He initially proposed to Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1921 (reportedly by proxy),[1] but she turned him down, being "afraid never, never again to be free to think, speak and act as I feel I really ought to".

[3] At the same time, Elizabeth was courted by James Stuart, Albert's equerry, until he left the prince's service for a better-paid job in the American oil business.

[8] In an unexpected and unprecedented gesture,[9] Elizabeth laid her bouquet at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior on her way into the Abbey,[10] in memory of her brother Fergus.

[14] Albert's freedom in choosing Elizabeth, not a member of a royal family, though the daughter of a peer, was considered a gesture in favour of political modernisation; previously, princes were expected to marry princesses.

[12] Elizabeth's wedding dress was made from deep ivory chiffon moire, embroidered with pearls and a silver thread.

A female ancestor of the bride wore it to a grand ball for "Bonnie Prince Charlie", Charles Edward Stuart.

[24] Following a wedding breakfast at Buckingham Palace prepared by chef Gabriel Tschumi, they honeymooned at Polesden Lacey, a manor house in Surrey, and then went to Scotland, where she caught "unromantic" whooping cough.