The glamorous first getaways of the royal newlyweds

With the eyes of many thousands, if not millions, upon them when they marry, it’s no wonder that royal couples often feel the need to head straight off for a restful break.

Some spare no expense. Lady Amelia Spencer chose a luxurious holiday in the Maldives after she married long-term boyfriend Greg Mallett.

This followed the example set by her older sister Kitty, who spent more than a month travelling across Europe for her honeymoon.

Others have opted for something more private. Balmoral has long been a popular destination for those wanting to recharge their batteries in the Scottish Highlands.

Here, from playing Scrabble in the airport lounge to meeting the Pope,  are the colourful first getaways of the royal newlyweds from around the world.

Lady Amelia Spencer and Greg Mallett

Princess Diana’s niece, Lady Amelia Spencer, married her husband, Greg Mallett on a mountaintop in the winelands of South Africa’s Western Cape earlier this year.

The couple, who met 13 years before tying the knot, then jetted off for a honeymoon in the Maldives, sharing images on social media.

Staying at the Coco Residence, which costs in excess of £600 a night, the pair enjoyed a guided snorkelling tour around the reefs, relaxed at the Coco spa and saw a film at a private cinema under the stars.

They moved to the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island for the second week of their trip, referencing The Muraka in their social media post – a $20,000-a-night three-bedroom residence complete with butler service.

Picturesque Instagram snaps also showed the newlyweds enjoying a sunny breakfast in a pool and sharing a kiss while standing in the sea.

Lady Amelia, who is the daughter of Diana’s younger brother, Earl Spencer, wore a white bathing suit as she hopped onto a jet ski while Greg was pictured beaming as he showed off his wedding ring.

The society beauty, who is the cousin of Princes William and Harry, met her real estate husband while they were both studying at the University of Cape Town.

They were together for 11 years before Greg popped the question at the exclusive Clouds Wine & Guest Estate in Stellenbosch.

Speaking to Hello magazine about the proposal, Greg explained how he presented Amelia with a pink box – which contained eight smaller ones.

He said: ‘In each box was a photograph of a “first time”. The final box contained a note instead of a picture, that said: “But most importantly, I know that you will remember tonight as the night that I proposed.”

‘As Amelia was reading the note, I dropped to one knee with the ring.’

Charles Spencer previously revealed that Greg had asked for his blessing before proposing in South Africa.

Taking to Twitter last year, he said: ‘So happy for my daughter, Amelia, engaged to her boyfriend of 11 years, Greg – it’s wonderful to hear them both so excited about their future.

‘Sending them both love, and every good wish for their life together. I love that Greg asked my blessing before proposing. Very sweet.’

But Charles was absent from the wedding itself at Quoin Rock Manor House in March.

Prince William and Kate Middleton

After their wedding on 29 April 2011, the specific destination of William and Kate’s honeymoon was kept under wraps so they could enjoy their holiday in total privacy.

The Prince and Princess of Wales first enjoyed a ‘mini-moon’ in the UK and Clarence House refused to reveal their destination or issue official pictures.

The month after the wedding, the pair set off for a romantic ten-day getaway in the Seychelles.

Dropped off by a private jet, the Prince and Princess were taken by helicopter from the mainland to the tropical retreat of North Island, which has just 11 private villas, where they stayed in a £4,000-a-night-bungalow.

Their villa had its own butler, an open-air bathroom area with sunken bath and shower, a private garden and a wooden deck with a freshwater rock pool and yoga pavilion.

Residents also benefit from a personal chef who tailors dishes around freshly-caught fish and the personal tastes of the guests.

It is understood that William arranged a surprise sunset cruise and asked the resort to set up a champagne picnic on one of the island’s most secluded beaches during their stay. 

It is believed that Kate was unaware of the exact destination and a source told the Daily Mail: ‘It’s one of the most incredible places you will ever visit and Kate will have the time of her life. 

‘It’s everything you could want from a honeymoon destination and more – beautiful beaches, tropical seas and complete privacy.

‘It’s a real Robinson Crusoe kind of place. There are some beautiful hikes, but if you can’t be bothered to walk, a golf cart will transport you. They will also deliver you a picnic with ice-cold drinks.’

However, the royal couple were left ‘surprised and upset’ when, the year after their honeymoon, an Australian magazine printed photographs of the couple on their private trip.

The pictures – printed on the front cover of Woman’s Day magazine – showed them strolling hand-in-hand wearing only swimwear on a beach in the Seychelles.

The media had collectively agreed not to publish photos of the couple on their honeymoon and a source told the Daily Mail that the couple saw it as ‘a significant invasion of a very private, special time’.

Lady Kitty Spencer and Michael Lewis

Princes Diana’s niece and Earl Spencer’s eldest daughter Kitty, married her husband Michael, who is 32 years her senior, at the Villa Aldobrandini in Frascati, a stunning country mansion with views of Rome, in 2021.

Kitty and her billionaire fashion tycoon husband honeymooned for over a month, staying in some of Europe’s most glamorous destinations.

From their wedding in Rome, the honeymoon began in Positano on the Amalfi Coast and the couple stayed at the five-star Il San Pietro Hotel, where top suites cost £4,000-a-night during high season.

As an ambassador for Dolce and Gabbana, she donned a wardrobe full of dresses by the designer throughout the holiday.

Arriving in Positano, Kitty looked elegant yet relaxed in a £1,500 printed cotton-poplin D&G midi dress with a £975 embroidered D&G straw beach bag and £925 D&G sandals.

The pair were pictured soaking up the sunshine, taking a dip in the sea and dining out at the Michelin starred restaurant Rosselinis in Ravello.

Taking a break from her honeymoon to engage in high society, Lady Kitty returned to the UK for the wedding of her friend Lady Jemima Herbert before reuniting with her husband and heading for the French Riviera.

The pair returned to Italy, this time joined by friends and family including her businesswoman chum Natasha Poonawalla and half-brother Samuel Aitken.

Samuel had walked Kitty down the aisle at her wedding, alongside her brother Louis, in the absence of her father Charles – raising questions about the state of his relationship with his daughter.

Her wedding to Michael had been spread across four days, during which time the socialite donned five specially made Dolce and Gabbana dresses – including her lace Victorian-style wedding gown. 

The series of celebrations over the weekend included a rehearsal dinner, a fireworks display and a lavish day-after lunch. 

One expert put the cost of the wedding – including Kitty’s five custom Dolce & Gabbana gowns – in excess of £1million.

Zara and Mike Tindall

Princess Anne’s daughter Zara wed rugby player Mike Tindall in July 2011 but they were forced to postpone their honeymoon until three months later.

With Mike returning to training in advance of the World Cup and Zara launching her first children’s equestrian collection just days after the wedding, the pair said they were too busy.

‘Unfortunately both of us do have quite busy lives so it’s going to have to wait a bit for a honeymoon, but it is quite nice to go back to work as well,’ Zara said at the time.

They were eventually able to take a break by jetting off to the Columbia Beach Resort, near Limassol in Cyprus in October, three months after their wedding at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh.

The trip followed the release of grainy CCTV pictures showing Mike with his ex, Jessica Palmer, in a bar in Queenstown the month before.

The royals mingled with the other guests in the hotel during their stay, always being the last down for breakfast and joining the queue for beach towels.

They were spotted sunbathing and reading, playfully hitting each other with their feet on the sunbeds and putting lotion on each other’s backs.

They even kept up with their sporting pursuits at the hotel spa, with Zara borrowing a pair of trainers from the hotel before her workout.

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson 

Speaking in 2021, Sarah Ferguson said that her wedding to Prince Andrew on 23 July 1986 was still the ‘best day of her life’.

‘I was the luckiest girl in the world,’ she told Italian talk show Porta a Porta. ‘It was truly a fairytale because I was marrying a prince.’

After their Westminster Abbey wedding and a famous kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson had a party at Claridge’s Hotel.

The Duke and Duchess of York then set off for Heathrow Airport in a horse-drawn carriage complete with confetti, flags, an oversized teddy bear and a pole with the message ‘Phone home’.

For her going away outfit, Fergie opted for a floral blue co-ord featuring a peplum jacket with puffed sleeves paried with white high heels.

They spent five days cruising the Azores on board The Royal Yacht Britannia and it was reported that staff on the vessel hardly saw the couple, who at one point hosted guests for a cocktail party on the deck.

According to the Daily Mail, the commander of the ship said: ‘My instructions from Buckingham Palace are that this honeymoon is to stay entirely private.’

The pair divorced in 1996 but told the Daily Mail: ‘We’re the happiest divorced couple in the world. We’re divorced to each other, not from each other.’

King Charles and Princess Diana

Charles and Diana’s wedding on 29 July 1981 was dubbed the Wedding of the Century and came at an eye-watering cost of $48 million.

While crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of the young couple and their fairytale wedding, the reality was less idyllic than the public perceived.

A 20-year-old Lady Diana spent the night before at Clarence House where she had an attack of bulimia and reportedly considered cancelling the wedding.

Their three month honeymoon was also believed to be riddled with complications as they headed off first to Broadlands in Hampshire, before embarking on a 14-day cruise around the Mediterranean on the royal yacht Britannia and ending at Balmoral.

While Diana wanted to have fun with her new husband, she told Andrew Morton that Charles began reading novels by philosopher Laurens van der Post from the second day of their honeymoon so the pair could discuss the works.

The trip only served to emphasise their incompatibility, as Charles had hoped to spend time swimming, reading and painting.

The Princess got so frustrated that her husband preferred to spend his time painting rather than talking to her, she destroyed one of his paintings that he had been completing on the deck of the Britannia. 

She told Andrew Morton that her bulimia was ‘appalling’ during their time on board Britannia.

‘Anything I could find, I would gobble up and be sick two minutes later — very tired,’ she said.

‘So, of course, that slightly got the mood swings going, in the sense that one minute one would be happy, the next, blubbing one’s eyes out.’

While staying at Balmoral from August to October, Diana added that she became ‘terribly, terrible thin’.

‘I was so depressed, and I was trying to cut my wrists with razor blades,’ she said, explaining that she returned to London early.

The couple separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996 after the breakdown of their marriage became public. 

Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips

The Princess Royal married her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips, in Westminster Abbey on 14 November 1973.

Captain Phillips served on the royal yacht Britannia and, perhaps appropriately, they then honeymooned aboard the vessel, spending 18 days sailing the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The cabins on the yacht are made up of single beds so Princess Anne and Captain Phillips reportedly pushed theirs together.

The couple officially separated in 1989 and divorced in 1993, with Princess Anne marrying her second husband, retired Navy officer Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, a few months later.

King Charles and Queen Camilla

Charles and Camilla wed in a civil ceremony at the Windsor Guildhall on April 9, 2005 after a relationship spanning more than 30 years.

The ceremony was followed by a blessing in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

The couple spent their honeymoon at their beloved hideaway Birkhall, situated at Balmoral, where the couple had been spending the spring in the years before their wedding.

They later toured the Greek islands on a yacht owned by Greek billionaire, Spiros Latsis, after Charles had completed a retreat at a Romanian monastery.

Camilla headed over on a private jet in advance of Charles’ arrival but Charles was only to spend part of his time on the boat.

The then Prince of Wales also joined Orthodox monks at Mount Athos – a male-only Greek monastery.

At the time, a spokesperson for the Mount Athos community said that Charles would be ‘painting and discussing philosophical issues with the abbot, as he usually does’.

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh

Prince Edward, the late Queen’s youngest child, married Sophie Rhys-Jones, who worked in PR, at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle on 19 June 1999.

After a lunch at their home, Bagshot Park, the pair headed to Birkhall for their honeymoon.

However, the couple were reportedly too busy for a lengthy trip, with both of them running their own companies, and originally planned a brief stay in Scotland which they are believed to have extended due to warm weather.

The choice of destination meant the couple avoided the paparazzi and were able to stay in a spot where they had supposedly enjoyed some of the happiest moments of their courtship. 

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip

The future Queen, Princess Elizabeth married Prince Philip at Westminster Abbey in 1947. 

Married in the wake of the Second World War, the country was still on rationing and the Queen paid for her dress using clothing coupons.

For her going away outfit, the Queen opted for a blue dress and coat, the same designer as for her wedding gown, paired with a matching hat with ostrich feathers and curved quills.

The couple set off in a carriage to Waterloo station where they then headed to Broadlands in Hampshire – the home of Philip’s uncle, Earl Mountbatten – with the Queen’s corgi, Susan, in tow.

Before heading to Birkhall at Balmoral, where the newlyweds spent the rest of their honeymoon, they released a statement thanking the public for their support.

‘We can find no words to express what we feel, but we can at least offer our grateful thanks to the millions who have given us this unforgettable send off in our married life,’ it read.

A documentary released in 2021 showed moments from the Queen and prince Philip’s honeymoon in colour for the first time. 

ITV’s Philip: Prince, Husband, Father showed the Queen and her husband walking in the grounds of Broadlands in Hampshire.

Speaking about the colourised clip of their honeymoon on the programme, Penny Junor says: ‘This is just wonderful, the dark years of the war are behind them and this is the beginning of the era.’

Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon

On 6 May 1960, Princess Margaret married Antony Armstrong-Jones, a photographer who then became the Earl of Snowdon, at Westminster Abbey.

The pair set off for a glamorous six-week honeymoon touring the Caribbean on the Royal Yacht Britannia, with destinations including Trinidad and Antigua.

They also visited Mustique, where they were later gifted land from the island’s former owner Colin Tennant as a wedding present, where the Princess’ stunning villa Les Jolies Eaux was built.

The villa, situated at the southern tip of the private Caribbean island, became Margaret’s place of refuge when she was confronted with the world’s scrutiny.

Tatiana Copeland, who started visiting the island from the 1980s, explained to Town and Country: ‘Margaret told me Les Jolies Eaux was the only property she had ever owned in her entire life. It was hers.

‘She felt inordinate love and pride that this was not from the royal family, it was not her sister’s, it was not grace and favour. She loved the fact it was her own.’

King George VI and the Queen Mother

After proposing to her three times, King George VI finally married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon on 26 April 1923 at Westminster Abbey.

For the first part of their honeymoon, the pair headed to Polesden Lacey – an estate near Dorking in Surrey.

Now owned by the national Trust, the house was owned by Margaret Greville at the time, where she would frequently entertain celebrities, politicians and royalty, including King Edward VII. 

The newlyweds, then the Duke and Duchess of York, took a train from Waterloo to Bookham to get to the house and were greeted by crowds along the route to Polesden Lacey.

They had the estate to themselves and enjoyed playing golf and walking around the grounds with the Queen Mother describing the house as ‘deliciously peaceful’ in a telegram to her mother at the time.

For the second part of their trip, the couple stayed at Glamis Castle in Scotland, which is the Bowes-Lyon family seat.

Unfortunately, the Queen Mother contracted whooping cough during the later part of her honeymoon which she later described as ‘not very romantic’.

Lady Helen and Tim Taylor

Lady Helen, the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, married her husband Tim Taylor, an art dealer, at St George’s Chapel on 18 July 1992.

Her dress, designed by Catherine Walker, featured a statement V-shaped neckline and Helen wore the Kent Pearl Fringe tiara which was loaned from her parents.

After their wedding, the couple spent the night at a hotel before being driven to Heathrow airport in a dark green Bentley Turbo limousine, planning to fly to Athens for a two-week cruise around the Greek islands.

After boarding the British Airways Boeing 757, the newlyweds and their fellow passengers had to disembark when fumes filled the cockpit and the plane came to a halt.

Luckily, the pair had brought their Scrabble set and they kept themselves amused with the game in the VIP lounge until they were able to board another flight three and a half hours later.

Later, British Airways said the fumes were caused by a minor hydraulic leak and a spokesperson added: ‘There was never any danger to the passengers.

‘the plane was about a third of the way along the runway when the captain decided to abandon the take-off because of fumes on the flight deck. He was nowhere near take-off speed.

‘The airport authorities are obliged to send out fire engines when there is an incident like this, but we did not declare an emergency.’

King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson

Edward became King in January 1936 but only months into his reign he caused a constitutional crisis by proposing marriage to Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who had divorced her first husband and was seeking a divorce from her second.

When it became apparent that he could not marry Wallis and remain King, Edward abdicated after just 326 days on the throne.

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor married in France, at the Château de Candé near Tours, on 3 June 1937 with fewer than 20 guests.

Their honeymoon included a trip to Venice and the pair were pictured being greeted by crowds as they boarded a boat on the canal. 

They also stayed at Schloss Wasserleonburg, a castle in Austria, an area which the Duchess described as ‘lovely and peaceful’.

In a letter to her cousin Leila, Wallis wrote: ‘Here I am at last with my king sitting on a mountain in Austria – where it is really lovely and peaceful – we hope here to gather strength for future battles.

‘The last six months have been such a nightmare of every emotion and the exercising of so much self control that in the midst of it all I am afraid I neglected all those I love the best, thinking they would understand the most.’

The couple also visited Venice and were pictured being greeted by crowds as they boarded a boat on the canal. 

Princess Alexandra and Sir Angus Ogilvy

Princess Alexandra, a first cousin of both the late Queen and Prince Philip, married businessman Sir Angus Ogilvy on 24 April 1963.

Her husband also boasted connections to the royals as his father, the 12th Earl of Airlie, served both King George V as a lord-in-waiting and the Queen Mother as Lord Chamberlain.

After King George VI’s premature death and Queen Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne, Princess Alexandra catapulted to sixth in line and became one of the most eligible women in Britain, despite her lack of wealth.

It was predicted that she would marry Lord O’Neill, a landowner three years her senior whose stepfather was the James Bond author Ian Fleming, but she chose Sir Angus Ogilvy instead.

The pair spent their honeymoon at Birkhall on the Balmoral estate before flying abroad for a motoring tour of Spain.

Sir Angus Ogilvy died on 26 December 2004 and his funeral took place at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.

Prince Rainier III of Monaco and Grace Kelly

Hollywood star Grace Kelly’s wedding to Prince Rainier of Monaco was one of the most stunning celebrity events of the 20th century.

The Napoleonic Code of Monaco and the Roman Catholic Church required that two ceremonies be held – one civil and one religious – so the entire Palace of Monaco was redecorated for the first ceremony, which was to be followed by a reception for 3,000 Monaco citizens.

The Saint Nicholas Cathedral was also prepared for the second, religious, ceremony, which was to be overseen by Monaco’s Bishop, Gilles Barthe.

MGM, the studio that had seen Kelly through her biggest years as a star, provided two wedding dresses designed by Academy Award-winning Helen Rose, one of which took three weeks to craft.

Invitations were sent out to 700 guests including Aristotle Onassis (later Mr Jackie Kennedy), hotel developer Conrad Hilton and film stars David Niven, Cary Grant, Gloria Swanson and Ava Gardner.

The civil ceremony was set for 18 April 1956 and the religious ceremony for the following day.

After a feast of caviar, lobster and champagne for more than 600 people, the Prince and Princess boarded a luxury yacht for the start of their seven-week honeymoon.

The vessel was a wedding gift from Greek shipping magnate, Aristotle Onassis, after he had acquired it in 1951.

The newlyweds renamed the yacht Deo Juvente II and sailed along the coasts of Corsica and Sardinia.

Their first stop was Majorca and the royal couple were pictured attending a bull fight in Palma.

King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía of Spain 

Juan Carlos married Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark in Athens on 14 May 1962.

There were two ceremonies which took place at the Cathedral of St. Denis in and the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Mary the Virgin to account for the groom being Catholic and the bride being Greek Orthodox.

After a reception at the Royal Palace, the pair embarked on a honeymoon around the world, starting in Greece.

Greek shipping tycoon Stavros Niarchos gifted the couple the use of his yacht Eros and the pair toured a number of Greek islands.

As well as travelling to destinations including Spain, India and Thailand, the newlyweds also visited the United States where they met with President John F. Kennedy.

It was also announced during the honeymoon that Sofía would be converting to Catholicism.

The pair were then invited to visit the Pope while they were in Rome during their honeymoon and Pope John XXIII presented Sofía with a rosary.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain

King Felipe VI of Spain, then Prince of Asturias, married his wife Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano, a journalist, on 22 May 2004 at the Almeduna Cathedral in Madrid.

While the couple’s honeymoon itinerary was not published, their destinations were later revealed.

After visiting a number of spots in Spain including San Sebastian, the pair attended the wedding of Prince Hamzah bin Hussein to Princess Noor bint Asem bin Nayef of Jordan.

While in Jordan, the newlyweds were pictured visiting the pink sandstone city of Petra and travelled to Aqaba, situated on the shore of the Red Sea. 

The Telegraph revealed that the pair also visited Cambodia, Fiji, Samoa, California and Mexico, calling themselves Mr and Mrs Smith in booking documents.

They added that Felipe and Letizia had stayed at the luxury Fiji private island resort Wakaya Club and Spa, with total accommodation for the couple and their staff costing $33,000 for five nights.

According to the paper, the honeymoon had been paid for by then King Juan Carlos and an account linked to Catalan businessman Josep Cusí.