Palace gates may promise a fairytale ending, but history has shown that royal life is anything but immune from heartbreak. Extravagant weddings may capture the world’s imagination, but the splits of the royals often generate an even bigger global sensation. The following five are among those most famous splits, which truly rocked and redefined public perception of the monarchy.
Charles and Diana: The crowded marriage
The divorce of the then Prince and Princess of Wales remains probably the most high-profile split of the last century. Famed as the ‘wedding of the century’ in 1981, the marriage fractured under intense media scrutiny and infidelity on both sides. Princess Diana’s candid description of her marriage as being "a bit crowded" due to Prince Charles's renewed relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles sealed its fate. The 1996 divorce, following their 1992 separation, redefined modern royal life.
Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon: The reformation split
The original royal divorcee, King Henry VIII, created the ultimate split-not just from his wife Catherine of Aragon, but from the Catholic Church altogether. His quest to annul his marriage and marry Anne Boleyn forced him, in 1534, to establish the Church of England. It was a split that was not only personal but also one which caused a constitutional crisis and forever changed Britain.
Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson: Love over throne
The 1936 abdication of King Edward VIII is unparalleled for scandal. He reigned less than a year, stepping down from the throne to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American socialite. The Church of England and Parliament ruled the union impossible for a monarch. Edward's choice of ‘love over country’ remains one of history’s most romantic and disruptive royal splits.
Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones: The modern break
Princess Margaret, the late sister of Queen Elizabeth II, was the first senior royal to divorce since Henry VIII’s time. Her marriage to society photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, the Earl of Snowdon, ended in 1978. After years of reported estrangement and extramarital affairs on both sides, their formal separation signalled a seismic shift that allowed more modern attitudes toward divorce to enter the British royal family.
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson: The 'annus horribilis' duo
The separation of the 'Duke and Duchess of York' helped the Queen refer to 1992 as her 'annus horribilis' or 'horrible year'. Having married in 1986, it was only six years later that Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson parted ways following some scandalous media attention. They divorced in 1996. However acrimonious their split was, they famously still live together at Royal Lodge, maintaining an incredibly close and unusual friendship, once again proving that some royal breakups refuse all convention.
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