When Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz married Philippe of Belgium on December 4th 1999, she didn't just bag herself a king in waiting, she also set a new world record for biggest ever bridal bouquet. It still stands. This isn't a posy, it's a forest and the poor woman must have had biceps to die for after spending a day lugging that thing about.
As well as being monstrously large and almost the same size as the floral arrangements in the Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudule where Mathilde became a royal bride, this bouquet is also very, very green. There's nothing wrong with a bit of foliage but this one does look like they ran out of time before they got round to putting the main flowers in place. It's a shame because Mathilde's dress is really rather wonderful but many of the official photos don't show that as she has a forest in front of her.
Looking more like a Christmas wreath for a very large door than your typical bridal bouquet, there was never any option for Mathilde to throw this one to the crowd to find the next royal to say 'I do' - health and safety would never have let it pass. It's a blot on the otherwise perfect copybook of Mathilde's wedding. But at least it got her a place in royal history before she'd even become a royal - no one will ever beat this for bouquet size.
It was made by the royal gardeners who presumably hadn't been to many weddings before as the bouquet is said to have weighed 3.5 kilos - basically, the size of a newborn baby. Brides have enough to worry about on their big day without having to juggle the equivalent of a brand new human being while they walk down the aisle. In front of Europe's royal houses. And with millions watching on TV. Fair play to Mathilde, she kept her cool even if she did look like she might lose her balance from time to time.
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