The fairytale wedding of Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and Earl Spencer’s 20-year-old daughter, Lady Diana united a politically divided country during a time of recession and unemployment. And it was a good excuse for a party as well.

Facts and figures about the couple and their forthcoming nuptials filled newspaper columns in the days preceding their wedding at St Paul’s Cathedral on July 29, 1981.

Lady Diana’s wedding ring was made from Welsh gold, the remainder of a nugget found in 1923 at a gold mine in Bontddu, Gwynedd. The Queen Mother, the Queen, Princess Margaret and Princess Anne’s wedding rings had also been made from the same piece.

A small West Midland manufacturer had made the marital bed with “a rich powder blue Dralon covered headboard and three side drawers with gold fittings”. And the official five-tiered wedding cake in white and pastel hues was made by Chief Petty Officer David Avery, master baker at the Royal Navy Cookery School, Chatham.

But Advertiser columnist Shirley Matthais wasn’t keen on the swathe of souvenirs available in local stores. Top of the list of presents she definitely didn’t want to receive was a budget brown and cream plate retailing from £1.99 to £2.45.

“It exaggerates all the features a tactful designer would have drawn a veil over,” writes Shirley, referring to the bridegroom’s ears.

However, Swindon shopkeepers hoping for a spending spree were left disappointed in recession-hit Britain. “People just haven’t got the money,” said one local trader.

Local garage owner Roger Threlfall took the initiative when Thamesdown Council decided not to send the royal couple a present.

Roger, the owner of Fleming Way Garage and Headlands Service Station, organised a collection among staff and customers for the cost of a tree to be planted in the grounds of Highgrove House, the royal couple’s Gloucestershire home.

Roger sent a telegram and a letter of greetings with the cheque for £130.52, copies of which went on display at his garages.

“I’m delighted with the response, and I’d like to thank all our contributors,” he told the Advertiser.

For Swindonians planning to visit London, Corporate Capers advertised window space along the processional route. The view, champagne, wine and a hamper of food cost from £115 to £196.

Meanwhile, guests at the Crest Hotel, Swindon, began the royal wedding day with a champagne breakfast, and four Calne couples celebrated their own wedding anniversaries on July 29 with a glass of bubbly in the mayor’s parlour.

In time-honoured tradition the bells rang out for the prince and his bride. Ten ringers from Christ Church, Old Town, rang a peal of Yorkshire Surprise Royal while at St Margaret’s Church, Stratton St Margaret, six ringers rang the changes.

Rodbourne residents threw themselves into the festivities, particularly neighbours in Morris Street who published an open invitation in the Advertiser – “If you are not having a street party, you are welcome to join ours.”