The Royal Wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson (1986)
Title
The Royal Wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson (1986)
Subject
Royal weddings
Live television programs
URL
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Description
Content Description from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Prince_Andrew_and_Sarah_Ferguson):
Four months after announcing their engagement, Andrew and Sarah married on 23 July 1986, at Westminster Abbey in London. The Lord Chamberlain's office was responsible for organising the ceremony and guest list, while the royal household was left in charge of the reception. Sarah made her way with her father Ronald from Clarence House in the Glass Coach, arriving at the church at 11:30. The Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie conducted at the 45-minute wedding ceremony. As the couple exchanged vows, Sarah mistakenly repeated Andrew's middle name, Christian; five years earlier, Diana, Princess of Wales, made a similar mistake by reversing the order of Prince Charles's names. Unlike the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana, Sarah chose to say the word "obey" in her vow "to love, cherish and to obey." In keeping with tradition, the wedding ring was crafted from Welsh gold. The tradition of using Welsh gold within the wedding rings of the royal family dates back to 1923.
Both Andrew's brothers participated in the wedding ceremony; Prince Edward was his best man, and Prince Charles read a lesson during the service. The bridesmaids and page boys included Princess Anne's children Peter and Zara Phillips, and Prince Charles's eldest son Prince William. Members of foreign royal families, as well as the U.S. First Lady Nancy Reagan were among the guests. The ceremony featured many ceremonial aspects, including use of the state carriages and roles for the Household Cavalry. The Duke and Duchess of York left Westminster Abbey for Buckingham Palace in an open-top 1902 State Landau. Around 100,000 people gathered to witness the Andrew and Sarah's first kiss as man and wife on the balcony of the palace. After a traditional wedding breakfast for 120 guests at Buckingham Palace, the married couple and some 300 guests moved to a party at Claridge's hotel.
The 5½-foot-tall "marzipan and rum-soaked" wedding cake was supplied by the navy supply school HMS Raleigh. They made two identical cakes in case one was damaged. 100 cakes were offered at a competition held by the palace, and subsequently they were all donated to hospices. 30,000 flowers were used to decorate the abbey, all of which were eventually also donated to hospices. Albert Mackenzie Watson was chosen by Prince Andrew to take the wedding portraits.
Ephemera: none available
Limitations: This page displays video content associated with a videotape in the CCDR Collections audiovisual library recorded by Joann W. Kealiinohomoku. Please be advised that, because this videotape has not yet been digitized for direct access, we cannot guarantee that the video content on this page is an exact match with the content originally recorded by Dr. Kealiinohomoku. We also cannot guarantee function or access for re-hosted video content.
Four months after announcing their engagement, Andrew and Sarah married on 23 July 1986, at Westminster Abbey in London. The Lord Chamberlain's office was responsible for organising the ceremony and guest list, while the royal household was left in charge of the reception. Sarah made her way with her father Ronald from Clarence House in the Glass Coach, arriving at the church at 11:30. The Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie conducted at the 45-minute wedding ceremony. As the couple exchanged vows, Sarah mistakenly repeated Andrew's middle name, Christian; five years earlier, Diana, Princess of Wales, made a similar mistake by reversing the order of Prince Charles's names. Unlike the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana, Sarah chose to say the word "obey" in her vow "to love, cherish and to obey." In keeping with tradition, the wedding ring was crafted from Welsh gold. The tradition of using Welsh gold within the wedding rings of the royal family dates back to 1923.
Both Andrew's brothers participated in the wedding ceremony; Prince Edward was his best man, and Prince Charles read a lesson during the service. The bridesmaids and page boys included Princess Anne's children Peter and Zara Phillips, and Prince Charles's eldest son Prince William. Members of foreign royal families, as well as the U.S. First Lady Nancy Reagan were among the guests. The ceremony featured many ceremonial aspects, including use of the state carriages and roles for the Household Cavalry. The Duke and Duchess of York left Westminster Abbey for Buckingham Palace in an open-top 1902 State Landau. Around 100,000 people gathered to witness the Andrew and Sarah's first kiss as man and wife on the balcony of the palace. After a traditional wedding breakfast for 120 guests at Buckingham Palace, the married couple and some 300 guests moved to a party at Claridge's hotel.
The 5½-foot-tall "marzipan and rum-soaked" wedding cake was supplied by the navy supply school HMS Raleigh. They made two identical cakes in case one was damaged. 100 cakes were offered at a competition held by the palace, and subsequently they were all donated to hospices. 30,000 flowers were used to decorate the abbey, all of which were eventually also donated to hospices. Albert Mackenzie Watson was chosen by Prince Andrew to take the wedding portraits.
Ephemera: none available
Limitations: This page displays video content associated with a videotape in the CCDR Collections audiovisual library recorded by Joann W. Kealiinohomoku. Please be advised that, because this videotape has not yet been digitized for direct access, we cannot guarantee that the video content on this page is an exact match with the content originally recorded by Dr. Kealiinohomoku. We also cannot guarantee function or access for re-hosted video content.
Original Format
TV broadcast recorded off air by JWK: Betamax tape
Creator
Tim Marshall (producer)
Elaine Rose (presentation)
Publisher
British Broadcasting Company (BBC)
Date
1986 July 23
Citation
“The Royal Wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson (1986),” Cross-Cultural Dance Resources Collections, accessed March 19, 2025, https://ccdrcollections.omeka.net/items/show/257.