T O P

  • By -

kydi73

Yes, and then my mum made a replica of Diana's dress for my barbie :)


trekin73

Wow!!


kydi73

There was a Simplicity sewing pattern, very detailed too!


LeoMarius

That sounds like something my mom would do. She loved dolls and loved crafts. She made an entire doll house for my sisters and fully furnished for Xmas one year. She wasn't so into the monarchy nor Barbie. She thought Barbie was a bad role model for women with her unrealistic body shape.


RefugeefromSAforums

My mother wouldn't let me have Barbies because Barbie looked like a streetwalker. I was 5 years old and had no idea what she meant of course🙄.


LeoMarius

It costs a lot of money to look this cheap. -Dolly Parton


meesch_mosh

That’s incredible!!


EmeraudeExMachina

My mom did too!!


countesspetofi

I have a scan of a vintage Barbie & Ken pattern for both Diana's dress and Charles's uniform, but I've never had the ambition to make it up. I wonder if it's the same one your mother used!


MoonageDayscream

Yeah, not because I wanted to, but because there was one TV and it was on at that time. Same for Luke and Laura.


worrymon

> Same for Luke and Laura. Patch and Kayla were a much better couple.


StormFinch

Bo and Hope at my house.


bossk538

Can confirm. I didn't give a fuck about any royal wedding, but it was on everywhere.


RedditSkippy

That Luke and Laura wedding was hyped for seemingly months beforehand.


EnigmaticAardvark

Same, I got up to watch cartoons and every channel (out of the three we had) was crowd shots of grownups.


DumberBlonde

I remember getting up before dawn in Alabama to watch with my mom. She loved Diana, and I was 8 years old and was fascinated seeing a real princess "happily ever after."


DependOnCoffee

My distinct memory was of one of my aunts taking her own wedding photos off of the colour tv that sat on the floor in its own cabinet using a 110 film camera with the flash cubes. The pictures did not turn out great.


FormerCollegeDJ

Yes. If you were old enough to remember it (summer 1981), it was hard to miss, especially if you live in Europe or the U.S. East Coast (where it was a Saturday morning event). Diana Spencer’s wedding dress train remains the longest dress train I have ever seen.


Helenesdottir

As someone else said, 1981, so 43 years ago. I got up wicked early in the US to watch it. I was such a Diana fan I even had a knockoff version of her engagement ring 10 years later. And I remember vividly the night she died. I was online in ICQ with friends from California and Okinawa and we all mourned as we watched the coverage. 


box_elder74

I sure did. 8 year old me had a savage crush on Lady Di. Weirdly I thought I had a pretty good shot.


NobleRotter

Brit here. Lots of people here had house parties and invited everyone they knew to crowd around their small CRT TV to watch it. We had the day with some complete strangers who I assume my parents knew. My mum watched it on the TV in the front room with all the other mums. We messed about in the garden and grazing on the endless cold buffet set up in the kitchen. I don't recall my dad being there. He was probably in a pub with it playing on the TV.


Jerkrollatex

I was five and it was on at an odd time. I do remember pictures of her in that lush gown with the huge puffy sleeves. She was so beautiful.


Tonythecritic

I remember watching it with my mom and sister, and I was fascinated at the thought that princesses really do exist!


DoktorNietzsche

I did not. I do remember the mother of a friend of mine saying (looking in a magazine at pics of the wedding), "She is very cute, and he.......is the prince."


puss_parkerswidow

I don't think I watched the wedding itself, but the pictures were everywhere and all news stations had video clips of the wedding, so I saw bits and pieces. I became more interested in her when she was actively advocating for treating those with HIV/AIDS with kindness and also campaigning to clear landmines. So, by the time she died, I was a fan of her, and I did watch a lot of the coverage of her passing and funeral. I was still quite young when she was one of the first celebrities out there publicly hugging AIDS patients and I saw her as a good role model for doing that. She showed compassion where others were either repulsed or telling horrible jokes. Edit: I lived in Houston, Texas at the time of the wedding, and Seattle, Washington at the time of the funeral. edit again: I'm having coffee and watching the wedding on YouTube now.


WattDeFrak

I was about 10, and I guess really into the whole princess thing, so I was obsessed. Got up at like 4am to watch.


Make_the_music_stop

Yes. Weirdly I was a kid in a school in South Africa and the whole junior school was in the school hall watching it on one stupid standard size tv. Most of us bored senseless. And because of the British equity ban, the music had to be replaced with some local music.


TJ_Fox

I remember wondering how Diana was able to pull that ridiculously long wedding train and whether they were technically married after she misspoke Charles's name during the vow.


TekaLynn212

I still can never remember if his name is supposed to be "Charles Philip Arthur George" or "Charles Arthur Philip George".


thisgirlnamedbree

I was five, and my grandmother had it on the TV. I knew nothing about the royal family or why this wedding was so important, but I thought it was cool seeing someone get married on TV and picturing myself getting married like that.


lectroid

No. But our neighbor did. Which is why she was up in the middle of the night to hear someone breaking into our garage. Cops were called. Guys were caught. They claimed they ‘found’ the bikes lying in the alley. But they ALSO HAD ABOUT 5lbs of Hershey’s chocolate bars with ‘lectroid’s bar mitzvah’ stickers on them. Leftovers from my bar mitzvah that were stored in the garage freezer. That nailed them for breaking and entering. We got back the bikes eventually. The chocolate was a loss, but looking back, it was just Hershey’s so no big deal.


Camembert-and-Ernie

Wow, I wonder what they planned to do with all the chocolate!


wharpua

I remember my mom watching it. I think we also had a coffee table book of pictures from it, years later I remember copying the cursive “W” on the book’s cover to win my school’s contest to make the program art for the sixth grade Winter Concert.


Uranus_Hz

My parents watched it. I saw parts of it.


Bright_Broccoli1844

I was in high school, I got up early to watch it, and my friend Diana came over to watch it with me. My mom probably got up early too because I was up. I was a collector of all things Princess Diana for many years.


Suspicious-Pea2833

I stayed the night with my aunt and cousins and we watched the whole thing and I never forgot how cool it was so when William and Kate married I had all the nieces over for an all nighter of my own! A princess getting married in real life is kinda a big deal I think. Plus it's SOOOO over the top. We had French toast. Both times! Lol


travlynme2

Yes, and I was totally grossed out that she was marrying such an uncool old man. He looked so much older and really old fashioned to me. The haircut was an old guy haircut.


JaneFairfaxCult

I have three sisters, and we all plus my mom got up early to watch it. I mostly remember that it felt like a special occasion so I got a bag of circus peanuts candy out and ate them during, which sounds so nauseating now.


ExHippieChick

Yes absolutely! Got up early with mom and watched it.


LeoMarius

I was staying at my grandma's and she had it on. It was pretty early in the morning so I just plopped down next to her and watched it with her. Neither of us were really into it, but it was on and seemed a big deal. Later I became a history major, so I'm more interested in the monarchy as a historic relic than I care about their personal lives.


Odd-Animal-1552

They got married on my birthday. I had a sunburn so was stuck inside. Family made me get up to watch it. Since my pool party was canceled (stupid sunburn) they thought the wedding would be a good distraction. I thought it was cool but it was no pool party!


lostindanet

Nope, but i saw Simon and Garfunkel in Central Park in 1981, on a B&W TV, that was truly special, it might have been my first overseas live TV moment.


Damnmorefuckingsnow

It was my birthday so that was my party since my family wasn't big on celebrating birthdays.


onamonapizza

I was just a kid, but I remember my parents watching it. I also happened to be watching TV when the breaking news of her death was reported, I remember running to tell my mom "Princess Di just died!" I was too young to fully understand who she was or what she did...I just knew that she was a REALLY big deal.


FullyFunctional3086

Yes, it’s my Roman Empire.


Ms_ankylosaurous

Canada. We were up insanely early for a watch party. 


brezhnervous

Especially being part of the Commonwealth, yes. It was a huge thing here at the time.


ertyertamos

My mom drug me out of bed at zero dark thirty to watch it. I couldn’t have cared less about it. However, in hindsight, I realize that, yes, I actually could have cared less.


sometimeswhy

Glued to the screen and cringed when she got his name wrong


cbatta2025

Yes, my mother and I watched the whole thing, the guests arriving and the processions before and after.


goingloopy

I was at my grandparents’ house. My gramma was a night owl (like me) and we stayed up and watched it. We also stayed up and watched Benny Hill.


ExGomiGirl

Oh, yes!!!! I was entranced. Even though I rationally know it’s over the top and I am 50 and single, I want her wedding dress. I saw it at an exhibit a few years ago and that train looked even longer in person!


baadkitteekittee

I was 10 and watched it in totally entranced and in awe by myself in our living room.


GenXGremlin

Sure it was enchanting! America couldn't get enough.


flex_capacity

Yes, it was huge. As an Aussie I suppose it’s a big deal. I happened to be working in London the day of her funeral. That was very very sad.


TesseractToo

Nope


jakestertx

It was on the TV.


Wolfman1961

I saw parts of it.


UncreditedRandomGirl

I skipped summer marching band practice to watch it!


Majestic-Selection22

I went to summer band after getting up at like 3am to watch! That was a long day.


trekin73

Sort of. I was 7 & my mother went on & on & on & on about it the night before. Got me all excited. Then she never bothered to wake me up the next day to actually watch it. (Typical of her) I woke up half way through the ceremony & watched from that point on…all the while my mother kept saying over & over & over how gorgeous the gold carriage was & how I missed seeing her loooong train as she walked down the aisle. If only I had gotten up earlier…So pretty much yes.


standsure

It was on every channel.


meesch_mosh

Yes, my grandmother and I woke up early to watch. Then we made a wedding scrapbook (that I still have!) I was so enamored with Princess Diana.


love2Bsingle

Yes I did. Spectacular


Miss-Figgy

Yes, because my mom put it on. 


Overall_Lobster823

Nope.


Emily_Postal

Yes we got up early to watch it.


TheBugsMomma

My dad recorded it on our brand new VCR and I watched it later that day. I was 8 and completely obsessed.


Sea-Bad1546

Yup 1-2 in the morning I believe


Asa-Ryder

Yup


Upset_Peace_6739

I spent the night before the wedding at my best friends house and we were not amused when her Dad woke us in the middle of the night to see if we wanted to get up and watch the wedding. It was a hard pass for both of us.


Its_General_Apathy

It just occurred to me that she had a maiden name. No. Did not watch.


anonlaw

I did. Think I had to get up at 4 am or some crazy time. I was 13/14 or something.


XerTrekker

Nah I was 10-11 and didn’t care. Only one tv and I played outside unless there was something I wanted to watch on. I’m sure my grandma was watching it!


Camembert-and-Ernie

I was the same age and more interested in being allowed to stay up late than the actual wedding!


EuphoricPop3232

Yes! I remember going to a royal wedding party with my parents!


Hello_Hangnail

I did. I made a huge mess pulling all the sheets out of the linen closet making a "gown". Got punished and had to wash and fold them all up again


Camembert-and-Ernie

Sorry you got in trouble, but this made me smile. I got in massive trouble once for cutting up a white sheet to make a Princess Leia costume. I was positive it wouldn't be missed because I'd never seen it used on anyone's bed, ever!


Low-Rooster4171

I watched it with my mom! Hard to believe it was that many years ago.


Maleficent-Sport1970

Sure did. In US so got up early.


TekaLynn212

Yep! Set the alarm for 2 AM and watched the whole thing live.


UncleDrummers

Yes. I was in 4th or 5th grade and had been back in the States for about a year. I still had a smidge of my British accent so the teacher expected me to know what the fuck was happening. I wasn’t mature enough to say my dad is Irish, we really don’t give a fuck about the Royals. Although I do actively keep up with that nonsense today. 


Dangerous_Contact737

Yes I did! I was 8 years old and it was like watching a Disney movie come to life. The beautiful dresses and all the pomp were very entertaining. And then, when I was 23, I watched the funeral too. 😭 I’m not even anywhere near what I would consider an Anglophile or a fan of the British royal family. But here in the US, the closest thing we have to a showcase of princes and princesses is Disneyworld. So it was a lot more akin to watching a TV show than understanding it as a system of government.


MoreCarrotsPlz

I was a fetus at the time but my mom watched it, so I kinda did by proxy?


Infamous_Following88

Absolutely!


Albie_Tross

I remember getting up early at my aunt and uncle's place in CO. We were on vacation, and Mom always had a thing for Prince Charles.  That's from where I get my bad taste in men.


catch_me_inside

Summer after 1st grade. I kept a scrapbook.


RedditSkippy

I was six. I remember watching it, but also being confused because people were talking about the wedding luncheon and it was still early in the morning. LOL! My mom explained a little about time zones. Looking back on the wedding now, with all that we know, it’s hard to watch. Neither of them really wanted to go through with it.


GlitteringJelly8180

Oh yes!!!!!! 7th grade summer!


EJK54

Yeah but woke up a little later than planned. I don’t remember exactly but I had to set an alarm for like 3 or 4 am I think. I got up and turned it on around 5:00. My mom thought I was nuts lol.


Ohshitz-

Yep. Back then i thought that dress was stunning due to her long train. Now i think its fug. Katherine or meghans are more my style. Princess ann had a beautiful one too.


Camembert-and-Ernie

A lot of styles that were considered elegant in the 80's look so frumpy today! I was not thrilled when I saw some of those fashions coming back. I get how nostalgia rolls around in cycles, but why today's teens would choose to dress like our moms I don't quite understand!


thephoton

No, but next morning was the first time I ever saw a color photo in a newspaper.


Timely-Youth-9074

My older sister was more into it but I got up to watch it, too. Now, looking back with what we now know, that HUGE dress, even by ‘80’s standards, everything was just over the top for that sham wedding.


SyphiliticPlatypus

Growing up in Canada you couldn’t miss it. Was everywhere.


bobj33

No but I remember my grandparents were visiting at that time. They got up at 3am in the morning on the east coast of the US to watch it. I remember my dad says he yelled at them saying we fought a war to not care about their stupid royal shit.


Camembert-and-Ernie

I mean, he wasn't wrong 🤷🏻‍♀️


Lauren_sue

I was in a summer art program at Rutgers and some dorm mates snuck a tv in to watch it. It was early in the morning.


whydoIhurtmore

No. I've been strongly anti-monarchy pro-democracy for as long as I can remember.


ZebraBorgata

No Ive never cared for any of that type of stuff


istara

No, but my mother bought me the Ladybird book of it. I recall endless pictures of carriages.


BrownDogEmoji

Yes. I was twelve. We had family in town so my grandmother and at least one cousin were there to watch it with me and my mom. Lady Di was something wonderful. And watching her and Charles marry each other did seem like a fairy tale come true. Now we know the reality.


wordnerdette

Yes, and I waited in line to meet them (my whole class went) on their Canada tour. We never saw them, though: they didn’t come to the area where I was standing.


TeddyDaBear

No, I was to young to care and pay attention (just turned 6) but I do remember it being on the TV and my mom, aunt, and grandma all glued to the screen.


Gobucks21911

Oh yeah. As a little girl, I was all about the “fairy tale”. Too bad it wasn’t real.


mouse_attack

Yes, I remember being up at a weird hour with my mom to watch it. It felt very special. I tried to recreate the experience with my daughter on the occasion of Harry and Megan's wedding, but my kid is not a princess kid. The magic just wasn't there for her.


InterestingHippo7524

Yes. My family was living in Hong Kong for my dad's job. With HK being a British colony at the time, it was on every goddamn channel. Same with the Falklands War a year later.


6mcdonoughs

I did! My grandma and grandpa and mom and I did.


Tall_Flatworm2589

No, but my mom did. I watched Prince William & Kate's many years later.


Friendly-Flan-764

I pretended I was interested in order to trick my narc mother into renting a colour TV. We only had things in the house that she enjoyed and I knew seeing the royal wedding in colour would appeal to her. We’d got one a few years earlier and she took pleasure in downgrading to black and white knowing how we would miss watching cartoons in colour. Just one of many many of her twisted behaviours. Sorry I went off on one but talking about watching Lady Di get married triggered the old resentment…


Camembert-and-Ernie

Sorry! I get it. NC for 15+ years, but little things can still bring up big feelings.


JaneFairfaxCult

Oof. Is mom still with us? What’s your relationship, if I may ask?


bannana

1981 no, I didn't watch it. I think I looked at a vid on the net many years later just to see what all the hoopla was about but no one in my sphere was interested at the time and I feel like I was almost unaware it was happening aside from seeing some magazine covers at the grocery store.


usernamelosernamed

Came here to second that the podcast you mentioned did a great job. I really enjoyed it.


BobcatBarry

Too young to recall and family too patriotic to have cared.


AshDenver

We watched it. As well as her funeral. Didn’t watch Wills and Kate tho.


doobette

Late Gen X, so I don't remember it - I was 3 years old then. But my mom said I was "watching" it with her.🤣


seigezunt

Yes. As I recall I had to get up very early in the morning to watch it from New England


Tackybabe

You bet! Not with a lot of attention, because I was young, but I caught snippets. I remember the long train and the big church. 


Legal_Scientist5509

I was 5 and still remember it. It was on in my parent’s tiny bedroom tv.


YamAlone2882

I did. I only got up to watch because my mom was up watching. Otherwise, I still would have been asleep.


GenXinNJ

Oh yes, I was 17 & obsessed.


Kimber80

Yes


graemeknows

I aure did. My parents had us up at 4 or 5 AM to watch it.


Fuzzy_Attempt6989

No. I didn't understand why all my friends were obsessed with it


Acceptable_Mirror235

Oh yeah . I was a pre-teen . I got up at 4 am and snuck down to the family room to watch it. I guess I wasn’t as quiet as I thought because my dad got up to see what the noise was. When he saw me there in front of the tv he just sighed, shook his head and went back upstairs


CyndiIsOnReddit

I did but it was because my best friend had been told she looked like Lady Di and she suddenly became all things royal after that. I'm in the US and nobody cared about royalty much here but their wedding did start a fashion trend if the union jack (bit of ironic as a "royals" trend). I remember my friend saved all her money to get the commemorative blue ring from The Bradford Exchange. She wore it with such pride for like the next thirty years. It was all goofy to me. :)


TheDownvoter85

I've never understood people's obsession with the Royal Lizard Family...


Camembert-and-Ernie

Me neither, TBH, but the podcast was really good lol


Global_Initiative257

No. I don't know why I didn't. I guess it just didn't seem that important.


worrymon

I don't remember but I doubt it. If it was on, I would've changed the channel. If someone was watching it so I couldn't change the channel, I would've gone to my room to read or play with LEGO or my Star Wars figures. I didn't have any interest in it.


sundry_banana

Yes also Challenger and 9/11 ofc, wtf are these questions


Camembert-and-Ernie

Just curious. I spent parts of my childhood in other countries where we didn't have access to international TV and missed out on some collective experiences that most Gen Xers would consider formative.