Not every royal wedding features a meringue dress with a three-metre train & a crowd of flower girls. These rebel royal brides threw out the rule break and decided to make each of their special days unique!
Princess Stephanie & Daniel Ducruet, 1995
It was Stephanie, the youngest child of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier of Monaco, who was in the car with her mother when it crashed in September 1982. After that, Stephanie took on a ‘wild child’ status and was rarely out of the news.
Daniel Ducruet was appointed her bodyguard when she went on tour to promote her music career. The pair already had two children, Louis and Pauline, by the time they married. Stephanie wore a lace rock-chick mini dress that is probably the shortest ever seen on a royal bride – giving her license to join the gang of rebel royal brides!
The couple divorced one year later. Stephanie has since been in relationships with a married elephant trainer and a Portuguese circus acrobat.
Princess Victoria & Daniel Westling, 2010
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden chose to be walked down the aisle by her father, King Carl XVI Gustaf. Nothing too controversial about that?
The decision was considered hopelessly old-fashioned in liberal Sweden. There, most brides and grooms walk down the aisle as a couple. They compromised: the King walked his daughter halfway, to be met by her groom.
The princess met Daniel, a personal trainer when she enrolled at his gym. At first, her family, and the Swedish, were sceptical but their wedding was the most-watched event on Swedish TV. And around 500,000 royal fans were cheering in the streets.
Prince Louis of Luxembourg & Tessy Antony, 2006
Tessy met Louis when they were both serving in the army. But he was also the third son of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg.
The pair had a child, Gabriel, in March 2006. The conventional and private royal house of Luxembourg was rocked by the revelation that 19-year-old Louis had a secret girlfriend, never mind a baby! It was announced that Louise and Tessy were to marry, and he renounced his succession rights. In this case, we get a rebel royal bride and groom in one!
The wedding was a quiet church affair with the bride wearing an off-the-rack Pronovias gown. Six-month-old Gabriel was the star of the day.
The couple had another son, Noah, a year later, but separated in 2017.
Princess Astrid & Johan Martin Ferner, 1961
Astrid of Norway, daughter of King Olav V, had acted as de facto First Lady since the early death of her mother. Now she wished to marry her sweetheart, Johan Martin Ferner, an Olympic sailor. But Johan was divorced.
The Bishop of Nidaros was the only one willing to officiate the marriage. His tiny church in Asker, only big enough for 200 people, was not the ideal wedding venue. Astrid wore a simple veil instead of a royal tiara – paving the way for rebel royal brides to come! Despite heavy snow, thousands of well-wishers turned out to cheer for the couple.
Astrid’s formal title became: Her Highness Princess Astrid Mrs Ferner. Mr and Mrs Ferner were married for 54 years before Johan’s death in 2015.
Lady Davina Windsor & Gary Lewis, 2004
She met him on a surfing holiday in Bali in 2000, they lived together in Auckland. In July 2004, the eldest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester married Maori sheep-shearer and carpenter Gary Lewis.
It was a quiet and private wedding in the chapel of Kensington Palace. Only family and close friends invited to attend.
The bride, 27, refused to wear a tiara, weaving blue and white flowers through her hair instead. And she had a role for her new 12-year-old stepson Ari in the ceremony: he gave a reading in Gaelic. The couple went on to have two children – Senna and Tane – but divorced in 2018.
Princess Mako & Kei Komuro, 2021
Like a fairytale princess, when she married her ‘commoner’ law-student boyfriend, Japan’s Princess Mako, 30, gave up her entire royal life for love. She now lives in New York as Mrs Komuro, an art historian and ‘former member of the Japanese imperial family’.
It was announced in 2017 that the eldest child of Prince Fumihito and Princess Kiko would marry Kei Komuro. But the wedding was postponed several times until October 2021.
There was no lavish ceremony with a crimson kimono – just a registry office and instant demotion. Mako became a commoner by Imperial Household Law. The former princess refused a ‘gift’ from the government of 140 million yen (AU$1.5 million).
Princess Margrethe & Henri de Montpezat, 1967
The announcement from the Danish Royal Court that Crown Princess Margrethe was to marry came as a surprise to many. The relationship between the unconventional princess and the London-based French diplomat was very private. Henri had never even lived in Denmark.
They married in Copenhagen and, although Margrethe’s heirloom lace dress had a six-metre train, and there were plenty of Euro royals in the church, the ceremony lasted just 20 minutes. Margrethe wanted it to be the same as any other wedding.
Once married, Henri adopted the Danish version of his name, to become Prince Henrik, and converted into the Danish church from Catholicism.
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