Princess Diana made a break from royal tradition during her wedding to then-Prince Charles.

Historically, royal brides including The Queen, Princess Margaret and Princess Anne vowed to “obey” their husbands as per the Anglican Book of Common Prayer dating back to 1662. However, Lady Diana Spencer chose to promise to ”love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health” during the ceremony at St. Paul’s Cathedral.

It was reported that Prince Charles and his bride-to-be had ”very serious” discussions about this with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Robert Runcie.

Dr Edward Carpenter, the Dean of Westminster Abbey, expressed his delight at the couple’s decision in an interview, saying: ”Marriage is the kind of relationship where there should be two equal partners, and if there is going to be a dominant partner, it won’t be settled by this oath. ‘I think this is much more Christian.'”


Wedding Of Prince Charles & Lady Diana Spencer© Getty

The choice was controversial at the time, and subsequent Royal brides such as Sarah Ferguson and Sophie Rhys-Jones did vow obedience when they married into the Royal family in 1986 and 1999 respectively. However, both Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle followed in Diana’s footsteps, omitting “obey” from their wedding vows.

Diana’s worries about Queen Camilla were brought to light by journalist Andrew Morton. The late Princess had recorded tapes for Morton, the transcripts of which were later published in his 1992 book, Diana: Her True Story.

In these recordings, Diana spoke of her increasing suspicion that Charles and Camilla were emotionally involved.


King Charles III And Queen Camilla Visit Jersey© Getty

Diana’s revised wedding vows weren’t the only unexpected element of the wedding, which occurred on July 29, 1981. The anxious 20 year old bride famously mixed up Prince Charles’ name during her vows, referring to him as Philip Charles Arthur George instead of Charles Philip Arthur George.

The marriage was unsuccessful. The couple, who welcomed Prince William in June 1982 and Prince Harry in September 1984, separated in 1992, shortly after the deterioration of their relationship became public knowledge.

Their marital issues were widely reported, and Charles and Diana divorced in 1996.