 >A souvenir of the 1907 royal wedding. Married for over 40 years. Prince Charles died in 1 949 and Princess Louise in 1958 |
Evesham's Royal Wedding
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| November 1907 was a time of great excitement in Evesham and its neighbourhood, as nearby Wood Norton Hall, home of the Duc d'Orleans, claimant to the throne of France, was the setting for a spectacular royal wedding. The happy couple were Princess Louise d'Orleans, the younger sister of the Due d'Orleans, and Prince Charles de Bourbon-Siciles. On the guest list was royalty from France, England, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Belgium and Bavaria plus members of the European nobility. Reigning monarchs present were King Carlos I of Portugal and his wife Queen Amelie, another sister of the Due d'Orleans, and King Alfonso XIII of Spain and his queen, Victoria-Eugenie. The Queen of Spain's mother, Princess Henry of Battenburg, also known as Princess Beatrice, sister of Edward VII, represented the King of England who, at the time of the wedding, was entertaining the German Kaiser, Wilhelm II and the Empress Augusta at Windsor. |
 For many years. Wood Norton Hal1, near Evesham, was the residence of the exiled French royal family. In 1857 the Duc d'Aumale, fourth son of Louis-Phillippe, the last king of France, came to live here and subsequently purchased the estate in 1872. On his death in 1897, the Wood Norton estate passed to his great-nephew, the Duc d'Orleans, as did the claim to the French throne. Extensive rebuilding was carried out by the new owner, who lived in splendid style at the mansion until the estate was sold in 1912. After several changes of ownership, the mansion was acquired by the B.B.C. in 1939 and used as a broadcasting centre during the Second World War. At the end of the war it became a training centre of the B.B.C. |
 The impressive entrance gates to Wood Norton Hall were once thought to have come from Versailles. It now appears, however, that they were transferred to Wood Norton a short time before the royal wedding, from York House, a property belonging to the Duc d'Orleans at Twickenham. In this view, the monogram of the House of Orleans can be seen in the centre of each gate, while above the gates are the arms of the House of Orleans and the motto 'Mountjoye St. Denis' |
The Duc d'Orleans had made ambitious plans for the nuptials, including the construction of a large wooden pavilion at the side of his mansion, as the private chapel at Wood Norton was much too small for the ceremony. Painted to look like the stonework of the house, the wedding chapel was joined to the main building by a colonnade. However, the best-laid plans can go astray. Unfortunately the chapel had not been licensed for the solemnization of matrimony, so early on the wedding morning the royal couple had to go to Evesham and take their vows in a simple, official ceremony conducted in the corrugated iron hut which functioned as the town's Roman Catholic Church. |
| After the civil marriage had taken place, the bride and groom went back to Wood Norton for a memorable service in the candle-lit chapel, led by the splendidly robed Roman Catholic Bishop of Birmingham. Princess Louise, wearing a beautiful point d'Angeleterre veil, was dressed in embroidered charmeuse, a silky material with a satiny surface. Prince Charles, a general in Spain's army, wore a magnificent uniform decorated with glittering medals. The ladies were gloriously attired and the gentlemen resplendent in their uniforms. |
 Wood Norton, showing the large, wooden chapel for the royal wedding under construction. The Duc d'Orleans had paid great attention to every detail of the chapel. The ceiling was made to look like the sky and was studded with gold fleurs de lys, while there were even stained-glass windows |
 The marriage of Princess Louise d'Orleans and Prince Charles de Bourbon-Siciles was solemnized at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Evesham, a corrugated iron building very different from the venue originally intended. Only very close relatives were in attendance at this ceremony, which took place at 8 a.m. on 16th November 1907 |
It is said that the Duc d'Orleans spent £30,000, a great sum at the time, on this dazzling occasion and that his finances never altogether recovered from the event. He left Wood Norton in 1912 and the estate was sold. The royal pair made their home in Seville and had four children. Their daughter, Princess Maria, married Prince Juan, Count of Barcelona, son of King Alphonso XIII and Queen Victoria-Eugenie of Spain. Born in 1938, Prince Juan Carlos, the second child of this marriage, became the King of Spain when the monarchy was restored in 1975. |
 The royal wedding decorations at Evesham railway station |
 Evesham town was decked out with bunting and flags while thousands of local people came to wait for the arrival of the royal wedding guests at the railway station. This card shows the crowds at the top of the High Street. The Railway Hotel is on the right while the approach to the railway station is on the left |
 The King of Spain and the Duc De Montpensier at Evesham station |
Evesham is justly proud of its 'royal' connection and memorabilia from Wood Norton is held in the town's Almonry Heritage Centre. My thanks go to Tony Whiting, manager of the centre, and Dorothy Green, fellow postcard collector, for the help in compiling this account. Further information was obtained from Wood Norton, near Evesham by Benjamin G. Cox, published by the Vale of Evesham Historical Society in 1975. |
Picture Postcard Monthly December 1997
