February 18, 1828
Princess Feodora of Leiningen and Ernst, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg were married today at the residence of her mother, the Duchess of Kent, in the King's Palace at Kensington.
A large crowd gathered outside the palace, "in expectation of beholding their beloved Sovereign," the Times's correspondent.
The Kensington Church bells "struck up a merry peal" shortly before the ceremony took place and "continued to ring at intervals during the afternoon and evening."
Members of the Royal Family began to arrive at the palace after 2 p.m. and were received in the Grand Hall by Sir John Conroy, the Duchess' Principal Equerry, and Private Secretary, who escorted them to the north vestibule. Nearly every member of the royal family in England attended the wedding including the Duke and Duchess of Clarence, the Duke of Sussex, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, Princess Sophia, Princess Sophia Matilda, and Prince Leopold. Princess Augusta, who is in Brighton, was unable to attend.
Shortly after 3 p.m, the royal family proceeded to the Grand Saloon adjoining the Vestibule where a temporary altar had been set up. Dr. Kuper, the chaplain of the Royal German Chapel, united the young couple in marriage according to the rites of the Lutheran Church.
Princess Feodora's older brother, Carl, Prince of Leiningen also attended the wedding along with the Duchess of Kent's staff.
The bride and her "Royal sister the Princess Victoria," wore British-made dresses made from "Buckinghamshire thread lace." Victoria and Princess Amelie of Carolath-Beuthen were Feodora's bridesmaids. Amelie, 5, is the daughter of Heinrich, Prince of Carolath-Beuthen. The Prince is a first cousin to the Duchess of Clarence. His mother, Princess Amalie, was the younger sister of Adelaide's father, Georg, the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen.
The Duchess of Clarence and the Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg are also first cousins.
Although it was initially reported that the King would give the bride away, it was his brother, the "florid fatherly Uncle William of Clarence," who took the bride's arm and
The Duchess of Kent hosted a "splendid early dinner" in honor of the newlyweds. The royal guests left for their respective residences at 6 p.m.
Princess Feodora, 20, and her 38-year-old husband, Prince Ernst left the King's Palace at 8 p.m, in a new carriage for Prince Leopold's home, Claremont, where they will spend their honeymoon.
The King gave Feodora a "superb present in diamonds," and other members of the royal family also presented her with jewelry.
The new Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg has been living in England with her mother and younger half-sister for the past nine years. She and her brother, Carl, are the Duchess of Kent's children from her first marriage to the late Prince of Leiningen. In 1818, the former Princess Victoire of Saxe-Coburg and Saafeld, a sister of Prince Leopold, widower of the late Princess Charlotte, married the Duke of Kent.
The Duke, the fourth son of the late King George III, died in January 1820 eight months after the birth of his daughter, Princess Alexandrina Victoria.
Four days before the wedding, the Duchess gave a "grand assembly at her residence to a "numerous assemblage of relatives and friends. The celebration began at nine p.m. The palace's Great Hall was "brilliantly illuminated." The band of the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards was stationed "in the orange shrubbery, surrounded by a variety of other trees, plants, and flowers."
The band played different pieces of music throughout the evening and struck up God Save the King for the arrival of each member of the Royal Family. The Duke and Duchess of Clarence, Princess Sophia, Prince Leopold, Princess Sophia Matilda, the Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Prince and Princess Lieven, Prince and Princess Esterhazy, Prince and Princess Polignac, Foreign Ambassadors, the Lord Chancellor, members of the Cabinet, the Speaker of the House, the Bishop of London as well as members of the peerage, including eleven Dukes.
Princess Feodora's eight-year-old half-sister, Princess Alexandrina Victoria, was too young to attend the ball.
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