An amazing royal winter wedding in Brussels

On 15 December 1960, in the morning, King Bouduin of Belgium married
Fabiola de Mora y Aragón in the Throne Room of the Royal Palace of Brussels.

Then a ceremony was held at the St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral
in Brussels. 

The witnesses were the groom's father, King Leopold III, his brother-in-law,
Jean, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, the bride's brother,
The Marqués of Casa Riera, and the pretender to the
Spanish throne, the Count of Barcelona.

The bride's white silk and tulle gown, trimmed with ermine, had a
high neckline, three-quarter length sleeves with a drop waist and a
full skirt. It was designed by Cristóbal Balenciaga and had a 22-foot
long train. 

She wore the Art Deco diamond tiara given to her late mother-in-law
at the time of her own marriage in 1926.

The groom wore the uniform of a Lieutenant-General of the Armed Forces
with the riband and star of the Belgian Order of Leopold and the collar of
the Spanish Order of Isabella the Catholic.

Royal Guests

The groom's family

* King Leopold III of Belgium and the Princess of Réthy,
the groom's father and stepmother

* The Hereditary Grand Duchess and Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg,
the groom's sister and brother-in-law

* The Prince and Princess of Liège, the groom's brother and sister-in-law

* Prince Alexandre of Belgium, the groom's half-brother

* Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, the groom's paternal grandmother

* Queen Marie-José and King Umberto II of Italy,
the groom's paternal aunt and uncle

* Princess and Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, the groom's first cousin
and her husband, the groom's third cousin

* The Prince of Naples, the groom's first cousin

* Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy, the groom's first cousin

* Princess Maria Beatrice of Savoy, the groom's first cousin

The bride's family

* The Dowager Marchioness of Casa Riera, the bride's mother

* The Countess and Count of Sástago, the bride's sister and brother-in-law

* The Marquess and Marchioness of Casa Riera, the bride's brother and sister-in-law

* The Duchess and Duke of Lécera, the bride's sister and brother-in-law

* Don Jaime de Mora y Aragón, the bride's brother

* The Marchioness and Marquess of Aguilar, the bride's sister and brother-in-law

* The Count de la Rosa de Abarca, the bride's brother

Foreign royal guests

* Norway The King of Norway, the groom's maternal uncle by marriage

* Norway Princess Astrid of Norway, the groom's first cousin

* Denmark Princess and Prince Axel of Denmark, the groom's
maternal aunt and uncle (representing the King of Denmark)

* Denmark Prince and Princess Georg of Denmark, the groom's
first cousin and his wife

* Denmark Count and Countess Flemming of Rosenborg, the groom's
first cousin and his wife

* Sweden The Duke of Halland, the groom's second cousin
(representing the King of Sweden)

*Netherlands The Queen and Prince Consort of the Netherlands,
the groom's third cousin twice removed, and her husband

* Netherlands Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, the groom's
fourth cousin once removed

* Netherlands Princess Irene of the Netherlands, the groom's
fourth cousin once removed

* Luxembourg The Grand Duchess and Prince Consort of Luxembourg,
the groom's first cousins twice removed (also parents of the
groom's brother-in-law)

* United Kingdom The Princess Margaret and Mr Antony Armstrong-Jones,
the groom's third cousin and her husband (representing the
Queen of the United Kingdom)

* Pahlavi Iran Prince Gholamreza of Iran (representing the Shah of Iran)

* Ethiopian Empire Prince Iskander Desta of Ethiopia
(representing the Emperor of Ethiopia)

* The Count and Countess of Barcelona, the groom's fourth cousin and his
wife, the groom's third cousin once removed

* Infante Juan Carlos, the groom's fourth cousin

* Infanta María Cristina, Countess Marone, and Enrico Marone-Cinzano,
1st Count Marone, the groom's fourth cousin and her husband

* King Michael I and Queen Anne of Romania, the groom's third cousin
and his wife, the groom's second cousin once removed

* Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria, the groom's fourth cousin

* Otto, Crown Prince of Austria, the groom's second cousin once removed

* The Archduke and Archduchess of Austria-Este, the groom's second cousin
once removed, and his wife

* The Duke and Duchess of Braganza, the groom's first cousin twice
removed, and his wife, the groom's third cousin once removed

* The Princess Napoléon, wife of the groom's second cousin once removed

Souvenirs

After the wedding lots of royal souvenirs were made inter alia this tile 
in the blogpost, which is a part of my own little royalty collection.

It is a tile made by S.A. Manufactures Céramiques d'Hemixem,
Gilliot Frères, Belgium. The manufacturer's mark "H" is at the back. 

At the beginning my parents had such a tile. My mother used it on the
kitchen table to put hot pots on it. Of course it broke. Last year a colleague
found this one in the second hand store, so I finally could acquire the tile.

It now is a part of my small royal collection 👑

source pictures:

1/ Wikipedia

2+3/ own collection souvenirs Royal Palace Belgium - royal Wedding 1960