Why Wasn't Lee Radziwill Invited to Nephew John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette's Wedding?

Emily BlackwoodFri, March 13, 2026 at 4:00 PM UTC

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Lee Radziwell, John F. Kennedy, Jr. and his wife Carolyn Bessette.Credit: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty; Evan Agostini/Liaison -

John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy only invited 40 people to their secret wedding in September 1996

Though he made his cousin, Anthony Radziwill, his best man, JFK Jr. did not invite his aunt, Lee Radziwill

The Kennedy heir reportedly didn't feel close to his aunt and feared she might leak news of their wedding to the press

Only some 40 friends and family members made the cut for John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy's wedding — and Lee Radziwill was not one of them.

While planning their top-secret ceremony, the Kennedy heir and George co-founder decided not to invite the younger sister of his late mother, Jackie Kennedy. According to PEOPLE editor-at-large Liz McNeil and his former assistant RoseMarie Terenzio's 2024 book, JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography, he was not that close to his aunt — and he was concerned she might not keep the news under wraps.

"I think if his mother had been alive, I think out of respect for how that would have looked, he would have asked his mom what she wanted him to do," JFK Jr.'s college friend Sasha Chermayeff shared in Terenzio and McNeil's book. "But without his mom there, he clearly didn’t give a s---."

Here's everything to know about why Lee Radziwill wasn't invited to John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy's wedding — and the odd gift she gave to the bride that Christmas after the ceremony.

JFK Jr. and Radziwill were not that close

Princess Lee Radziwill and her nephew John Kennedy Jr. ringside at Madison Square Garden in New York.Credit: Bettmann

The primary reason JFK Jr. chose not to have his aunt at his wedding was that he was not that close to her. Chermayeff told Terenzio and McNeil in JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography that Radziwill "never" even referred to herself as his aunt.

"Lee was not around John much," she shared of Radziwill, who spent a lot of time in Europe. "She was never a part of their life, from my perspective."

Radziwill's dynamic with her son, Anthony, also "colored" JFK Jr.'s perspective, as he thought she was a much more absent mother than his own, to whom JFK Jr. was very close.

"I think that John’s mother was acutely aware of the fact that Anthony didn’t get proper mothering," Chermayeff said.

Her son was JFK Jr.’s best man

Lee Radziwill and Anthony Radziwill during Pierre Salinger Party at Regine's in New York City.Credit: Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty

When the couple tied the knot on Sept. 21, 1996, on Cumberland Island in Georgia, JFK Jr. made his cousin, Anthony, his best man.

"His cousin Anthony was his best man, but Lee Radziwill wasn’t invited," Chermayeff told Terenzio and McNeil in their book. "How did he resolve that? Anthony’s my best man, but his mom is not coming to my wedding."

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At the time of the wedding, Radziwill's son had cancer. He died at the age of 40 in 1999, just weeks after JFK Jr. and Bessette died.

JFK Jr. was concerned Radziwill would not respect their wishes for privacy

Lee Radziwill ; John F. Kennedy Jr. at the Various Venues in Los Angeles in 1993.Credit: Bettmann; Barry King/WireImage

The couple wanted to keep their wedding a secret from the press, which is why they limited the guest count and chose a remote venue. According to JFK Jr.'s former assistant, that may have also been why Radziwill didn't make the cut.

"I think part of the reason why John didn’t invite Lee to the wedding was because he didn’t trust that she would keep the confidence — that’s what he said," Terenzio recounted in the 2024 book. "He knew she would not abide by their wishes, and that would blow the whole thing."

Bessette questioned JFK Jr.’s decision not to invite Radziwill

John F Kennedy, Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy in 1999.Credit: Ron Sachs/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty

The groom may have been set on not inviting Radziwill, but the bride allegedly wasn't so sure. Chermayeff told Terenzio and McNeil in JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography that Bessette pushed back on JFK Jr.'s decision.

"Carolyn did say to him, 'Are you sure? Is this crazy not to invite her?' " she explained. "And the answer was, 'I’m not inviting her.' "

Though FX's limited series Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette briefly touches on the couple's conversation about having a limited guest list, it doesn't go into detail about why the couple chose not to invite Radziwill.

Radziwill gave Bessette drugstore hair clips the following Christmas

Carolyn Bessette Kennedy ; Lee Radziwell.Credit: Evan Agostini/Getty; Bettmann

JFK Jr.'s aunt may have made her feelings known about not being invited to the wedding via an odd gift she gave his wife for Christmas in 1996.

Terenzio recounted in the oral biography that when they exchanged presents at their apartment that year, Bessette gave Radziwill an Hermès blanket — and Radziwill gave her "Scrunchies and hair clips from Duane Reade," a New York pharmacy store chain.

"Like Goody hair clips," she continued. "Carolyn said, 'I actually think this is hysterical.' She was like, 'You know what that was, don’t you, honey? That was like ‘F--- you for not inviting me to your wedding. How dare you.' Because I’m sure Lee, who was all about appearances, was embarrassed that she wasn’t invited to John’s wedding."

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