With the 10th anniversary of the 2011 royal wedding happening this week, I was spoiled for choice with history bites. The location? The guests? Maybe the designer? However, I wanted to focus on one of the more solemn points during the wedding. There are often many touching and heartfelt moments during British royal weddings. However, there are few that are as poignant as the bouquet being laid on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. But where did that tradition come from? Today we are looking at royal wedding bouquets at Westminster Abbey.
When did the tradition of laying royal wedding bouquets at Westminster Abbey start?
This very heartfelt tradition started in 1923, when Lady Elizabeth Lyon-Bowes married the Duke of York. She had lost her older brother Fergus in the First World War; he died at the Battle of Loos (in 1915), and like many British soldiers, his body was never recovered. She laid her bouquet on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as she left the Abbey. It was a personal memorial for Elizabeth, but also one for every soldier lost.
Catherine Middleton’s Wedding Bouquet
After the future Queen Elizabeth, several royal brides continued on the tradition. However, there has been a slight change in the tradition- the bouquet is often laid at the Tomb the day after the wedding, rather than on the way out. And this tradition isn’t limited to brides who marry at the Abbey. The Duchess of Sussex, Princess Eugenie, and Princess all sent their bouquets to be laid at the Tomb after their weddings in Windsor. Given how interconnected the British Royal Family is with the armed forces, it is a particularly thoughtful tribute.
What do you think of the tradition of laying royal wedding bouquets at Westminster Abbey?
Cheers,
The Historian
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