The late monarch attended a wedding after previously RSVPing "no" to the event.
Published on June 03, 2025 10:53AM
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Key Takeaways
- In 2012, Queen Elizabeth II was visiting Manchester Town Hall as part of Diamond Jubilee celebration. John and Frances Canning, a couple getting married at the venue on the same day as the visit, heard about the monarch's event and invited her to the wedding via her staff at Buckingham Palace.
- Queen Elizabeth's staff politely declined the invitation, and the couple assumed they wouldn't see the royals on their wedding day. Instead, the Queen surprised them with a quick visit and photos after their ceremony.
- It's viewed as poor etiquette to RSVP "no" to a wedding but still arrive on the big day; though the couple was delighted to see the monarch at their celebration, avoid a similar guest faux pas by sticking to the RSVP you send.
As anyone who has ever planned a wedding can attest, tracking down guest RSVPs can be one of the most frustrating tasks on your to-do list. Your final guest count impacts everything from your final catering bill to how many tables and centerpieces you'll have to pay for—there are a number of vendors who are all anxiously awaiting your updated attendee numbers, which is why it's such a big deal when a guest RSVPs late, or worse, changes their attendance status at the last minute.
Of course, unforeseen issues like illness and travel snafus do arise, but changing your RSVP from "no" to "yes" at the last minute is seen as a very significant etiquette faux pas. One notable wedding attendee who made this mistake? The late Queen Elizabeth II. In 2012, the former monarch was celebrating her Diamond Jubilee, or 60 years as Britain's reigning monarch, and was touring Manchester Town Hall as part of the festivities, Time previously reported. John and Frances Canning, who had already selected the venue for their nuptials, heard about the queen's forthcoming engagement and sent an extra invitation to her staff at Buckingham Palace in a "moment of madness," Marie Claire reports; in the weeks leading up to the wedding, however, they
"received a reply politely declining the offer."
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On the day of the wedding, Queen Elizabeth had a change of heart: "The late Queen and Duke of Edinburgh had been attending a lunch with 200 local volunteers in an adjacent room, and the Queen had asked if she could pop in to congratulate the bride and groom," Marie Claire notes. "The Queen and the Duke then spent about five minutes talking to the newlyweds, Frances and John Canning, and even agreed to pose for a few photographs." According to Time, a source told The Sun, that the Queen didn't want to "spoil their day, but did ask if she could meet the bride and groom.”
Luckily, the bride and groom didn't mind that the royals changed their RSVP status at the last minute, attending the wedding even after previously declining the invitation. "It was bizarre that she knew our names...When we had our ceremony, the staff asked us to wait for a moment in the corridor and just a few minutes later the Queen arrived." Frances told The Daily Mail, per Marie Claire. "She knew both our names and apparently we had been especially added to her rota." Her husband went on to note that Queen Elizabeth commented on "how beautiful Frances looked" and that Prince Phillip inquired about their honeymoon plans. They also posed for photos with the couple.
Though their arrival was deemed a happy one, it's still an etiquette faux pas to attend a wedding after RSVPing no—in most cases, a couple and their wedding team would struggle to accommodate guests they haven't planned for, and may need to readjust seats and meals in order to make a new arrival feel comfortable. To avoid making this mistake, stick to the RSVP you've given the couple, even if your circumstances have changed. And if you suddenly can't attend a wedding due to illness or another emergency, be sure to let the couple know as early as possible, send your regrets, and mail a thoughtful card and gift.
