The wedding of King George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

Today we look at the wedding of King George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

After rejecting King Georges marriage proposal twice, Elizabeth finally accepted his proposal and they were married on 26th April 1923.

The couple were married at Wesminster Abbey. It was the first Royal wedding to take place at the Abbey since the 13th century. Upon her entrance into the Abbey, Elizabeth placed her Bouquet of white roses on the tomb of the unknown warrior. This has become a gesture that all royal brides have since done.

There were 8 Bridesmaid’s who followed Elizabeth and her father down the aisle to the sound of Lead Us, Heavenly Father, Lead Us sung by the boy’s choir.

King George wore his RAF full dress - his rank at the time of marriage was Group Captian.

Elizabeth’s dress was designed by Madame Handley Seymour. The dress was traditional full length with a court train, it also followed fashion of the time and had a drop waist and unshaped bodice. Her headdress was worn low over the brow holding the veil to the brides head.

The couple had 14 wedding cakes, the main cake weighed 300 pounds and had 9 tiers, the top tier was a model of the newly weds. They was also a model of Windsor Castle and St George’s Chapel on the first tier.
The couple set off for their honeymoon after the wedding breakfast at Buckingham Palace. They honeymooned at a manor house (Polesden Lacecy) in Surrey and then went to Scotland.

Next week we look at the wedding of Queen Elizabth II and Prince Philip