# British royal family wedding question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 28, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100 "2008-03-28T20:44:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100/1 "2008-03-28T20:44:38Z")
Last year I was at the barber shop, and the guy in the next chair was talking about having just gotten back from England, where his nephew married a relatively minor relative of the royal family. IIRC he said the wedding was held at Winchester Cathedral, and at one point traffic was halted by police to allow the bridal party and guests by. At the reception I believe he met one of the princes, tho I don’t recall which one. Supposedly the guy was in England as a student, and simply sat next to this woman in the theater. Any guesses what member of the royal family this might be? Or was this guy just blowing smoke? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100/2 "2008-03-28T20:52:01Z")
[QUOTE=Dinsdale] IIRC he said the wedding was held at Winchester Cathedral, [/QUOTE] Oops - could well have been Westminster Abbey, or someplace else that sounded vaguely familiar to me… ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100/3 "2008-03-28T21:07:52Z")
The [Court Circular](http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page3952.asp) doesn’t list any of the royal family attending a wedding in 2007, except for the diamond anniversary of the Queen. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100/4 "2008-03-28T21:13:14Z")
[QUOTE=Antinor01] The [Court Circular](http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page3952.asp) doesn’t list any of the royal family attending a wedding in 2007, except for the diamond anniversary of the Queen. [/QUOTE] If you broaden the defination of minor member of the royal family to include anyone in line for the throne then you’d have over 3,000 potential candidates. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100/5 "2008-03-28T21:16:25Z")
I’m still trying to work out which guy it was who sat next to some woman in a theatre. The guy in the barber shop, the prince, or the nephew? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100/6 "2008-03-29T00:48:38Z")
While not the one referred to by the OP, [this article](http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/01/1091298579338.html) from 2004 shows that there are plenty of ‘minor’ members of the royal family whose weddings could well fit the bill. In this case it was the wedding of Lady Davina Windsor, daughter of the Duke of Gloucester (the Queen’s first cousin). It got reported in Australia mainly, I suspect, because of the groom’s New Zealand connection. The wedding in the OP was probably something similar to this one. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100/7 "2008-03-29T02:24:27Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] If you broaden the defination of minor member of the royal family to include anyone in line for the throne then you’d have over 3,000 potential candidates. [/QUOTE] I was taking the note that the person met ‘one of the princes’ to mean William or Harry. That may have been the wrong interpretation, but if they attended a wedding it might have been in the Circular. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100/8 "2008-03-29T13:41:25Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] I’m still trying to work out which guy it was who sat next to some woman in a theatre. The guy in the barber shop, the prince, or the nephew? [/QUOTE] I asked myself that question as well when reading the last paragraph of the OP. What I figured out was that the nephew sat next to the woman (who happens to be a minor member of the Royal Family) in the theater, married her, and the man in the barber shop attended the wedding, so he could tell stories about it in the barber shop. > [@Dinsdale](#): > > Oops - could well have been Westminster Abbey, or someplace else that sounded vaguely familiar to me… I guess Westminster Cathedral is very unlikely - that’s the Catholic cathedral in London, and I don’t think there are even distant relatives of the Royal Family who are Catholics. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100/9 "2008-03-29T16:30:06Z")
[QUOTE=Schnitte] I guess Westminster Cathedral is very unlikely - that’s the Catholic cathedral in London, and I don’t think there are even distant relatives of the Royal Family who are Catholics. [/QUOTE] Eh? Westminster is the seat of the Church of England. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100/10 "2008-03-29T16:44:17Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] Eh? Westminster is the seat of the Church of England. [/QUOTE] No, it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100/11 "2008-03-29T16:47:05Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] Eh? Westminster is the seat of the Church of England. [/QUOTE] [Westminster Abbey](http://www.westminster-abbey.org/) is C of E, but [Westminster Cathedral](http://www.westminstercathedral.org.uk/home.html) is Catholic. [Winchester Cathedral](http://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/) is C of E. Hope that clears things up to everyone’s satisfaction? ETA: I suppose Canterbury’s the seat, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100/12 "2008-03-29T16:47:10Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] Eh? Westminster is the seat of the Church of England. [/QUOTE] No. Canterbury is the see of the Primate of All England within the Church of England, and Westminster Cathedral – a quite different church from Westminster Abbey – is a Catholic cathedral. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100/13 "2008-03-29T16:48:49Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] Eh? Westminster is the seat of the Church of England. [/QUOTE] No it’s Canterbury. That’s where the leader of the Anglicans has his headquarters. And the Anglican church in Westminster is the Abbey, not the Cathedral. Edit, I see Giles beat me to it ! ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100/14 "2008-03-29T21:11:13Z")
[Winchester Cathedral](http://www.secondhandsongs.com/song/23936) is a song. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100/15 "2008-03-29T21:53:38Z")
[QUOTE=glee] [Winchester Cathedral](http://www.secondhandsongs.com/song/23936) is a song. 🙂 [/QUOTE] A song that I’ve had stuck in my head now since I read the OP… :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100/16 "2008-03-29T23:22:36Z")
[QUOTE=WotNot] [Westminster Abbey](http://www.westminster-abbey.org/) is C of E, but [Westminster Cathedral](http://www.westminstercathedral.org.uk/home.html) is Catholic. [Winchester Cathedral](http://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/) is C of E. Hope that clears things up to everyone’s satisfaction? ETA: I suppose Canterbury’s the seat, isn’t it? [/QUOTE] His _title_ is the Archbishop of Canterbury, but he lives and works in Lambeth Palace, in Westminster. But yeah, I missed the reference to cathedral rather than abbey. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100/17 "2008-03-29T23:34:20Z")
A lot of people confuse Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral. Of course, the terminology Westminster ‘Abbey’ is itself pretty misleading, since it hasn’t been an abbey for over four hundred years. Its real name is the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter. Whereas Westminster Cathedral is actually a Catholic cathedral. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100/18 "2008-03-29T23:43:20Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] His _title_ is the Archbishop of Canterbury, but he lives and works in Lambeth Palace, in Westminster. [/QUOTE] Isn’t Lambeth Palace in Lambeth? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100/19 "2008-03-29T23:45:45Z")
[QUOTE=Dewey Finn] Isn’t Lambeth Palace in Lambeth? [/QUOTE] Well, yes. But it’s just across the river, I swear. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2008, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100/20 "2008-03-30T06:31:45Z")
[QUOTE=Schnitte] I don’t think there are even distant relatives of the Royal Family who are Catholics. [/QUOTE] The Kent branch of the Royal Family has some Roman Catholic members. The youngest son of the current Duke of Kent, [Lord Nicholas Windsor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Nicholas_Windsor), is a Roman Catholic. He would be a first cousin once removed of the Queen. The Queen’s cousin, [Prince Michael of Kent](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Michael_of_Kent#Marriage) (brother of the Duke), is married to a Roman Catholic. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-royal-family-wedding-question/443100.md?page=2)