Royal Wedding Vows

[Freedom]

Have any royals ever written their own wedding vows?

[Alexandria]

I think royals generally follow the marriage vows set out by their respective church. Original declarations of love tend to be left for the wedding speeches at the reception. Amendments, even slight ones, I think occur though.

For example, I remember the uproar over Sophie's decision/choice to cite her vows to Edward as "honour, cherish and obey." Feminists the world over declared wrote endless commentary pieces about how archaic this part of the vows were and how Sophie was not a modern woman for doing so. I think most modern brides drop the "obey" part but keep the rest of the vows.

[Freedom]

Thank you Alexandria :)

[cd_1]

freedom, hows the gorgeous lady in ur avatar?

[Freedom]

Now My Dear Cd_1, what does this have to do with wedding vows??

[sara1981]

what about Diana,Princess of Wales and Sarah,Duchess of York's wedding vows? and Princess Anne?

I understand Countess of Wessex's vows more respectives as former Public Relations because she stills obeys to her husband and Queen lots! i dont blame her.

Sara Boyce

[Genevieve]

Originally Posted by sara1981

I understand Countess of Wessex's vows more respectives as former Public Relations because she stills obeys to her husband and Queen lots! i dont blame her.

Sara Boyce

As a woman I'm really surprised that you would support the "obey" part of the vow and don't "blame" Sophie for reciting that part of the vows. As a woman I was insulted and offended that Sophie chose to cite that as part of her vows.

I actually think the "obeying" part is wrong. In this day and age no adult should have to obey another adult. Especially if the other person is their husband who is supposed to be their equal partner in life and why should Sophie have to obey even the Queen? Nothing in Sophie's character or personality implies someone who would recklessly do things without considering how it would hurt or affect others such as the royal family. So why is it so important for Sophie to obey Edward and the Queen?

Obeying is a patriarchal and ancient custom so that men can dominate women and so the powerful can dominate society's lower echelons. As long as we encourage women to cite vows that include "obey" the further we push women down and don't allow them to thrive and succeed as their male counterparts. Women might as well be stricly baby-making/cooking/cleaning machines if we encourage them to "obey" rather than be the independent, thinking and productive individuals we know they are.

[Freedom]

I think the term 'obey' is necessary because she is marrying into a situation where she IS to serve her people, more than she is to serve herself. I don't think it is an issue of women's rights, but moreover an issue of duty.

[Genevieve]

Originally Posted by Freedom

I think the term 'obey' is necessary because she is marrying into a situation where she IS to serve her people, more than she is to serve herself. I don't think it is an issue of women's rights, but moreover an issue of duty.

Sophie pledged to "obey" Edward - not the entire country of Great Britian or the Queen. That is the distinction.

When Sophie and Edward were marrying, there weren't plans at the time for either of them to give up their careers: he Advent productions or her her PR company. It was only a few years later after the Sheik/Royal of the World sting did both give up their careers and become royals full time.

[ElisaR]

Elizabeth II chose "to obey". I'm not sure, but I think that at time of her marriage that part still was compulsory: in fact they offered the princess with the possibility of avoiding that part, because she was the future queen; but she rejected the possibility (as Queen Victoria did): maybe she wanted to be just like other women and not a privileged one. However I don't balme her in any way for not having seized the opportunity: those were other times.
About Sophie I think she just acted in an old fashioned way (in order to appear more "royal"?), but I doubt she really obeys to Edward.

[norwegianne]

Wasn't there something about the wedding vows of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson as well when it came to the obey part? I seem to recall something, but I can't quite remember *what*

[Elspeth]

Originally Posted by Freedom

Have any royals ever written their own wedding vows?

In Church of England weddings this isn't permitted. Couples can choose prayers and readings, but the vows are part of the service. The only choice is whether the bride chooses to obey, which is optional in the 1980 updating of the marriage service.

[Freedom]

What happens when a nonroyal male marries a royal female? Must he obey too, or is this a term only in female vows?

[Elspeth]

It makes no difference to the Church of England marriage service whether one of the parties is royal or not. The form of the service is the same as for any other wedding. In the traditional service the bride had to promise to obey; in the newer form that promise is optional. There's no provision for the groom to vow to obey; he just has to vow to love, honour, and cherish.

[alexandra485]

what about the king and queen of Sweden? can anyone translate theirs because i can't speak or understand any Swedish.

[Oppie]

Re Sarah and the Duke of York (question up the thread)

She promised to obey him twice (I think she just repeated the word)