The 25 Best Dressed, Most Decorated Royal Grooms

Royal wedding dresses tend to get all of the attention at royal weddings. Who could forget Kate Middleton's Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen lace wedding dress? Similarly, Princess Diana's extravagant gown is downright iconic. And Grace Kelly's royal gown is now the very definition of elegance. But while royal wedding dresses get committed to both memory and history books, what about the attire of royal grooms?

While it's certainly hard to compete with their bride's gorgeous gown, the groom's garb at royal weddings is equally as important and oh-so-interesting. At Prince William's own royal wedding back in 2011, the groom wore the Colonel of the Irish Guards uniform. Seven years later, Prince Harry wore a military uniform of his own at the altar. However, the two brothers are far from the first royal grooms to sport military garb for their nuptials. Below are 25 royal grooms who've donned military uniforms for their royal weddings.

01 of 25

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

In February of 1840, Prince Albert married Queen Victoria at the Chapel Royal, St. James’ Palace in London. He is illustrated to have worn his British Military uniform, which was at the time, a red coat over white riding pants.

02 of 25

Prince Albert Edward of Wales

The future King Edward VII married Princess Alexandra of Denmark on March 10, 1863 in St. George's Chapel (the same venue where Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will soon tie the knot). In this illustration, the Prince is wearing the robes of a Knight of the Garter.

03 of 25

Prince George, Duke of York

Heavily decorated and in full Royal Air Force dress, the future King George V married Princess Mary of Teck on the 6th of July in 1893 in London.

04 of 25

Prince Albert, Duke of York

Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon married Prince Albert on April 26, 1923, in the famous Westminster Abbey of London. The groom wore Royal Air Force full dress in the rank of group captain, his senior service rank at the time of the marriage.

05 of 25

Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh

As a member of the Royal Navy, the Duke of Edinburgh dressed in uniform for his 1947 wedding ceremony to the then-Princess Elizabeth at Westminster Abbey.

06 of 25

Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi of Iran

Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi wore full Iranian military attire to marry Empress Soraya in February of 1951.

07 of 25

Prince Rainier III of Monaco

The Prince of Monaco married Grace Kelly, aka Hollywood royalty, in April of 1956 in a uniform he designed himself—a black tunic with gold cuffs and sky blue trousers with a golden racing stripe. His coat was decorated with medals representing the Italian and French military, and across his chest hung the red and white sash representing the Order of St. Charles.

08 of 25

King Baudoin of Belgium

In his lieutenant-general army uniform, King Baudouin of Belgium married Dona Fabiola at the Royal Palace of Brussels in 1960.

09 of 25

Captain Mark Phillips

The only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Anne, married Captain Mark Phillips in November of 1973 at Westminster Abbey. At the time of the wedding, he was an acting Captain in the British Army. And one year afterward, he was appointed a Personal Aide-de-Camp to Queen Elizabeth II. Not bad!

10 of 25

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden

In June 1976, King Carl XVI Gustaf married Miss Silvia Sommerlath in Stockholm. The King wore his Swedish naval admiral’s uniform decorated with the insignia of all four Swedish orders—the Order of the Seraphim, Order of the Sword, Order of the Polar Star, and Order of Vasa.

11 of 25

Prince Charles

Who could forget this one? Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in London on July 29, 1981. The groom wore the Navy’s No. 1 ceremonial dress uniform with a blue Garter sash.

12 of 25

Prince Andrew, Duke of York

On July 23, 1986, Sarah Ferguson married Prince Andrew in London. The Prince was in the dress uniform of a Royal Navy lieutenant, complete with a sword at his side. Symbolized by the insignia aiguillette draped over his shoulder, he holds the appointment of Vice Admiral, personal aide-de-camp to Queen Elizabeth II.

13 of 25

Prince Abdullah of Jordan

In 1993, Prince Abdullah of Jordan married Rania Al-Yassin in Royal Jordanian Army attire, as his rank at the time was a colonel. He was adorned with numerous medals and the ceremonial sword.

14 of 25

Prince Joachim of Denmark

At the Frederiksborg Palace Church in Denmark in November 1995, Prince Joachim wed Alexandra Christina Manley in complete formal attire, representing his title of Grand Commander, Order of the Dannebrog.

15 of 25

Crown Prince Philippe of Belgium

Prince Philippe married Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz on December 4, 1999 in Brussels wearing his Belgian Royal Air Force uniform accompanied by a ceremonial saber.

16 of 25

Prince Haakon of Norway

For his 2001 wedding to Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway chose a black Norwegian army uniform, decorated with a red sash and all of his medals.

17 of 25

Willem-Alexander, Prince of Holland

In February of 2002, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander married Maxima Zorregueta Cerruti in Amsterdam. He wore his full Captain in the Royal Netherlands Navy uniform adorned with the Accession Medal 1980, ribbon and star of a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands, the Officer’s Cross, and star of a Knight of the House Order of the Golden Lion of Nassau.

18 of 25

Prince Felipe of Spain

Spain's Crown Prince Felipe married Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano in Madrid in May of 2004 in full uniform of a Commander of the Spanish Army. Accessorized with braided epaulets and a light blue sash, he was also decorated with an Insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece, a Grand Cross Collar of the Order of Carlos III (Badge and Star), and the Grand Crosses for Military, Naval, and Aeronautic Merit with distinction.

19 of 25

Danish Crown Prince Frederik

On the 14th of May, 2004, Prince Frederik wed Mary Donaldson at the Copenhagen Cathedral, where the groom wore his Danish military uniform.

20 of 25

Prince Hamza of Jordan

In his military uniform of the Jordan Arab Army, Crown Prince Hamza married Princess Noor in May of 2004.

21 of 25

Prince William

When Prince William married Kate Middleton in front of millions in April of 2011, he followed royal tradition by wearing his Colonel of the Irish Guards uniform, which included a bright red coat that was rumored to have been selected by the Queen. William also wore his Royal Air Force wings in his Garter Sash, in addition to the Garter Star and Golden Jubilee Medal. A second sash was worn in gold and crimson because he was in the presence of members of the royal family, and the look was completed with white gloves and a gold sword sling—but without an actual sword.

22 of 25

Prince Albert of Monaco

Prince Albert wed Charlene Wittstock in July of 2011. The groom was dressed in his uniform of Colonel of the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince.

23 of 25

Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg

The heir to the throne of Luxembourg married Stephanie de Lannoy on October 20, 2012, in his Grand Ducal military uniform, decorated with the star of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau, the star of the Order of the Oak Crown, and a golden sash.

24 of 25

Prince Carl Philip of Sweden

In June of 2015, Prince Carl Philip wed Sofia Hellqvist at the Royal Chapel in Stockholm. For the occasion, the groom wore a mess dress uniform of the Swedish Amphibious Corps that dated back to the year 1878. He also wore the sash and star of the Order of the Seraphim and the star of the Order of the Polar Star around his neck.

25 of 25

Prince Harry

On May 19, 2018, Prince Harry arrived at St. George's Chapel in Windsor wearing the frockcoat uniform of the Blues and Royals. Kensington Palace revealed the Queen gave the groom her permission to wed in the military uniform. Since he was no longer serving in the Armed Forces, there was plenty of speculation on whether or not Prince Harry would wear a uniform.