Every Royal Wedding Kiss Ranked From Worst To First

The royals across the world continue to intrigue people within reigned-over countries and beyond, and it's not hard to understand why. Many royal figures — from crown princes to kings and queens to infants born with titles — live life very different from the way we do. Their lives involve literal crowns, glamorous events, and, of course, the pomp and circumstance — and expense — of royal weddings.

Royal weddings can feel like the event of a decade, or even a century. Some, like the wedding between Prince Charles and Diana Spencer, are broadcast internationally, bringing in millions, if not billions, of viewers. With the flowers and the grand venue and the dress and the color guard and everything in between, royal weddings demand to be watched. They are, after all, completely different from anything that any one of us will ever experience. But are the realities on said wedding day really that wonderful? Not always, and the signs are in the kiss.

We tracked through different royal weddings to see what happened, what went wrong, and what (if any) tension caused the wedding (and marriage) to go awry. Here is every royal wedding kiss ranked from worst to best.

A lot can be interpreted by body language, specifically a kiss, and Princess Charlene and Prince Albert of Monaco looked less than thrilled during the kiss they shared at their civil wedding ceremony in 2011. As noted by the Daily Mail, the kiss itself was not only incredibly awkward, but behind it was a lot of personal scandal. 

It turned out that Prince Albert was the father of an illegitimate child, who was 7 years old at the time, and he had maintained a close relationship with the child's mother, Nicole Coste. Princess Charlene, who was Charlene Wittstock at the time, was so distressed by the news that she was prepared to board a plane heading for South Africa, even though the wedding plans were in place. Charlene's passport was confiscated, and she (as you can tell) went through with her marraige to Prince Albert. Of course, rumors about Charlene turning into a "runaway bride" were out in full force, but she did make it down the aisle at both the civil ceremony and the lavish royal wedding. But no wonder their kiss looked tense.

The royal wedding day crowds, understandably, can take a bit of the intimate wedding feel away, and that seemed to be the case for King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and his bride, Máxima, when they married in 2002. The couple looked immensely happy, there's no doubt about it, but their first public kiss as husband and wife didn't scream intimacy. 

While standing in front of the public, the two shared a kiss, but both of them were in the process of waving to the crowds, as noted by Hello!. They weren't exactly tuned into each other, which made the kiss a bit more awkward than romantic. But the couple is still going strong, and they've had some heartwarming moments. As noted by Honey, Willem recreated his proposal to Máxima more than 20 years after the original in the same place, an icy pond-turned-ice skating rink. In a photo shared on social media, Willem is seen on one knee with Máxima's hand in his. Very cute.

Known as the "William and Kate of the Himalayas," Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the king of Bhutan, and his bride, Jetsun Pema, shared a sweet kiss on their wedding day. The kiss was notable for a number of reasons, so let's dive into it. 

The couple's wedding had about 30,000 spectators, all cheering at the Changlimithang stadium, located in Thimpu. As noted by Hello!, the culture in Bhutan has historically rejected public displays of affection, but with one quick move from the king, things changed. The king looked to the crowd and asked them all if he should kiss his new wife, who did look nervous in the situation (who wouldn't be?). The crowd said yes, and the king kissed his bride on the lips — a very daring move. "I have been waiting for quite some time to get married," the king said about his wedding, as noted by The Washington Post. "But it doesn't matter when you get married as long as it is to the right person. I am certain I am married to the right person."

We love a royal wedding kiss under an arch of swords — how medieval and romantic. And the couple, Sweden's Princess Victoria and her husband, Daniel Westerling, are just as magical. Let's start with the kiss. As noted by Hello!, the couple were married in Sweden on June 19, 2010, and sweetly kissed each other on the lips in the most grandiose way possible. The crown, the bouquet, the swords, the gorgeous venue — it all created a picturesque moment for the couple. But their story makes their royal wedding kiss that much better. 

As noted by the Observer, Victoria met Daniel, a fitness trainer, at a gym. She was visiting the gym as part of her recovery from an eating disorder, and he worked as an instructor. They fell in love, and despite Daniel's commoner upbringing — he was raised in a small forest town, which in Sweden is at the bottom of the social food chain — they married in a gorgeous royal wedding ceremony. A+ couple, A+ royal wedding kiss.

It was the kiss seen around the world, but it was the surprise second royal wedding kiss that made it in the headlines. Everyone watched as Prince William and Kate Middleton tied the knot in 2011 — the occasion really felt like a global event, and their kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace was sweet, tender, and (partially) unexpected. 

As noted by ABC News, William and Kate got married and made their way to the palace, with a worldwide audience of about 2 billion people, so no pressure, right? William kissed his bride, as expected, but it was only about two minutes before he planted another sweet kiss on her lips. This was the unexpected twist on a day that was otherwise planned to a tee, and it did not disappoint. The kiss was then accompanied by the bells of Westminster Abbey, fighter planes, and, of course, the roar of the crown below. And for anyone versed in royal history, it was a full circle moment reminiscent of the kiss shared between William's parents all those years prior. A very casual wedding, wouldn't you say?

When you think of the British royals, you probably picture Prince William and Queen Elizabeth, but Princess Eugenie, the daughter of Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew, is another member of the British royal family who had a gorgeous royal wedding in 2018, and her wedding kiss was sweet, loving, and a standout moment. 

As noted by Elle, Eugenie shared a romantic kiss with her husband, Jack Brooksbank, on the steps of St. George's Chapel after their wedding ceremony had concluded. What made the moment that much more special was the fact that up until their kiss, Eugenie and Jack hadn't shared a ton of public affection. They just sort of melted into one another, and with the backdrop of the chapel, Eugenie's gorgeous dress, and the fairytale aspects of the wedding, it made their kiss that much more magical. The couple then had two different receptions: one at Windsor Castle and another at Royal Lodge. Talk about the dream wedding with a perfect royal kiss.