Tuesday 26 April 2011

The Royal Wedding

After a gap of nearly 30 years since his own father married, Prince William is marrying Kate Middleton (or Catherine as she really is) this Friday, 29th April. I remember very vividly the last "big" Royal Wedding with Prince Charles and Diana Spencer as they got married 4 days after I did!. Yes my own wedding was 25th July 1981 and they married on the Wednesday, 29th July. My dear Hb and I were on our honeymoon at the time and all the service, which we watched on the TV in the hotel lounge, was dubbed into Spanish. It was very memorable and very funny.

Without stating the obvious, sadly Charles and Diana's fate seemed sealed from the start. She was the same age as me too (her birthday was 1st July). At the beginning I felt slight pangs of jealously that she had infinite wealth whilst we started our married life in a rented flat with me still a physiotherapy student. Nearly 30 years later I know that I am the one who was truly blessed and I will be celebrating my Pearl Wedding with my darling Hb in July.....sneak peek...we are going on a rather special break for this and I will take the camera with me..!!

I honestly wish this couple the very best. They do seem very suited, they have been together for a very long time now and Kate appears, unlike the poor naive Diana, quite at ease with all that will be expected of her. She also appears to have a man who genuinely loves and respects her.

I do like to buy a little something to commemorate these occasions and you all saw my Cath Kidston Royal Wedding tea towel in another post but here it is again.
But look what I managed to find in good old Mark's and Spencer's...

It's made by a good Staffordshire pottery, I do like to support British firms for this type of souvenir. It has got both their names on and the date of the wedding at the back.
It's also a rather large square cup and is more like a mug size which suits me well.

One other fun thing I bought is the limited edition Oyster card which is being sold just this week. It will join my Tutankhamen one which I showed you all in this post.
We are lucky enough to be celebrating my daughter's future father-in-law's birthday that very day, in the evening. We have also been given a bank holiday here in the UK to enjoy the celebrations.I shall be tuned into the TV in the morning to watch the pomp and ceremony of the Wedding on the TV. We are pretty good at staging these things, I am sure it will be wonderful. I shall drink my tea from my Royal Wedding tea cup and saucer and later we will drive down to Kent to continue with some more celebrating, but of the birthday kind.

I also found this on the front of my favourite tonic to go with my Bombay Sapphire...you know what I shall also be drinking to help with the celebrations!


I hope you all enjoy the wedding too, wherever you are in the world, and I really do wish this couple a happy, long life together. I can heartily recommend marriage. Like William's mother I was a 20 year old in July 1981 taking her first steps with her new husband and it really was the best decision I ever made in my life. I have a feeling they may well be blessed, lets hope so.

Cheers!

Bye for now,

Jane x

25 comments:

  1. Hello Jane!

    What a great post, and it brings back the memories from the wedding in 1981! I was quite young still (oh those were the days my friend...) and we did watch the ceremony with my best friend. We didn't know all the royals back then but I just loved Diana in her (then) spectacular dress. I wish I'll be as happy on this Friday when we'll watch this wedding!

    Thank you so much for sharing your precious wedding-finds and happy and sunny week!

    Yours,
    Mia

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  2. ...and I got so carried away by the royals ;) that I forgot the most important thing: I am wishing you many, many happy years together, you&M, and happiest Pearl Wedding already!

    Yours again,
    Mia

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  3. Hi Mia, yes it really is a long time ago now...I was a young fresh faced 20 year old. I cannot believe that we will be celebrating 30 years together this July! Thanks for your early good wishes...there is a real treat planned for us. Enjoy watching the wedding on Friday, I wonder what the dress will be like...? Take care my dear,
    Jane x

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  4. Oh Jane I can't wait until the wedding, I do love a royal wedding!!
    I too remember Charles and Diana's wedding as it was the year we got married too, we were married on September 12th.
    I too wish them lifelong happiness!
    Vivienne x

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  5. I'm so excited Vivienne, Royal Weddings are just SO good! 1981 was a great year for us wasn't it...how funny we were married the same year! Enjoy the celebrations,
    Jane x

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  6. HI Jane, Love your Royal Wedding post. I ordered a few Royal items from CK to be delivered here in Vermont, and guess what the mugs came unbroken! My first experience was not good everything broke. I just couldn't resist to try once again! I will be posting my purchased soon. Love your cup and saucer. I will be watching the wedding also. I can remember Diana's wedding so well and her dress. I think Kate's will be more streamline!? She will look gorgeous! Thank you for sharing your finds. Happy Anniversary! xoRobin❤

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  7. I know you are a great CK fan Robin, I'm so glad your goods arrived intact this time!I agree I think Kate will waer a very sleek, streamlined dress, she does not seems a "puffy/bows" type girl. I am sure she will look out of this world, she is a very pretty girl.
    Enjoy the celebrations,
    Jane x

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  8. lovely memorbilia and a lovely story of your own wedding.
    i watched Charles an Diana wed from a large screen in the British Embassy in Morocco and shed quite a few tears, i'll probably need my hankie on friday too.
    Diana's dress was beautiful and i too can't wait to see Catherine's dress.

    warmest wishes xxx

    millie

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  9. Thanks Millie, I will also have a hanky close at hand on Friday...I am dreadful crying when I'm happy..probably worse than when I'm sad! I'm shall really struggle when my own daughter gets married next year...I will need very waterproof mascara! Friday will be great. Cheers!
    Jane x

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  10. I will have to set my alarm very early--I think coverage begins at 4 am here. I'm on school vacation this week so my motivation to get up at that time is not so good.
    I was living at the beach, waitressing, while on summer break from college, when I watched Diana and Charles' wedding on a little TV set. Who knew all the drama that would come from that marriage!I am hopeful that William and Kate's will be a much happier one!

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  11. The happy couple has a world of people wishing them happiness, and they can't ask for more than that! I got behind on your posts, but really love the finished heart cake. There's more than one happy couple in Britain, right? The silver pendant is just beautiful!

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  12. Hi Jane, that will be an early start for you...I think it really is worth setting the alarm for...I am not sure when we will next see a big Royal Wedding again on this scale.....it's set to be watched by billions!I know we will put on a great show! I really do wish them well. Enjoy Friday :0)
    Jane x

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  13. Good to see you Linda and yes there certainly is more than 1 happy couple here isn't there ;0) Milly and Tom's engagement was such fun and yes they loved the cake and she the pendant. Here's to William and Kate!
    Jane x

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  14. I enjoyed reading your post and like you I'm really looking forward to the Royal Wedding! Your souvenirs are lovely. Have a great time on Friday!
    Helen x

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  15. Cheers Helen, enjoy the festivities!
    Jane x

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  16. Jane, loved reading your post about the wedding and I'm so glad that your marriage turned out so wonderful and I also hope that this one will be blessed with love and happiness too. I was so filled with hope when Diana and Charles married, and each disaster that happened to them eroded away my hope that fairy tales could come true. Let's hope this one works.

    Congrats on your anniversary and I am looking forward to your travel photos!

    Hugs, Teresa

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  17. I really think that William and Kate have a lot in common, unlike Charles and Diana. Let's hope this is a real fairytale ending Teresa, I wish them all the very best. Thanks for your early good wishes for my 30th anniv, there will be some great travel photos from that!
    Jane x

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  18. Morning Jane, you are so good at blogging fantastic post, but I did spot an error :O) Charles and Diana didn't get married four days after you in January!! My maths is dreadful so I did re-read it several times lol! I really enjoyed that post and I just love your mug/cup and saucer, I too remember the last royal wedding, I was 10! We lived in Germany and as it was an RAF base we lived on the celebrations were fabulous and went on well into the night, I even remember Princess Di standing on the hospital steps with William in her arms as a new born baby, I too will be tuned in on Friday if only to see the dress. Hope you are well and CONGRATULATIONS on 30 yrs, thought I was doing well with 16! Laney x

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  19. Laney, how fab for you to spot the error!!! I could say I put it there deliberately...;0)..it just shows how your brain tends to just read things! I shall correct it now and thank you for being so observant!I am sure your celebrations in Germany must have been great in 1981, it does seem such a long time ago now. Enjoy the celebrations here on Friday,
    Jane x

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  20. This has been fun to read and imagine the excitement brewing not only in England, but everywhere, as we all anticipate a new chapter in this modern day fairytale! It was a trip down memory lane to remember Princess Diana and sobering to realize how much time has passed.
    I love that you are sharing your collection of commemorative memorabilia with us! I wish the young royals many years of happiness!
    Hope you're having a beautiful week! :o)

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  21. Dear Jane, thank you for a special lovely post! As I have same age with you, I remember so well that Diana's wedding day! I was working in a bank and all we were watching tv. The city was empty like it was Sunday!
    I wish all the best for William and Kate and long happy life!
    Your tea towel and the cup are wonderful and really great you got that card for your collection!
    I wish you many happy years with your Hb!
    xxx Teje

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  22. I too cannot believe that 30 years have passed Michele...only 1 more day to go now and yes I wish them a long happy life together. Have a great week!
    Jane x

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  23. It's fun remembering where we all were in 1981 isn't it Teje! Enjoy watching all the celebrations tomorrow,
    Jane x

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  24. I'm loving all your Wedding souvenirs, I've failed miserably on buying any and have only just remembered that my Hb's Gran in Germany is a big British Royal Family fan so I might try and get a few things for her. It was a lovely day wasn't it :) Bethx

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  25. It was very special day Beth, I loved every minute of it and I thought they looked so happy.Great memories and I still enjoy drinking my tea in my cup!
    Jane x

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