The Guest List Trivia Quiz

Answer: Camilla Parker Bowles

Camilla Parker Bowles and Prince Charles were romantically involved before, during and after his wedding to Diana Spencer. Their relationship received lots of scrutiny and criticism, particularly for the time period when Charles and Diana were married.

At least they were in it for the long haul and they married each other on April 9, 2005. This was the second marriage for both of them. Camilla is entitled to use the title Princess of Wales but at least a little bit of judgment was used in the relationship as she is referred to as the Duchess of Cornwall instead. Diana is in people's hearts as the Princess of Wales.

Answer: Spike Milligan

Spike Milligan was a British-Irish comedian, actor, poet and playwright well known for being the co-creator, cast member and main playwright for the radio show "The Goon Show." He was in attendance at the wedding as Prince Charles is a big fan. A few days before the wedding, a poem written on a scroll signed with the name 'MacGoonical' was delivered to the Royal Palace. This poem is called "Ode to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales on the occasion of his Weeding" and is written in a nonsensical and humorous style. Mr Milligan is the man behind this funny and affectionate gift. Here's the beginning of that poem:

"Oh! Twas in the year 1981
Prince Philip was reading Page 3 of the Sun!
They were all sitting in Buckingham Palace
Roaring with laughter at the comedy Dallas."

Answer: Margaret Thatcher

The guest list of 3,500 was a who's who of politics and royalty and so it is no surprise that the sitting Prime Minister would be in attendance on that hot day in July 1981. Margaret Thatcher, the PM at the time, who served in this capacity from 1979 to 1990 was the first female to lead a major political party in the UK. Nicknamed the "Iron Lady" she had a reputation for being tough and unrelenting and is considered controversial for some of her policies.

She survived an assassination attempt from the Irish Republican Party in 1984 and started a war with Argentina in 1982.

She attended the Royal wedding with her husband Denis.

Answer: Spain

Most of the heads of state, royals and political leaders from Europe were in attendance at the wedding. King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain were both invited however they were advised to decline by their government. Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory, was a disputed territory, with Spain making a territorial claim to it. Gibraltar was included as a honeymoon spot for Charles and Diana and so the Spanish government recommended to King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia that they should not attend, so they didn't. I wonder if they watched it on TV like the rest of us?

Answer: Diana was their babysitter

Patrick and Mary Robertson are Americans who were living in London. Patrick was an official with Exxon and Mary worked at a bank and when they applied to an agency for a babysitter for their son Patrick Jr, guess who turned up? A certain someone named Diana was their babysitter and so they were invited to her wedding. They had moved back to the USA two months before the engagement of Charles and Diana but did attend the wedding. Diana also invited the staff from the nursery school where she had worked.

Answer: First Lady Nancy Reagan

Many Presidents of other countries attended the wedding, including President Mitterand from France and Karl Carstens, the President of Germany. Other politicians who attended included Robert Muldoon, Prime Minister of New Zealand. The United States sent First Lady Nancy Reagan. President Reagan, who sent his regrets, was scheduled for an economic summit in Ottawa, Canada in mid-July.

There was some speculation that he didn't want his first Presidential visit to Europe to be for a social event. I'm not sure I would've made the same decision!

Answer: Three

Lady Sarah and Neil McCorquodale, Diana's sister and brother-in-law; Lady Jane and Robert Fellowes, Diana's sister and brother-in-law; and Viscount Althorp, Diana's brother Charles, were all in attendance at the wedding. Other relatives of Diana to attend were her step-mom and dad, her aunt on her dad's side, her grandmother on her mom's side, and an uncle and aunt on her mom's side. Also in attendance was a great-aunt by marriage on her dad's side.

The list of relatives of the groom who attended is way too extensive to mention here but if the bride's family sat on one side of St Paul's Cathedral and the groom's family sat on the other side, it would've been rather uneven!

Answer: Winston Churchill

There were seven bridal attendants in total for the wedding of Charles and Diana and little Clementine was the youngest. She is daughter of Rupert and the Honorable Mrs Hambro, grand-daughter to Lord and Lady Soames and great-great granddaughter to Winston Churchill. Diana had four other bridesmaids and there were two pages as well, both godsons of Prince Charles. Prince Charles had two supporters, Princes Andrew and Prince Edward. Supporters are the Royal equivalent to a Best Man.

Answer: Ireland

Ireland didn't have a Governor General which is the reason why one couldn't attend however Irish President Patrick Hillery was invited and didn't attend due to the troubles in Northern Ireland. Other heads of state who didn't attend included the President of Greece, Constantine Karamanlis.

He declined because Greece's exiled King, Constantine II, was invited as 'King of the Hellenes'. Several Governors-General were in attendance, including from Canada, Australia, Jamaica, Grenada, Fiji, Barbados, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Mauritius.

Answer: Harry Secombe

Harry Secombe was a Welsh comedian and actor, well known for the radio programme "The Goon Show." He was the second comedian from the show that Prince Charles invited to his wedding. Prince Charles was a big fan of Mr Secombe and attended his memorial service after his death which was held at Westminster Abbey in 2001.

The Prince of Wales even wrote a piece for the UK newspaper The Observer after Secombe's death titled "A light has gone out in our lives with the removal of a vital spirit".