Princess Diana Had Very Young Bridesmaids – Meet All 5 of Them 40 Years after ‘Wedding of the Century’

Weddings are a time of celebration, and for her wedding, Princess Diana chose a beautiful team of young bridesmaids to grace her big day and help her celebrate the transition to marriage. See who they were.

Princess Diana and Prince Charles got married in a ceremony that has always been considered the "wedding of the century." The marriage would make Diana, then Lady Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales.

She would be marrying Prince Charles, the heir apparent, in a ceremony that was full of pomp and color. The prince chose his brothers, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, as his best men.

Diana's team, however, consisted of five young bridesmaids, who accompanied the bride down the aisle. The practice has since been adopted by her daughters-in-law, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle, at their own weddings.

LADY SARAH ARMSTRONG-JONES

Lady Sarah is the Queen's niece. Her parents are Lord Snowdown and Princess Margaret. At the time of the wedding, and at only 17, Lady Sarah was the oldest of the bridesmaids.

Lady Sarah, Harry's godmother, went on to marry actor Daniel Chatto and together, they have two sons, Arthur and Samuel Chatto. She is now known as Lady Sarah Chatto.

INDIA HICKS

Hicks was thirteen at the time of the wedding, and she remembers the days before the wedding fondly. She also recalled that Diana had gifted them after the wedding, saying:

"At the end of the day Diana gave us a kiss and a thank-you present—a pretty Halcyon Days china pot commemorating the day; inside were two silkworms that had spun the silk for her wedding dress."

Hicks is the daughter of interior designer David Nightingale Hicks and the Queen's lady in waiting Lady Pamela Hicks. She currently lives in the Bahamas with her husband David Flint Wood, and together they have five sons.

CLEMENTINE HAMBRO

Hambro is the daughter of Richard Hambro, a renowned investment banker and the great-granddaughter of Winston Churchill. At the time of the wedding, she was only five, and a kindergarten student at the school where Diana taught.

She writes books about gardening and is married to Orlando Fraser, and together they have four children. Her husband is the son of famous historian Antonia Fraser.

SARAH-JANE GASELEE

Gaselee is the daughter of Nick Gaselee, a racehorse trainer. He is known for teaching Prince Charles how to be a jump jockey. She remembers Diana as a big sister to her and says that they remained in touch until she was eighteen.

After school, she did a lot of charity work for breast cancer projects in Congo and remembers traveling extensively before marrying her husband Paul Andrews, a film producer. They have two children and live between London and Barbados.

She [Emanuel] says the whole process was fun as Diana kept running upstairs to steal glances at the dress.

CATHERINE CAMERON

Cameron, Lady Cecil Cameron's daughter, was only six at the time of the wedding. Her mother and Prince Charles were friends. Cameron would go on to graduate from Edinburgh University and become a literary agent.

PRINCESS DIANA'S WEDDING GOWN

Elizabeth Emanuel, one of the duo that made the wedding dress remembers it being flouncy, romantic, and overblown, a style that was typical of the '80s.

Emanuel says they made it knowing it would be one of the most critical aspects of the wedding and would go down in history. She says the whole process was fun as Diana kept running upstairs to steal glances at the dress. She reminisces:

“Diana was very caring and never in any way grand. I think she found the whole experience a lot of fun – she stood still for hours and never complained about the pins. She was just fabulous.”

The gown which featured a huge train was a fashion statement and the photo of her taken ascending the cathedral steps looked like a butterfly slowly unfolding its wings. The picture, Emanuel says, is something that will stay with everyone forever.

THE WEDDING DAY

On the day of the wedding, the streets of London were filled to capacity with people who'd come to witness the big day. The wedding was watched by over 750 million people in over 74 countries.

In Britain alone, more than 28.4 million were tuned in to watch Princess Diana and Prince Charles's big day, which would come to be considered "the last great state event of the 20th century".