FOR BETTER, FOR WORSE

Both Harry and William have followed their hearts to find life partners, supported by sovereign and government. But not all royal romances have run so smoothly…

THE DUKE OF WINDSOR AND WALLIS SIMPSON

King Edward VIII became the first British monarch to abdicate when, in 1937, he chose to marry twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. None of the groom’s family attended the wedding and the newlyweds went into exile.

PRINCESS MARGARET AND PETER TOWNSEND

The Queen’s younger sister had an ill-fated love affair with RAF group captain Peter Townsend, personal adviser to her father, King George VI. By 1953, Townsend had divorced his wife and proposed to the 22-year-old princess. Under the Royal Marriages Act, Margaret needed her sister’s consent – which, famously, was not granted. Townsend was posted to Brussels and, after two agonising years, the princess told the nation she would choose duty over love. In 1960, Margaret accepted a marriage proposal from society photographer, Anthony Armstrong-jones, Earl of Snowdon. The couple had two children, but divorced in 1978.

PRINCE CHARLES AND LADY DIANA SPENCER

No protocol obstacles here but Diana was just 16 when she met her future husband during a country weekend away. They married four years later at St Paul’s Cathedral on 29 July 1981, watched by over 750 million people worldwide. Despite their delight in their sons William and Harry, their marriage was fraught with difficulty. Both had affairs and the marriage ended in divorce in 1996.