June 15, 1978, at Zaharan Palace, Jordan
LENGTH OF COURTSHIP: One month
LENGTH OF CEREMONY: Four minutes
YEARS SEPARATING BRIDE & GROOM: 16
NO. OF GROOM'S PREVIOUS WIVES: Three
REALITY CHECK: She gets eight stepchildren
BRIDE'S MARRIED NAME: Queen Noor al-Hussein
MOMENT OF TRUTH: The American Halaby is the only woman at the ceremony
IN-LAW PERK: King paid Lisa's father a dowry
HONEYMOON RETREATS: His Red Sea resort at Aqaba, then on to Scotland
STATUS: Married, with four (more) children
QUEENLY QUOTE (1979): "I don't feel any regrets"
LADY DIANA SPENCER & PRINCE CHARLES
July 29, 1981, at St. Paul's Cathedral, London
NO. OF BRIDESMAIDS: Five
NO. OF CAKES: 16
SECURITY: 4,000 policemen, 2,228 soldiers
OUTDOOR DECOR: 2½ miles of bunting, 14,000 red geraniums, baskets of petunias, verbena and phlox
WEDDING SONG: "Let the Bright Seraphim," an aria from Handel's oratorio Samson, chosen by Charles
LARGEST ROYAL GUEST: The 350-lb. King of Tonga
BEST GIFT: Priceless tiara, from Queen Elizabeth II
GOOD LUCK CHARM: An 18-karat gold horseshoe tucked in Di's skirts
BAD LUCK OMEN: Days before the wedding, Di discovers that Charles plans to give confidante Camilla Parker Bowles a bracelet
MOMENT OF TRUTH: Di's sister warns, "Your face is on the tea towels, so you're too late to chicken out"
LEAST POPULAR SOUVENIR: A $1,100 commemorative cannon
STATUS: Officially separated
GRACE KELLY & PRINCE RAINIER III
April 19, 1956, at the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, Monaco
NO. OF BRIDESMAIDS: Seven
ENGAGEMENT RING: The emerald-cut diamond solitaire Kelly wore in High Society
ROYAL TRAINING: Kelly's role in The Swan, about a girl groomed to marry a prince
DOWRY: $2 million from Grace's father, builder Jack Kelly, to cover the wedding
VOW: Je veux
NO. OF JOURNALISTS PRESENT: 1,800
PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENT: Should the marriage collapse, Rainier gets the children
ROYAL SNUB: Not one European crowned head attends
ROYAL RIPOFF: Thieves make off with $60,000 worth of the guests' jewelry
HONEYMOON: Cruise to Spain and Corsica aboard his yacht
USELESS GIFT: Gold and bone hatchet, from the Speleological Club of Monaco
PRINCESS' JOB DESCRIPTION (1970s): "I work hard in social work, public relations and raising the Grimaldi heirs"
STATUS: Happily wed until the Princess' death in 1982
MASAKO OWADA & NARUHITO, CROWN PRINCE OF JAPAN
June 9, 1993, at the Imperial Palace, Tokyo
WEIGHT OF BRIDE'S COURT ROBE: 30 lbs.
SPECIAL SECURITY: 30,000 policemen
NO. OF BANQUETS: Six
COST OF MEALS: $620 per guest
IMPERIAL FAUX PAS: Masako speaks 28 seconds longer than her fiancé at an engagement news conference
MERCHANDISING: Pair of wedding dolls ($2,000); stuffed replicas of Masako's terrier, Chocolat ($28)
PRINCE'S RÉSUMÉ: Studied medieval river traffic on the Thames at Oxford, 1983-85
PRINCESS' RÉSUMÉ: B.A., Harvard, 1985: graduate studies, international relations, Oxford, 1988-90: six years with the Foreign Ministry, Tokyo; 50 hours of Imperial training, 1993
ROYAL GESTURE: Amnesty will be granted to some 30,000 criminals
STATUS: Newlywed
HOPE COOKE &THE CROWN PRINCE OF SIKKIM
March 20, 1963, at the royal chapel, Sikkim
GROOM'S NAME: Palden Thondup Namgyal
LENGTH OF COURTSHIP: Two dates
PRINCESS' QUALIFICATIONS: American debutante; Asian art history major at Sarah Lawrence College
COST OF CEREMONY: $50,000
MUSICAL OFFERINGS: 10-foot Himalayan trumpets; Sikkim Police Bagpipe Band; villagers bring own drums and horns. Switching to a Western mode, a band plays "Dixie"
ENDANGERED GIFTS: Tiger skins and yak tails
BRIDAL RITE: Astrologer draws symbolic animals on Cooke's fingertips with inkless pen
STATUS: Divorced in 1980, two years before the King's death
ASSESSMENT (1993): "Being Queen is not glamorous. I think people now see it as a job and a very hard one"
CURRENT JOB: Leads walking tours of New York City
RITA HAYWORTH & PRINCE ALY KHAN
May 27, 1949, on the French Riviera
CHAMPAGNE CONSUMED: 150 bottles
ODORS WHIFFED: 200 gallons of eau de cologne floating in the Chateau de I'Horizon pool
GIFT FROM HUSBAND: An Alfa Romeo, later exchanged for a custom Pigoni two-seater
GIFT FROM EX-HUSBAND: A spaniel puppy, "Poogles"—her pet name for Orson Welles, to whom she was wed from 1943 to 1948
ROYAL GESTURE: Aly gives 540,000 French francs to the local poor
BRIDAL BONUS: Rita is two months pregnant with daughter Yasmin
COMMON TOUCH: A few days later, brown, black and "bride's blue" copies of Rita's dress are selling at Macy's for $18.74
DURATION OF MARRIAGE: 3½ years
SARAH FERGUSON & PRINCE ANDREW
July 23, 1986, at Westminster Abbey
EMBROIDERY ON TRAIN: Bees, thistles, anchors, waves, hearts and the couple's entwined initials
NO. OF BRIDE'S EXES PRESENT: Two
NO. OF GROOM'S EXES PRESENT: Two
DUPLICATION OF GIFTS: 1,000 crystal glasses, 600 dinner plates, 308 vases, 18 breakfast serving sets, 16 Persian rugs and 12 armchairs
UNDUPLICATED GIFT: Georgian mahogany commode
STATUS: Officially separated
BRIDE'S ADVICE (1992): "Spend a long time before you make your decision, and really, really know your man"
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
