Pre-wedding celebrations

Prior to departing Spain, Doña María del Carmen Polo y Martínez-Valdés, wife of Generalissímo Francisco Franco, presented Doña Fabiola with a strawberry leaf tiara, resembling a Ducal coronet, with interchangeable rubies, aquamarines and emeralds, on behalf of the Spanish government.^[5]

The wedding attracted media attention, both in Belgium and Spain and abroad. In its 6 September 1960, issue, TIME magazine called Doña Fabiola the "Cinderella Girl" and described her as "an attractive young woman, though no raving beauty" and "the girl who could not catch a man."^[6] Spanish bakers set out to honour the impending marriage by creating a type of bread called "la fabiola", which is still made in Palencia.

Two pre-wedding balls were held, the first on 13 December at the Cinquantenaire Museum and the second on 14 December at the Royal Palace of Brussels.

Civil ceremony

Prior to the religious service, the couple were married civilly in the Throne Room of the Royal Palace of Brussels. The service was presided over by Albert Lilar, Minister of Justice, Lucien Cooremans, Mayor of Brussels, and a member of the Municipal Council.^{[citation needed]} The witnesses were the groom's father, King Leopold III, his brother-in-law, Jean, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, the bride's brother, The Marqués of Casa Riera, and the pretender to the Spanish throne, the Count of Barcelona.^{[citation needed]}

Religious ceremony

The religious service was conducted by Jozef-Ernest Cardinal van Roey at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula. Giuseppe Cardinal Siri read a personal message from Pope John XXIII.^{[7][better source needed]}

As the King and new Queen left the cathedral Handel's Hallelujah chorus from Messiah was played.

Attire

The bride's white silk and tulle gown, trimmed with ermine, had a high neckline, three-quarter length sleeves with a drop waist and a full skirt. It was designed by Cristóbal Balenciaga and had a 6 metres (20 ft) long train.^[8] She wore the Art Deco diamond tiara given to her late mother-in-law at the time of her own marriage in 1926.^[2]

The groom wore the uniform of a Lieutenant-General of the Armed Forces with the riband and star of the Belgian Order of Leopold and the collar of the Spanish Order of Isabella the Catholic.

Broadcast

Radio-Télévision Belge (RTB) and Belgische Radio- en Televisieomroep (BRT) jointly produced the live television signal of the wedding that they broadcast in Belgium^{[lower-alpha 1]} and that was relayed to the broadcasters in the continent through the Eurovision network.^[9] In Spain, Televisión Española (TVE) broadcast it live,^{[lower-alpha 2]} being their first live broadcast of an event in full received from abroad.^[10]

The groom's family

• King Leopold III of Belgium and the Princess of Réthy, the groom's father and stepmother
  • The Hereditary Grand Duchess and Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, the groom's sister and brother-in-law
  • The Prince and Princess of Liège, the groom's brother and sister-in-law
  • Prince Alexandre of Belgium, the groom's half-brother
• Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, the groom's paternal grandmother
  • Queen Marie-José and King Umberto II of Italy, the groom's paternal aunt and uncle
    • Princess and Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, the groom's first cousin and her husband, the groom's third cousin
    • The Prince of Naples, the groom's first cousin
    • Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy, the groom's first cousin
    • Princess Maria Beatrice of Savoy, the groom's first cousin

The bride's family

• The Dowager Marchioness of Casa Riera, the bride's mother
  • The Countess and Count of Sástago, the bride's sister and brother-in-law
  • The Marquess and Marchioness of Casa Riera, the bride's brother and sister-in-law
  • The Duchess and Duke of Lécera, the bride's sister and brother-in-law
  • Don Jaime de Mora y Aragón, the bride's brother
  • The Marchioness and Marquess of Aguilar, the bride's sister and brother-in-law
  • The Count de la Rosa de Abarca, the bride's brother

Foreign royal guests

Other notable guests

• Don Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú y Ortega and Doña María del Carmen Franco y Polo