11 Royal Couples Who Didn't Marry In Their Home Country

When we say "the royals," many Immediately think of the British royal family. The Firm, as they are called, has been around for generations and is arguably the most recognizable royal family. The lavish estates, storied tiaras, Crown Jewels, pomp and circumstance — the list goes on. But the British royals are just a handful of the regality spread across Europe, the Americas, Africa, and more continents, and where there are royals come royal weddings.

Royal weddings are events of the decade, with immense planning, money, and public access factoring into the day. For instance, Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding in 2011 was a spectacle to rival then-Prince Charles and Diana Spencer's nuptials, garnering millions of viewers worldwide and thousands of well-wishers lining the streets. Such an experience was relived in 2018 when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tied the knot, the wedding indicating to thousands that the makeup of the British royal family was finally modernizing — though we all know how that went. 

With all this said, you'd think that royal weddings and matchmaking would be a calculated game set in motion years before any wedding takes place. Still, as it happens, many royal couples have met in the most casual of ways — in a bar; through mutual friends — and the weddings have marked significant changes for one (or both) of the parties involved. Moving, as it turns out, is not a rarity. Here are 11 royal couples who didn't marry in their home country.

Now, this is a situation you don't hear about every day: Both Princess Anne and Timothy Laurence were born and raised in England but were not allowed to tie the knot in their home country when they decided to wed in 1992 — and it all came down to church politics.

As noted by Hello! Magazine, Anne and Timothy sparked their relationship while Anne was still married to her first husband, Mark Phillips. Finalizing her divorce just a few months before her second wedding, Anne had to travel to Scotland to marry Timothy, as the Church of England would not allow her to remarry following a divorce. As opposed to her lavish Westminster Abbey ceremony when she and Mark tied the knot, Anne and Timothy opted for a small wedding in Scotland with just 30 people in attendance, with the guest list including Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Anne's children Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, and then-Prince Charles and Prince Andrew. Choosing Crathie Kirk Church as the venue — the church the royal family attends while they're in the country staying at Balmoral — Anne and Timothy adopted the mentality that less was more.

Even forgoing a traditional wedding dress, Anne wore a knee-length dress and a white jacket for the day in question, opting for her normal — and unchanged — up-do. Following the wedding, the couple was met with traditional bagpipes.

Though there are more high-profile members of the British royal family compared to others, there is still the expectation that any member of the firm will lead their life with a certain dedication to the crown. For Peter Phillips — whose mother is Princess Anne — his wedding to Canadian-born Autumn Phillips didn't exactly follow the royal script.

As noted by Hello! Magazine, Peter and Autumn tied the knot in 2008 at St. George's Chapel on the grounds of Windsor. The Canadian-raised Autumn looked the picture of perfection on the day, wearing a gorgeous gown and Anne's Festoon Tiara. "Something blue was stitched into the dress, which of course was new, like the perfect necklace and matching earrings Pete gave me," Autumn told Hello! of the day. And while it certainly looked like something out of a romance film, the realities of her wedding day were far from a fairytale.

"I was frightened of walking down the aisle," Autumn told Hello! Magazine of her wedding day. "But when I got to the top of the stairs and saw how many of our friends and family had turned out to support us, I stopped being scared and actually enjoyed it." That enjoyment did, however, come to an end, sadly, in 2020. Unlike royal couples before them, Autumn and Peter announced their intention to separate after 12 years of marriage.

Speaking of Monaco, Grace Kelly wasn't the only member of the country's royal family to get married away from her home. Decades later, in July 2011, Prince Albert of Monaco married South African-born Charlene Lynette Wittstock in a widely watched ceremony. Mired with a bit of drama – Albert fathered two children out of wedlock (via Now to Love), and the drama surrounding one of the mothers reared its head amid the wedding plans — Charlene and Albert's ceremony carried on, and she became HSH Princess Charlene of Monaco while adopting "all the historical titles vested" to her husband, the Monaco royal family website notes.

Charlene was far from home when she walked down the aisle. She was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Africa, and emigrated to South Africa when she was 12. She started training as a swimmer throughout her teenage years and took home the South African Championship swimming title at just 18 in 1996. Traveling to Australia for the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, she came in fifth in the team event and later won the 200m backstroke gold medal at the Marenostrum international swimming event. She met Albert for the first time as he oversaw the contest. Though she qualified for the Beijing Olympics in 2007, Charlene soon retired.

Since being a royal, Charlene has become a global ambassador of the Special Olympics and has continued to work with South African charities as part of her role.

A guy walks into a bar...and you know the rest of the joke — but for Prince Frederick of Denmark, that's how he met his wife, Princess Mary. Per People, Frederick strolled into the Slip Inn bar in Sydney, Australia, in September 2000 and struck up a conversation with Australian commoner Mary Donaldson. Introducing himself as "Fred," the strangers bonded over the Olympic Games and chatted amongst the crowds of people. Mary had no idea she was talking to a prince.

"Something clicked," Mary recounted in 2005. "It wasn't the fireworks in the sky or anything like that, but there was a sense of excitement. The first time we met, we shook hands. I didn't know he was the prince of Denmark. Half an hour later, someone came up to me and said, 'Do you know who these people are?'"

Mary's friend Chris Meehan attested that she "got to know and love Frederick" for who he was, not for his role as prince. The couple married four years after meeting and birthed four children. While their meeting sounded like something out of a fairytale, it wasn't always easy for the royal couple. Finding themselves in the news in June 2022 due to their son, Prince Christian, and allegations of sexual abuse and bullying lodged against him, the couple said in a statement, "We must respond to the painful and devastating incidents by insisting on changes that ensure a safe environment for all."

When Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1971, it's likely her parents didn't think she would one day become the queen of the Netherlands. As noted by Britannica, Queen Máxima was born to Jorge Horacio Zorreguieta and María del Carmen Cerruti de Zorreguieta. Her father worked as the minister of agriculture for Argentina under Jorge Videla, the Argentine military dictator. 

Máxima got her degree from the Universidad Católica Argentina in economics and started working across the world, eventually crossing paths with King Willem-Alexander'. The two fell in love and made their intentions known to be married in 2001. Being granted Dutch citizenship shortly thereafter, Máxima and Willem were given consent to marry by the states-general and tied the knot on February 2, 2002. However, given her father's role in Videla's government, he was not invited to partake in wedding celebrations.

After marrying then-Prince Willem, Máxima was determined to learn and master the Dutch language. She also took a keen interest in the Netherlands' history and constitution. After his mother, Queen Beatrix, abdicated the throne in 2013, Willem became king, and Máxima was given the title of queen consort. Their eldest daughter, Princess Catharina-Amalia — who was born in 2003 — is the heir apparent. The couple has two other children — Princess Alexia and Princess Ariana, born in 2005 and 2007, respectively.