Since the arrival of television, Royal weddings have attracted enormous public attention, with millions of people all over the world watching in addition to the invited guests.
In contrast, the marriage of the future King George V to Princess May of Teck (later Queen Mary) in 1893 in the Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace, was a quiet affair: the chapel seats only 100.
Various venues have been used for Royal weddings over the last century. Since 1904, most members of the Royal Family have chosen to be married in London.
View footage of The Duke of York (later King George VI) marrying Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother):
The Chapel Royal in St. James's Palace was a popular setting for marriage during the reign of Queen Victoria. She married her husband, Prince Albert, in the Chapel Royal on 10 February 1840. Their eldest daughter, Victoria, was also married there in 1858.
Westminster Abbey became a popular venue for Royal weddings when Princess Patricia of Connaught chose it for her marriage to the Honourable Alexander Ramsay in 1919. It was the first time for 650 years that the Abbey had been used for a Royal wedding.
Westminster Abbey was also chosen for the marriage of King George V's daughter (Mary, Princess Royal) to Viscount Lascelles (later Earl of Harewood) in February 1922.
It was later the setting for the weddings of two of the King's sons: Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI) to Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother) in April 1923, and Prince George, Duke of Kent, to Princess Marina of Greece in November 1934.
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, was due to marry Lady Alice Montagu-Douglas-Scott in Westminster Abbey. Because of the sudden death of the bride's father, the Duke of Buccleuch, they were married instead in the private chapel at Buckingham Palace in November 1935.
Westminster Abbey was also the scene of the weddings of The Queen (as Princess Elizabeth) and The Duke of Edinburgh on 20 November 1947; Princess Margaret and Mr. Antony Armstrong-Jones (later Earl of Snowdon) on 6 May 1960; Princess Alexandra and the Hon. Angus Ogilvy (later Sir Angus) on 24 April 1963; Princess Anne (now The Princess Royal) and Captain Mark Phillips on 14 November 1973; and Prince Andrew (now The Duke of York) and Miss Sarah Ferguson on 23 July 1986.
On 29 April 2011 Prince William married Miss Catherine Middleton in Westminster Abbey.
The Prince of Wales, by contrast, married Lady Diana Spencer in St. Paul's Cathedral on 29 July 1981.
During the nineteenth century, St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, was a popular venue for Royal weddings. Probably the grandest wedding to take place in the chapel was in 1863, when The Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) and Princess Alexandra of Denmark (later Queen Alexandra) were married there.
The ceremony was witnessed by Queen Victoria from the Catherine of Aragon closet, as she was in mourning for her husband, Prince Albert.
Many of Queen Victoria's other children also married in St. George's Chapel, including Princess Helena, Princess Louise, Prince Arthur and Prince Leopold.
More recently, Prince Edward (now The Earl of Wessex) married Miss Sophie Rhys-Jones in St. George's Chapel on 19 June 1999 in a traditional service attended by 560 guests.
The marriage of The Prince of Wales to Mrs. Camilla Parker Bowles was dedicated in St. George's Chapel following a civil ceremony in Windsor's Guildhall on 9 April 2005.
Most Royal marriages are solemnised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, with carriage processions taking the Royal couple and members of the Royal Family to and from the marriage venue.
During a Royal wedding, the Royal Family traditionally sits on the right-hand side of the church, with the guests of the bridegroom, if he is not a member of the Royal Family, on the left.
If the bridegroom is a member of the Royal Family, he has a supporter (for example, Prince Edward to The Duke of York) or supporters (for example, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward to The Prince of Wales), instead of a best man. A non-Royal bridegroom marrying a Royal bride does have a best man.
Not all Royal marriages have taken place in London. The Duke of Kent married Miss Katharine Worsley in 1961 in York Minster.
In 1992 The Princess Royal married Commander Timothy Laurence, Royal Navy (now Vice Admiral Laurence), at a private ceremony at Crathie Church, near Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
