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A ROYAL WEDDING
Arthur, Duke of Connaught, married Louise Margaret of Prussia at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, on Thursday, 13 March 1879.
A ROYAL ENGAGEMENT
In February 1878, Arthur fell in love with Louise Margaret of Prussia at the wedding of his niece, Charlotte of Prussia. Louise Margaret’s sister Elisabeth, was marrying Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg, at the same ceremony.
When the engagement was announced, Queen Victoria was less than pleased as she did not consider Louise Margaret a suitable bride for her son as she felt the princess was too plain and her family scandalous. Louise Margaret’s parents had an unhappy marriage. However, the Queen changed her opinion when she met Louise Margaret and they would soon develop a close relationship.
THE WEDDING
Louise Margaret and Arthur married on 13 March 1879 at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, and the service was conducted by Archibald Campbell Tait, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who was aided by the Bishops of London, Oxford and Worcester, as well as the Dean of Windsor.
The duke was accompanied down the aisle by his two older brothers, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, and Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, all resplendent in military uniforms, while the bride was accompanied by her father. The bride walked down the aisle to Handel’s Occasional Overture and left the chapel accompanied by Mendelssohn’s Wedding March.
WEDDING DRESS
Louise Margaret wore a heavy white satin dress with a band of lace encircling the waist and down the length of the skirt which was decorated with myrtle, the German emblem of matrimony.
The train was trimmed with a lace flounce made in Silesia upon which a sprig of myrtle was fixed. The bridal veil, made of point d’Alençon lace, was patterned with orange blossoms, roses, and myrtle and fastened to her hair with five diamond stars which were a gift from the bridegroom.
THE BRIDESMAIDS
The eight bridesmaids wore identical dresses of white satin embroidered with silk and trimmed with national flowers, consisting of wild roses, Prussian cornflowers, Scottish heather and Irish shamrocks. They wore wreaths of the same flowers.
THE HONEYMOON
After the ceremony, the couple signed the register in the Green Drawing Room at Windsor Castle before attending the luncheon. Departing the castle in the late afternoon, Arthur and Louise Margaret were cheered by the crowds as they travelled down the processional route to Esher where they made their way to Claremont for the first week of their honeymoon.
After her marriage, Louise Margaret was styled HRH The Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn and she would spend the next twenty years travelling with her soldier husband. The duke was said to be devoted to his wife but it didn’t stop him having a longterm liaison with Leonie, Lady Leslie.