Mrs. Kennedy’s account reads like a fairy tale, complete with footmen, ladies-in-waiting, lavish gowns, sumptuous meals, and glittering jewels.

Other guests at Windsor Castle that weekend included Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, Mrs. Chamberlain, Lord Halifax (Foreign Secretary), Lady Halifax, Lord Elphinstone, and Lady Elphinstone, sister of the Queen.

National Archives, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston, Massachusetts, Rose Kennedy Papers Collection, Courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.