subtle patterns are acceptable, but garish patterns, black, and white are not. The hat should be large and jovial, but women should consider those seated behind them and remove it if it obstructs their view. For the evening, female guests can expect to wear fancier and longer dresses, and this is when tiaras are permitted.

For male guests, the dress code is a uniform, morning coat, or lounge suit. A morning coat is a formal suit, often worn to official functions in England, and is grey or black, with a single button, peak lapels, and tails. It is often paired with striped trousers, a waistcoat, a collared shirt, and a tie. A lounge suit is simply a nice suit, in black or grey, with a coordinating waistcoat. Polished black shoes are a must for men, and it is deemed inappropriate for them to wear hats.

Royal wedding rings

The wedding rings of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, The Queen, Princess Margaret, Princess Anne, and Diana, Princess of Wales, were all made from the same nugget of Welsh gold, which came from the Clogau St David's mine in Bontddu, Wales. There is just one gramme of this gold left, held by the Privy Purse Office. However, in 1981, the Royal British Legion presented The Queen with 36 grammes of 21-carat Welsh gold, which is held by the Crown Jewellers for use in royal wedding rings.

More recent royal wedding bands have been crafted from this new nugget of Welsh gold, including Princess Eugenie's, Meghan Markle's, and Kate Middleton's. Prince Harry's wedding band was made from platinum, with a textured finish. Male members of the British royal family do not commonly wear wedding bands, with Prince Philip, Prince William, and Prince Charles all forgoing them.

The tradition of using Welsh gold in royal wedding rings continued with Princess Eugenie's wedding to Jack Brooksbank in 2018. Notably, Brooksbank did not wear a ring himself, which is customary for men in the British royal family.

Royal wedding cake

The wedding cake is usually the first task that the bride and groom perform jointly as husband and wife, imbuing the cake with symbolism and meaning beyond being a delicious dessert. Royal wedding cakes are often large enough to serve over 2,000 people, with slices packaged and sent to charities and organisations close to the couple, as well as being served to guests in attendance.

The weight of royal wedding cakes throughout history has varied from 300 lbs to over 500 lbs. For example, the cake at Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's wedding in 1947 weighed 500 lbs and was nine feet tall.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding cake was eight tiers of traditional fruit cake, standing three feet tall. It featured more than 900 handcrafted details, including the couple's monogram, and a huge variety of flowers and leaves.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding cake consisted of two single-tiered cakes and one two-tiered cake. Their cake was lemon and elderflower, finished with Swiss meringue buttercream and decorated with 150 fresh flowers, including British peonies and roses.

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's wedding cake was red velvet, covered in fondant and decorated with hundreds of handmade sugar ivy pieces and leaves to celebrate the autumn season.

While the tradition is for a fruit cake, some couples have opted for more experimental flavours in recent years.

Royal wedding locations

Royal weddings are often held in churches and chapels, with the choice of venue being a standard rite of passage for the couple.

St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle

This chapel has been the location of many royal weddings, including those of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones, and four of Queen Victoria's children. The chapel has a capacity of 800 guests and features Gothic-style architecture and a vaulted stone ceiling. It is located on the grounds of Windsor Castle, where Prince Harry was also baptised.

Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace

The Chapel Royal was the royal wedding venue of choice for many years, starting with Queen Anne's wedding in 1683. Queen Victoria married Prince Albert here in 1840, followed by King George V (then known as Prince George, Duke of York) in 1893. The small chapel seats only 100 people and is located within St. James's Palace, which was the residence of many British monarchs before Queen Victoria's reign.

Westminster Abbey, London

Westminster Abbey has been the British royal family's coronation venue since 1066 and has also been the site of many royal weddings. The first royal wedding at this location was that of King Henry I in 1100. More recently, it has been the venue of choice for Prince William and Kate Middleton, Queen Elizabeth II's daughter Princess Anne, and Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. The abbey is technically a "royal peculiar," meaning it is under sovereign control rather than belonging to a specific diocese.

St. Paul's Cathedral, London

St. Paul's Cathedral is one of the most iconic wedding venues, having hosted the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1981. Other royal weddings held here include that of Prince Arthur, King Henry VII's son, in 1501. The cathedral boasts the second-largest dome in Europe and is decorated with frescos and mosaics.

The Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, Windsor

This historic chapel, located within the grounds of Princess Beatrice's family home, was the site of her private wedding to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in 2020. The venue is available to select members of the public, including staff of the royal household and people who live and work within Windsor Great Park.

Frequently asked questions