Royal wedding bridesmaids and supporters

Prince William and Catherine Middleton's choice of attendants for their wedding day continue a long tradition of including royal relatives in their wedding party. Prince William has chosen his brother, Prince Harry, as his best-man (or supporter) and Catherine has chosen her sister Pippa as her Maid of honor.

Here's a look back at some royal wedding parties from the past.

Queen Victoria & Prince Albert
British Monarchy Flickr

Queen Victoria & Prince Albert - February 10, 1840

Supporters: Prince Albert's father, the Duke of Saxe Coburg Gotha and his brother, Prince Ernest, The Hereditary Prince

12 train bearers - all daughters of peers of the realm

Prince & Princess of Wales
Source: Wikipedia

Albert Edward, Prince of Wales & Princess Alexandra of Denmark - March 10, 1863

Supporters: His brother-in-law, Crown Prince of Prussia and his uncle Ernest, Duke of Coburg

Bridesmaids: Eight unmarried daughters of earls and countesses

Prince George, Duke of York, and Princess May of Teck July 6, 1893

Supporters: The Groom's father, The Prince of Wales and his uncle, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh.

Bridesmaids: Nine granddaughters and one great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria:

Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh, Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh, Princess Victoria and Princess Maud of Wales. Princess Alice of Battenberg, Princess Margaret of Connaught, Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh, Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg and Princess Patricia of Connaught

Princess Mary
Source: Wikipedia

Princess Mary & Viscount Lascelles - February 28, 1922

Eight bridesmaids, including Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon

Prince Albert, Duke of York & Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon - April 26, 1923

Supporter/Best man: The Prince of Wales

Lady Mary Cambridge, Lady May Cambridge, the Hon. Diamond Hardinge, Lady Mary Thynne, Lady Katherine Hamilton, Miss Elizabeth Cator, the Hon. Elizabeth  Elphinstone and the Hon. Cecilia Bowes Lyon




Princess Marina
Source: Wikipedia

 Prince George, Duke of Kent and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark November 29, 1934

Best man: The Prince of Wales

Eight bridesmaids: Princess Elizabeth of York, Princesses Irene, Eugenie and Katherine of Greece, Princess Juliana (later Queen) of the Netherlands, the Grand Duchess Kira of Russia, Lady Mary Cambridge and Lady Iris Mountbatten

Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester & Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott November 6, 1935

Best men/Supporters: The Prince of Wales and The Duke of York

Eight bridesmaids: Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. Lady Mary Cambridge, Miss Anne Hawkins, Miss Claire Phipps, Lady Elizabeth Scott, Lady Angela Scott and Miss Moyra Scott.

Princess Elizabeth & Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten - November 20, 1947

Supporter/Best man - Prince Philip's first cousin, the third Marquess of Milford Haven

Eight bridesmaids: HRH Princess Margaret, HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent, Lady Caroline Montagu-Douglas-Scott, Lady Mary Cambridge, Lady Elizabeth Lambart, The Hon. Pamela Mountbatten, The Hon Margaret Elphinstone, The Hon Diana Bowes-Lyon

Pages: Prince William of Gloucester and Prince Michael of Kent

Princess Margaret & Antony Armstrong Jones - May 6, 1960

Best man/Supporter: Dr. Roger W. Gilliatt. Originally Jeremy Fry but he was caught in a scandal. In 1952 he had been arrested in Hyde Park, and fined £2 after pleading "guilty to a minor offense."

Eight child bridesmaids, including Princess Anne



Princess Alexandra & Angus Ogilvy
Source: British Monarchy - Flickr

 Princess Alexandra & Angus Ogilvy - April 24, 1963

Supporter/Best man: Hon Peregrine Fairfax

2 pages and 5 Bridesmaids, including Elizabeth, Archduchess of Austria and Princess Anne

Princess Anne & Captain Mark Philips November 14, 1973

Supporter/Best man - Captain Eric Grounds

Bridesmaid: Lady Sarah Armstrong Jones. Page: Prince Edward. Princess Anne deliberately chose to have only two attendants because of her previous experience as a bridesmaid wrangling 'unruly children.'

Prince Charles & Lady Diana Spencer July 29, 1981

Supporters/Best men: Prince Andrew and Prince Edward

Bridesmaids: Lady Sarah Armstrong Jones, Catherine Cameron, India Hicks, Clementine Hambro, Sarah Jane Gaselee

Pages: Lord Nicholas Windsor & Edward van Cutsem

Prince Andrew & Sarah Ferguson - July 23, 1986

Supporter/Best man - Prince Edward

Bridesmaids - Lady Rosanagh Innes-Ker, Miss Laura Fellowes, Miss Zara Philips, Miss Alice Ferguson

Pages: Prince William, Peter Phillips, Andrew Ferguson, Seamus Makim

Prince Edward & Sophie Rhys Jones - June 19, 1999

Supporters/Best man: The Prince of Wales & The Duke of York

Bridesmaids: Camilla Hadden and Olivia Taylor

Pageboys: Harry Warburton and Felix Sowerbutts

Prince William & Catherine Middleton - April 29, 2011

Best man: Prince Harry
Maid of Honor: Pippa Middleton

Bridesmaids: The Lady Louise Windsor, The Hon. Margarita Armstrong-Jones, Miss Grace van Cutsem, Miss Eliza Lopes,

Pageboys: Master William (Billy) Lowther-Pinkerton, Master Tom Pettifer

© Marilyn Braun 2011

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Diana would have been 'very, very proud' of Prince William, says Harry

Diana would have been 'very, very proud' of Prince William, says Prince Harry

You would have thought Prince Harry would have other things on his mind as he prepared for his gruelling Arctic trek to the North Pole with a group of wounded servicemen. But getting used to sub-zero temperatures hasn't stopped him from thinking about his big brother's ( Prince William ) wedding at the end of April.

The 26-year-old said today that his late mother would have been 'very, very proud' that Prince William was getting married.

........See More

Prince Harry: the Best Man

Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne, in his military uniform

Ever since he was born, his destiny relegated to that of being just a "spare" of an "heir" in the British monarchy. A spare is the term commonly used in monarchy referring to the heir-apparent or a sovereign's second son, in the event the heir-apparent could not make it to the throne, such was the famous case of King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II, who became King when his older brother, Edward VIII, abdicated the throne.

Though people saw him before as a way-ward Prince, Harry slowly transformed into a very heart-warming, responsible British royal. Just like his uncle (Prince Andrew) and grandfather (Prince Philip), the Prince had by-passed a university education to join the military. He went to the elite Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, England and became an accomplished soldier. Prince Harry was barely 13 when his mother passed away in 1997.

The Prince is patron to many charities, a humanitarian crusade made famous by his late mother, Diana Princess of Wales. He established Sentebale in Lesotho, Africa with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to help vulnerable and homeless children

He vowed to continue the legacy left by his mother by establishing and supporting various charities, when he is not in his military uniform, he is actively participating in many charity events. He is now seen as a patron to many charitable foundations, mostly about children and the homeless.

Among the Waleses brothers, it is Prince Harry who expressed devotion to military life, he had been vocal with his intention to serve with his troops at wars, but his commanders are wary to send him to war-inflicted areas like Afghanistan and Iraq since his safety might be sacrificed. As third-in-line to the British throne, it is the primary duty of the British military commanders to ensure Harry's safety as they are under oath of allegiance to the British ruling sovereign. 

Chelsy Davy, a South African Law graduate, Harry's on-and-off girlfriend for 8 years now. They split in September 2010 due to intense pressure of living apart, in February 2011, Chelsy returned to London to resume her training at London's Law firm.

In 2008, at his insistence, Prince Harry was dispatched to Afghanistan near the border of the Taliban forces to be with his comrades, he was the tank commander of his batallion, it was a top secret in the British military and his direct commanders made effort to hide it from the media. But six weeks later, one reporter spotted Harry on the ground and the news made headlines through out the world, the British field commanders were all afraid of the Prince's safety that they forcibly released him from the battlefield, Harry at first refused but the British Armed forces, in reverence to his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II who is the commander-in-chief, gave an ultimatum to the Prince to leave the field, with a heavy heart, Harry cooperated and boarded a British war aircraft and went home, when he arrived at the airport, Prince William and Prince Charles were there to fetch him. It was an emotional welcome as the brothers embraced each other.

Now, after secretly throwing a stag party for Prince William, Harry left England for Norway to undergo a rigid training for an expedition trek to the North Pole. This is part of the program of Walking With the Wounded Charity, where he is the patron, to take a five-day trek to the coldest part of the earth to raise funds for the charity. He arrived at the Arctic with a group of wounded servicemen to embark on the grueling training which include sleeping on the ice track, dragging a 100kg sled and daily lectures. The Prince will take part on the 200-mile challenge in the North Pole hauling a sled to generate more funds for this charity which aims to support wounded and paralyzed military who had served in wars.

The Prince was quoted as saying "I am so proud to be patron of Walking With The Wounded. This extraordinary expedition will raise awareness of the debt this country owes to those it sends off to fight - only for them to return wounded and scarred, physically and emotionally."

 Prince Harry and wounded servicemen

The prince, together with wounded servicemen, embarked into a grueling training in the Arctic to take part in the five-day-200-mile sled hauling in North Pole to raise funds for charity

He will take a leave temporarily from his training in the Army Air Corps as an Apache helicopter pilot to take part of this charity fund raising. He is scheduled to be back in England on April 5. The Prince is having an off and on relationship with South African law graduate, Chelsy Davy, a daughter of a Zimbabwean millionaire, who is more discreet, behave, responsible, independent and career-minded than Kate Middleton. Davy is now back in England with a Law job in London, she is reportedly attending the royal wedding as Prince Harry's date.

Harry will stand as Prince William's best man to the wedding and the one who will carry the wedding ring to the altar, he will also prepare his speech to honor the marriage of his brother, but said "to be very selective in using words" because his grandmother, the Queen, is in attendance and he doesn't want to sound very naughty.

British Royals: December Events

PRINCE WILLIAM DID NOT SPEND CHRISTMAS WITH HIS FIANCEE

December 18, 2010

Prince William and Catherine Middleton attended a fund-raising gala of the Teenage Cancer Trust in Norfolk, England on December 18, 2010. This is the first joint event they have attended since the announcement of their engagement in November 16, 2010.

Contrary to the earlier rumor that Miss Middleton might be invited by the Queen to join the royal family at Sandringham Estate in time for the Christmas holiday celebration, after all she is already engaged to a royal family member, the latest buzz stated that Middleton  was not invited and she spent Christmas with her family at Berkshire county. Prince William was not on her side also as the young military officer choose to spend Christmas with his comrades at his barracks at the Royal Armed Force in North Wales where he is currently a search-and-rescue operation pilot.

PRINCE HARRY'S CHARITY WORK 

December 19, 2010 

Prince Harry, third-in-line to the British throne and the youngest son of the Prince of Wales has recently received a “Golden Heart Award” during a visit to Berlin, Germany. Golden Heart Award is a prestigious German award given to people who work tirelessly in the promotion of humanity. The award was handed to him by Bettina Wulff, wife of German President, Christian Wulff, the Prince felt “hugely humble” with the award, he also emphasized that his charity will focused more on “care, health and education”.

Prince Harry, a patron to many charities, and one of these leading charities is Sentebale, a charity he co-founded with a friend from Lesotho which aims to help young people affected with AIDS and provides support to children who lost their parents.

The young Prince, a lieutenant in the British Armed Forces, deeply involved himself in charity works, a crusade made famous by his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. During an interview with the BBC news on the occasion of the 10^th death anniversary of the late Princess of Wales, Harry and his older brother, Prince William, expressed their intentions to continue the crusade left by their mother and to keep her legacy alive.

ZARA PHILLIPS, finally engaged! 

December 21, 2010

Zara and Mike Tindall had been in a relationship for seven years and had purchased a home together near Gatcombe Park, a family estate of Zara's mother Princess Anne. Early this year, the champion equestrianne had purchased a property in Portugal and now start constructing her dream villa. Finally, the hunky rugby captain proposed marriage to the Queen's eldest granddaughter on December 20, 2010 and the next day, the Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips announced the official engagement of their daughter. No wedding date is finalized yet. Zara, just like her closest cousin Prince William, did not spend at the royal family's traditional gathering at Christmas in Sandringham, she chose to spend the holiday with Tindall at their home.

THE QUEEN'S CHRISTMAS 2010 MESSAGE

December 25, 2010

Every Christmas day at 3:00 pm, the ruling British monarch gave a special Christmas message on television for her subjects. This year her speech focused on religion and sports as ways of building communities and unity among her people. The speech received mixed reactions from viewers, but as a non-British subject (I saw her Christmas broadcast 2010 and her 1957 file video Christmas message)I would not dwell so much on Her Majesty's speech but more on how this wonderful monarch draws so much admiration and respect. Her tone and voice did not change as years go by, she still spoke with softness and humbleness, her careful selection of words and enigmatic facial expression reveal a simple and conservative woman deep inside. Her dedication and devotion to her role made her, at 84, still physically active doing duties to the commonwealth and the Kingdom.

The Heir and the Spare

The Heir and the Spare - the term refers to the first two children of the ruling sovereign or a King/Queen-in-waiting. A Spare acts as  a "reserve" in the event an heir-apparent, for some reason, could not ascend the throne, such was the case of King Edward VIII and his younger brother King George VI (father of Queen Elizabeth II). When Edward voluntarily abdicated in 1936 to marry his divorced American lover, Wallis Simpson (divorce people were not allowed to join the royal court before) his younger brother (known as Prince Bertie the Duke of York) took his place as sovereign of the United Kingdom and reigned as George VI for 16 years.

The Heir and the Spare, Prince William and Prince Harry

Edward and George's father, King George V, was once "a spare" too. George V, grandson of Queen Victoria, was the former Duke of York and second son of Victoria's heir, King Edward VII, but Edward's first born son and heir, Prince Albert Victor, the Duke of Clarence, died at the age of 28 just weeks after the announcement of his engagement to Princess Mary of Teck. The Duke of York had not only became "heir" but also married his brother's fiancee, Princess Mary of Teck.

The latest heir and spare are the Waleses brothers, Prince William and Prince Harry, children of Prince Charles and the late Princess of Wales, Diana. According to the book "Prince William: the boy who will be King" by Randi Reisfeld, during his teenage years, Prince William was terrified with the idea of becoming King that he confided to his mother that he does not want to take the throne and would take a police job instead (to protect his mother). Though Diana dismissed William's fear as part of his innocence, reports began circulating on Prince Harry's possible accession. Many years later, Princess Diana's instinct proved true as her eldest son gradually became serious with his various trainings as future King of England.

HRH Prince William of Wales

The Waleses brothers grew up very close to each other, they launched charity campaigns together and assumed most of the roles left by their mother on charity works. They both trained in the military, but Prince Harry, as a spare, certainly will most likely take the military as his lifetime career, so his training is more intense compared to William. Harry expressed his intention to serve the armed forces on the front line, so after he completed his training as an armored reconnaissance leader, he insisted to accompany his comrades to serve the Iraqi war, but his superiors declined siting a reason that as third-in-line to the British throne, Harry's safety, is the  priority of the royal armed forces.

In 2007 he was finally allowed to join his regiment in the war zone, so the young Lieutenant went to Afghanistan discreetly and became a tank commander, this mission was handled with utmost secrecy, the British Armed Forces did not release any reports involving the deportation of Prince Harry. But weeks later, the news was leak to international media that the Prince was serving in Afghanistan, fearing for his safety, his direct superiors, ordered his immediate release from the mission, in reverence to his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, the commander in chief of the British Armed forces. The Prince reportedly hesitated at first, expressing his intention to remain with his troops in the battlefield, but his field commanders insisted to send him back to England, deeply saddened with the order, Prince Harry however relented and was greeted happily at the Heathrow airport by his father, Prince Charles and Prince William.  Wills embraced his brother and was later seen carrying Harry's luggage unto the waiting royal car.

His Royal Highness Prince Harry of Wales

Prince Harry during his recent trip to the US promoting his charity, Sentebale

The Heir and the Spare are once again reunited in England, taking a good break from various military trainings and off to a well-deserve vacation mostly at Klosters, Switzerland for a skiing holiday. William and Harry frequently seen accompanying each other to various events, may it be sports, official tours or charity campaigns, they are inseparable and would often seen doing joint goodwill projects. They bonded closely and shared a common trait they both inherited from their mother - compassion.

But just like what their paternal great auntie, Princess Margaret, had realized, Prince Harry will always be THREE and William is TWO pronouncing their gap in the line of succession.