The wedding of Princess Elizabeth to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten on 20 November 1947 was a glamorous antidote to post-war austerity. The notion of a post-war Renaissance was consciously echoed by the designer, Norman Hartnell, who created an exquisite wedding dress inspired by Botticelli's Primavera. The white satin gown was garlanded with York roses, star flowers and orange blossom, all encrusted with pearls and crystals.

Accompanied by eight bridesmaids and two pageboys, Elizabeth was greeted by a fanfare as she began her long walk down the nave of Westminster Abbey. At the altar stood the groom dressed in his ordinary naval uniform, but wearing the insignia of a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter. Just that morning the King had given him the title of Duke of Edinburgh.

The Archbishop of York gave a rousing address and the newly-weds walked out of the West Door of the Abbey to the accompaniment of Mendelssohn's Wedding March. They travelled back to the Palace through the crowded and drizzly streets of London in the Glass Coach, with its scarlet-liveried outriders and Household Cavalry escort.

After the requisite balcony appearance a wedding breakfast was held for 150 guests, with a menu featuring unrationed partridges and Filet de Sole Mountbatten. After the reception the couple were showered with rose petals by their family, and drove in an open carriage to Waterloo Station, beginning their honeymoon at Broadlands in Hampshire.

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