The Honeymoon That Has Proven Fatal For Royal Marriages

Every time a royal couple has gone with this honeymoon choice has ended in the same way.

Honeymoons are all about newlyweds celebrating their first days of marriage together.

Its a great chance for the couple to enjoy in each other’s company and relax after the stressful period that is preparing for a wedding so it’s important to find the perfect honeymoon for you.

But for British royal couples, one honeymoon choice has proven to be cursed for newlyweds, with every couple that has been on that honeymoon ending their marriage with a divorce.

Four royal couples chose a honeymoon at sea, onboard the Royal Yacht Britannia, Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones, and Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. But there is one more thing that these couples have in common. All their marriages ended in divorce.

In fact, every other royal couple who had chosen a different honeymoon destination are still together to this day.

Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones were the first ever royal couple to use the Royal Yacht for their honeymoon in the 1960s when they went on a six-week cruise across the Caribbean.

The Britannia website reveals that “Princess Margaret kept mainly to the Royal Apartments and all meals were very formal, with dinner eaten in full evening dress.”

The couple was married for 18 years and had two children-David, 2nd Earl of Snowdon and Lady Sarah – before eventually divorcing in 1978.

 

Next to book their honeymoon there were Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips on a trip to the Caribbean, after getting married back in 1973.

Unfortunately, the honeymoon didn’t go as smooth as the couple had hoped for.

Due to stormy weather and 20-foot waves, the cruise journey was disrupted, while the couple felt severely seasick throughout the entire journey.

Not the romantic get-away one would want.

The trip wasn’t a complete disaster as even with the bad weather, the couple managed to get enjoy a bit of that world-famous Caribbean sunshine, before finishing their trip to the Galapagos Islands.

They went on to have two children together, Peter and Zara Phillips, who was born without titles after Mark declined the offer of an earldom.

After 16 years spent together, Princess Anne and Mark announced their intention to separate, and they divorced three years later.

Princess Anne went to remarry. She married Timothy Laurence and they are still together to this day.

The third royal couple that book their honeymoon sailing on the Royal Yacht were Prince Charles and Princess Diana, who got married in 1981.

They went on a 16-day trip around the Mediterranean and got the chance to explore the Greek Islands for some sun-soaked relaxation.

Unlike the other two couples before them, they didn’t have a route set and preferred to make plans day by day and do as they please for their honeymoon.

After their trip in the Mediterranean, the couple returned to Scotland and spent some time in Balmoral with the royal family.

And as everyone knows, they had two children, Prince William and Prince Harry, before eventually announcing their separation in 1992 and finally divorcing in 1996.

The last couple to go on a honeymoon cruise was Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, in 1986.

 

The couple went on a five-day sailing on the Atlantic, getting the chance to see the mesmerizing Azores Islands in Portugal.

They had two daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice and were married for a decade before divorcing in May 1996, having shocked the public after announcing their separation in 1992.

It a weird coincidence that all four couples that went to honeymoon onboard the ship were the only ones whose marriages ended with a divorce.

No doubt the cruise honeymoon would have been appealing though – after all, the Royal Yacht was incredibly luxurious.

The Royal Apartments had their honeymoon suite, as well as an own drawing room for relaxing and games-Princess Diana and Princess Margaret, have been both reported of playing the baby grand piano there- as well as a dedicated sun lounge where royals could enjoy their breakfast and afternoon tea.

The ship was a particular hit with the Queen, who, according to the Britannia website, said it was “where I can truly relax”.

However, it seems very unlikely that the curse of the Royal Yacht Britannia will strike again, as the ship was decommissioned back in 1994. The decommissioning service was an emotional day for the monarch, who publicly shed a tear.