Royal weddings compared: Charles and Di, William and Kate, Jim and Jean
In the May 2011 issue, Vanity Fair compares the wedding of William and Kate to the wedding of Charles and Diana. For comparison, I’ve added information on the wedding of my parents, Jim Gabler and Jean (Grossmann) Gabler.
Date
Charles and Di: July 29, 1981
William and Kate: April 29, 2011
Jim and Jean: February 2, 1974
Location
Charles and Di: St. Paul’s Cathedral
William and Kate: Westminster Abbey
Jim and Jean: 1904 Selby Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota
Number of Guests
Charles and Di: 3,500
William and Kate: 1,900
Jim and Jean: 30
Bride’s Age
Di: 20
Kate: 29
Jean: 23
Groom’s Age
Charles: 32
William: 28
Jim: 27
Length of Courtship
Charles and Di: Brief
William and Kate: Eight years
Jim and Jean: 15 months
Bride’s Fleet Street Nickname
Di: Shy Di
Kate: Waity Kate
Jean: Jean
Bride’s Mode of Arrival
Di: Glass-and-gold horse-drawn carriage
Kate: Royal limousine
Jean: ’72 Ford Maverick
Uninvited Black Sheep
Charles and Di: Dame Barbara Cartland
William and Kate: Fergie
Jim and Jean: None (so they say)
Absent U.S. President
Charles and Di: Ronald Reagan
William and Kate: Barack Obama
Jim and Jean: Richard Nixon
Invited Canadian Prime Minister
Charles and Di: Pierre Trudeau
William and Kate: Stephen Harper
Jim and Jean: Pierre Trudeau [not invited]
Uninvited Libyan Leadar
Charles and Di: Muammar Qaddafi
William and Kate: Muammar Qaddafi
Jim and Jean: Muammar Qaddafi
Proposal Location
Charles and Di: Buckingham Palace
William and Kate: Kenya, in log cabin
Jim and Jean: Met Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota
Bride’s Wedding-Eve Accommodations
Di: Clarence House
Kate: Goring Hotel, in Belgravia
Jean: Her apartment in Whittier, Minneapolis
Bride’s Wedding-Eve Company
Di: The Queen Mother
Kate: Her family
Jean: Her roommate Cathy
Tina Brown on Assignment for…
Charles and Di: Tatler
William and Kate: Newsweek/Daily Beast
Jim and Jean: Sunday Times
Current Price of Wedding Commemorative Plate
Charles and Di: $45 (used, on eBay)
William and Kate: $96.31
Jim and Jean: Got their plates free when they opened a bank account at TCF