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0 / 30 Fotos
Prince Charles and Diana
- The marriage of then-Prince Charles and Diana started off on the wrong foot. Not that their relationship was amazing before they tied the knot, but their wedding night was also a milestone in a string of unfortunate events in their relationship history.
© Getty Images
1 / 30 Fotos
Prince Charles and Diana
- According to Tina Brown’s 2007 book ‘The Diana Chronicles,’ King Charles told a friend, "That first night was nothing special. It was pleasant enough, of course. But she really was painfully naïve."
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2 / 30 Fotos
Prince Charles and Diana
- But according to the author, Lady Di wasn’t impressed either. She complained about Charles' “roll on, roll off” performance, and the infrequent intimacy during their honeymoon.
© Getty Images
3 / 30 Fotos
Catherine the Great and Peter III of Russia
- There was nothing romantic about Catherine the Great and Peter III’s wedding night. The Emperor of Russia was frequently drunk, and on his wedding night it was no different.
© Getty Images
4 / 30 Fotos
Catherine the Great and Peter III of Russia
- Upon his arrival in the marital chambers, where Catherine had been waiting for hours, Peter passed out drunk. Charming, right?
© Getty Images
5 / 30 Fotos
Catherine the Great and Peter III of Russia
- Peter also seemed to be more interested in the miniature soldiers he kept under his bed, than in his wife. Catherine later said they never consummated their wedding. Historians believe her children were fathered by other men.
© Getty Images
6 / 30 Fotos
Puyi and Gobulo Wan Rong
- The wedding night of the last Chinese emperor and his wife, Gobulo Wan Rong, was a nightmare. Apparently, the red decoration of the chamber in the Palace of Heavenly Peace was a bit too much for the young emperor.
© Getty Images
7 / 30 Fotos
Puyi and Gobulo Wan Rong
- Puyi panicked and fled the room, leaving his wife alone for the night.
© Getty Images
8 / 30 Fotos
Puyi and Gobulo Wan Rong
- "I looked around me and saw that everything was red ... it all looked like a melted red wax candle. I did not know whether to stand or sit," the Emperor later recalled.
© Getty Images
9 / 30 Fotos
Maria Josepha of Saxony and Louis Ferdinand
- Tradition dictated that the newlyweds had to be seen in bed by the court's upper echelons before bed curtains were closed. Though the ritual brought Louis, Dauphin of France memories of his dead first wife, Marie Thérèse Raphaëlle, and he burst into tears.
© Getty Images
10 / 30 Fotos
Maria Josepha of Saxony and Louis Ferdinand
- They eventually consummated their relationship. After all, there were guests waiting for it! And despite the awkward nostalgia, the two did enjoy a long, fruitful marriage in the end.
© Getty Images
11 / 30 Fotos
Catherine of Aragon and Arthur, Prince of Wales
- Henry VIII claimed that his former sister-in-law, Catherine of Aragon, had never consummated her marriage to his brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales, so they could get married.
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12 / 30 Fotos
Catherine of Aragon and Arthur, Prince of Wales
- But when Henry VIII sought to dissolve his own marriage, he conveniently changed his tune, saying that indeed Catherine and Arthur had consummated their marriage before his death.
© Getty Images
13 / 30 Fotos
Catherine of Aragon and Arthur, Prince of Wales
- Though Catherine admitted they shared the same bed seven times, she "remained as intact and uncorrupted as the day she left her mother's womb." Apparently Arthur was too weak to do anything other than literally sleep with her.
© Getty Images
14 / 30 Fotos
Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI
- Louis-Auguste and Marie Antoinette met only a few hours before their wedding, so their wedding night was definitely awkward, to say the least.
© Getty Images
15 / 30 Fotos
Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI
- Apparently they didn’t consummate their marriage that night. It was believed that Louis suffered from a genital problem known as phimosis, which could make erections painful.
© Getty Images
16 / 30 Fotos
Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI
- Though according to ‘Marie Antoinette: The Journey’ by Antonia Fraser, Louis never had a physical condition, Instead, he just didn’t really know what to do. Apparently it took over seven years for the two to consummate their marriage.
© Getty Images
17 / 30 Fotos
Frederick II of Prussia and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern
- Their marriage was arranged by Frederick II’s father, and things don't seem to have gone very well between the newlyweds. Frederick II later wrote to his sister Wilhelmina, saying, "Thank God, that is over!"
© Getty Images
18 / 30 Fotos
Frederick II of Prussia and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern
- While we’re not sure what he exactly meant by that, we do know that the couple were very distant.
© Getty Images
19 / 30 Fotos
Princess Caroline of Brunswick and George IV
- Once again, alcohol inebriated a royal wedding in the worst possible way. This time it was George IV, who was incredibly drunk during his wedding, even missing part of the ceremony and sobbing on the altar.
© Getty Images
20 / 30 Fotos
Princess Caroline of Brunswick and George IV
- It goes without saying that George IV passed out drunk on their wedding night. The newlyweds did, however, consummate their marriage. Nine months later, their child, Princess Charlotte of Wales, was born.
© Getty Images
21 / 30 Fotos
Anne of Cleves and Henry VIII
- Henry VIII only had one male heir at the time, so having more seemed like a plan. A marriage between the King and William, duke of Cleves' sister Anne was arranged. William was the leader of the Protestants of western Germany.
© Getty Images
22 / 30 Fotos
Anne of Cleves and Henry VIII
- Henry VIII accepted the marriage based on a portrait of Anne. Except, when he met her personally, she didn’t quite look like the person in the portrait and he did not feel attracted to her. So much so that on their wedding night Henry VIII said that he "left her as good a maid as [he] found her."
© Getty Images
23 / 30 Fotos
Alexander the Great and Statira
- Despite Alexander’s struggle with fidelity, the couple married in Susa in 324 BCE. On the same day, Alexander’s loyal companion Hephaestion married Statira's sister, Drypetis.
© Getty Images
24 / 30 Fotos
Alexander the Great and Statira
- What both brides weren’t aware of was that Alexander and Hephaestion had a romantic relationship. Alexander and Hephaestion spent their wedding night with each other, instead of their respective wives.
© Getty Images
25 / 30 Fotos
Mary II and William of Orange
- Not only did William III, the prince of Orange, marry his cousin, but he was also a rumored homosexual at the time, which left 15-year-old Mary II fairly apprehensive about the arranged union.
© Getty Images
26 / 30 Fotos
Mary II and William of Orange
- It goes without saying that the wedding night didn’t go well. William was clearly disinterested in the bedding ritual, for which he even refused to remove the woolen drawers he was wearing. The couple never had children.
© Getty Images
27 / 30 Fotos
Attila the Hun and Ildico
- Atilla added Ildico to his Germanic harem in 453 CE. Attila threw a huge wedding, and partied for hours, joining his wife later at night, completely drunk.
© Getty Images
28 / 30 Fotos
Attila the Hun and Ildico
- The next day, Atilla was found dead. He apparently suffered a nosebleed while chasing his wife around the room, and might have fallen or hit something, because he is said to have choked on his own blood. How’s that for a disastrous wedding night? Sources: (Town & Country) (The Cut) (HistoryExtra) (Grunge) (Historic UK) (History Ireland) (ThoughtCo.) See also: The most ridiculous deaths in history
© Getty Images
29 / 30 Fotos
© Getty Images
0 / 30 Fotos
Prince Charles and Diana
- The marriage of then-Prince Charles and Diana started off on the wrong foot. Not that their relationship was amazing before they tied the knot, but their wedding night was also a milestone in a string of unfortunate events in their relationship history.
© Getty Images
1 / 30 Fotos
Prince Charles and Diana
- According to Tina Brown’s 2007 book ‘The Diana Chronicles,’ King Charles told a friend, "That first night was nothing special. It was pleasant enough, of course. But she really was painfully naïve."
© Getty Images
2 / 30 Fotos
Prince Charles and Diana
- But according to the author, Lady Di wasn’t impressed either. She complained about Charles' “roll on, roll off” performance, and the infrequent intimacy during their honeymoon.
© Getty Images
3 / 30 Fotos
Catherine the Great and Peter III of Russia
- There was nothing romantic about Catherine the Great and Peter III’s wedding night. The Emperor of Russia was frequently drunk, and on his wedding night it was no different.
© Getty Images
4 / 30 Fotos
Catherine the Great and Peter III of Russia
- Upon his arrival in the marital chambers, where Catherine had been waiting for hours, Peter passed out drunk. Charming, right?
© Getty Images
5 / 30 Fotos
Catherine the Great and Peter III of Russia
- Peter also seemed to be more interested in the miniature soldiers he kept under his bed, than in his wife. Catherine later said they never consummated their wedding. Historians believe her children were fathered by other men.
© Getty Images
6 / 30 Fotos
Puyi and Gobulo Wan Rong
- The wedding night of the last Chinese emperor and his wife, Gobulo Wan Rong, was a nightmare. Apparently, the red decoration of the chamber in the Palace of Heavenly Peace was a bit too much for the young emperor.
© Getty Images
7 / 30 Fotos
Puyi and Gobulo Wan Rong
- Puyi panicked and fled the room, leaving his wife alone for the night.
© Getty Images
8 / 30 Fotos
Puyi and Gobulo Wan Rong
- "I looked around me and saw that everything was red ... it all looked like a melted red wax candle. I did not know whether to stand or sit," the Emperor later recalled.
© Getty Images
9 / 30 Fotos
Maria Josepha of Saxony and Louis Ferdinand
- Tradition dictated that the newlyweds had to be seen in bed by the court's upper echelons before bed curtains were closed. Though the ritual brought Louis, Dauphin of France memories of his dead first wife, Marie Thérèse Raphaëlle, and he burst into tears.
© Getty Images
10 / 30 Fotos
Maria Josepha of Saxony and Louis Ferdinand
- They eventually consummated their relationship. After all, there were guests waiting for it! And despite the awkward nostalgia, the two did enjoy a long, fruitful marriage in the end.
© Getty Images
11 / 30 Fotos
Catherine of Aragon and Arthur, Prince of Wales
- Henry VIII claimed that his former sister-in-law, Catherine of Aragon, had never consummated her marriage to his brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales, so they could get married.
© Getty Images
12 / 30 Fotos
Catherine of Aragon and Arthur, Prince of Wales
- But when Henry VIII sought to dissolve his own marriage, he conveniently changed his tune, saying that indeed Catherine and Arthur had consummated their marriage before his death.
© Getty Images
13 / 30 Fotos
Catherine of Aragon and Arthur, Prince of Wales
- Though Catherine admitted they shared the same bed seven times, she "remained as intact and uncorrupted as the day she left her mother's womb." Apparently Arthur was too weak to do anything other than literally sleep with her.
© Getty Images
14 / 30 Fotos
Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI
- Louis-Auguste and Marie Antoinette met only a few hours before their wedding, so their wedding night was definitely awkward, to say the least.
© Getty Images
15 / 30 Fotos
Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI
- Apparently they didn’t consummate their marriage that night. It was believed that Louis suffered from a genital problem known as phimosis, which could make erections painful.
© Getty Images
16 / 30 Fotos
Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI
- Though according to ‘Marie Antoinette: The Journey’ by Antonia Fraser, Louis never had a physical condition, Instead, he just didn’t really know what to do. Apparently it took over seven years for the two to consummate their marriage.
© Getty Images
17 / 30 Fotos
Frederick II of Prussia and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern
- Their marriage was arranged by Frederick II’s father, and things don't seem to have gone very well between the newlyweds. Frederick II later wrote to his sister Wilhelmina, saying, "Thank God, that is over!"
© Getty Images
18 / 30 Fotos
Frederick II of Prussia and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern
- While we’re not sure what he exactly meant by that, we do know that the couple were very distant.
© Getty Images
19 / 30 Fotos
Princess Caroline of Brunswick and George IV
- Once again, alcohol inebriated a royal wedding in the worst possible way. This time it was George IV, who was incredibly drunk during his wedding, even missing part of the ceremony and sobbing on the altar.
© Getty Images
20 / 30 Fotos
Princess Caroline of Brunswick and George IV
- It goes without saying that George IV passed out drunk on their wedding night. The newlyweds did, however, consummate their marriage. Nine months later, their child, Princess Charlotte of Wales, was born.
© Getty Images
21 / 30 Fotos
Anne of Cleves and Henry VIII
- Henry VIII only had one male heir at the time, so having more seemed like a plan. A marriage between the King and William, duke of Cleves' sister Anne was arranged. William was the leader of the Protestants of western Germany.
© Getty Images
22 / 30 Fotos
Anne of Cleves and Henry VIII
- Henry VIII accepted the marriage based on a portrait of Anne. Except, when he met her personally, she didn’t quite look like the person in the portrait and he did not feel attracted to her. So much so that on their wedding night Henry VIII said that he "left her as good a maid as [he] found her."
© Getty Images
23 / 30 Fotos
Alexander the Great and Statira
- Despite Alexander’s struggle with fidelity, the couple married in Susa in 324 BCE. On the same day, Alexander’s loyal companion Hephaestion married Statira's sister, Drypetis.
© Getty Images
24 / 30 Fotos
Alexander the Great and Statira
- What both brides weren’t aware of was that Alexander and Hephaestion had a romantic relationship. Alexander and Hephaestion spent their wedding night with each other, instead of their respective wives.
© Getty Images
25 / 30 Fotos
Mary II and William of Orange
- Not only did William III, the prince of Orange, marry his cousin, but he was also a rumored homosexual at the time, which left 15-year-old Mary II fairly apprehensive about the arranged union.
© Getty Images
26 / 30 Fotos
Mary II and William of Orange
- It goes without saying that the wedding night didn’t go well. William was clearly disinterested in the bedding ritual, for which he even refused to remove the woolen drawers he was wearing. The couple never had children.
© Getty Images
27 / 30 Fotos
Attila the Hun and Ildico
- Atilla added Ildico to his Germanic harem in 453 CE. Attila threw a huge wedding, and partied for hours, joining his wife later at night, completely drunk.
© Getty Images
28 / 30 Fotos
Attila the Hun and Ildico
- The next day, Atilla was found dead. He apparently suffered a nosebleed while chasing his wife around the room, and might have fallen or hit something, because he is said to have choked on his own blood. How’s that for a disastrous wedding night? Sources: (Town & Country) (The Cut) (HistoryExtra) (Grunge) (Historic UK) (History Ireland) (ThoughtCo.) See also: The most ridiculous deaths in history
© Getty Images
29 / 30 Fotos
The most disastrous royal wedding nights in history
These royal unions didn't begin in marital bliss...
© <p>Getty Images</p>
Royal weddings are often magnificent and opulent. But that doesn't necessarily mean that the bride and groom are always happy. Sometimes things do go wrong on the wedding night, and what was supposed to be a memorable night for the royal newlyweds becomes a nightmare.
Browse through the following gallery and discover history's most miserable royal wedding nights.
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