Who Walks Beside Royal Brides?

Royal weddings are steeped in tradition, and one of the most notable differences from typical weddings is the bridal party. While in the US, bridesmaids are usually the bride's closest friends, in British royal weddings, they are traditionally children or young teenagers. This tradition has been followed by many royal couples, including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who had Princess Charlotte and Prince George as bridesmaid and page boy, respectively. Princess Kate also broke tradition when she had her sister Pippa Middleton as her bridesmaid at her wedding to Prince William.

Royal bridesmaids are typically young teenagers or children

The choice of young bridesmaids is also influenced by British tradition, which dictates that children, typically related to the bride, assume the role of bridesmaids and page boys. This was evident in the wedding of Princess Beatrice, who selected all ten of her nieces as bridesmaids. Similarly, King George V's wedding included his sisters and nieces as bridesmaids.

In addition to their young age, royal bridesmaids often wear ivory or white gowns, as seen in the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, where the young bridesmaids wore white. This tradition of dressing royal bridesmaids in white dates back to Queen Victoria's influence and the belief that white deterred evil spirits.

While the choice of young bridesmaids is a common tradition, there have been exceptions, such as Princess Kate's wedding, where her sister, Pippa Middleton, served as her bridesmaid. This deviation from the norm sparked interest and attention, with Pippa's appearance in an ivory gown becoming a memorable aspect of the wedding.

Royal bridesmaids traditionally wear white

The tradition of bridesmaids wearing white at royal weddings dates back to Queen Victoria's wedding. In her journal, Queen Victoria described wearing a "white satin gown with a very deep flounce of Honiton lace". The late monarch's choice of a white wedding dress sparked a trend in bridal fashion that continues to this day.

The choice of white for royal bridesmaids may also be influenced by the belief that white deters evil spirits. By dressing her bridesmaids in white, a bride could confuse any such spirits, thus safely disguising herself among the bridal party. This superstitious practice may seem outdated, but it reflects a historical tradition that has persisted in royal weddings.

In addition to the colour of their dresses, royal bridesmaids are typically children or young teenagers. This tradition differs from weddings in the US, where bridesmaids are usually adults and represent the bride's closest friends. In British royal weddings, the bridesmaids are often the children or young relatives of the couple getting married.

Royal bridesmaids are not usually adult female bridesmaids

Royal bridesmaids are typically children or young teenagers. This tradition is not unique to the royal family but is also a British tradition. Royal bridesmaids are often dressed in white, a tradition that is believed to have originated from the historical belief that white deterred evil spirits. The bride would dress her bridesmaids in white to confuse any such spirits, disguising herself among the bridal party.

Since Queen Elizabeth's wedding, royal bridesmaids have been children or early teens. For example, at the wedding of King George V and Princess Mary of Teck in 1893, the couple had 10 bridesmaids, including all of the King's sisters and nieces. Princess Elizabeth, two decades before her coronation, served as a bridesmaid at her uncle's wedding when she was nine years old.

While Pippa Middleton served as her sister Kate's bridesmaid, this was an exception rather than the rule. Royal weddings do not traditionally have adult female bridesmaids. Meghan Markle, for instance, chose not to have a maid of honour as she did not want to choose between her close friends. Instead, they all assisted her at various times throughout the day.

Royal bridesmaids carry a sprig of myrtle in their bouquets

The Duchess of Cambridge, the Queen, and Diana, Princess of Wales, all included myrtle in their wedding bouquets. The myrtle used in these bouquets was sourced from the bush grown from the original plant given to Queen Victoria. For instance, Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth) included a sprig of myrtle from Queen Victoria's bush in her 1947 wedding bouquet. Similarly, when Kate Middleton married Prince William in 2011, her bouquet contained two sprigs of myrtle, one from Queen Victoria's garden and the other from Queen Elizabeth's myrtle bush.

In addition to the myrtle, royal brides often include other symbolic flowers in their bouquets. For example, Lady Diana's bouquet featured yellow roses of a strand named after Prince Charles's great-uncle, Lord Louis Mountbatten. Meanwhile, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, included primroses and lily of the valley in her bouquet when she married Prince Charles in 2005.

Following their weddings, royal brides traditionally send their bouquets to Westminster Abbey to be placed on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior. This custom was started by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, in 1923, when she left her bouquet at the tomb in memory of her brother, Fergus, who died during World War I.

Royal bridesmaids are not chosen to represent the bride's closest friends

The choice of young bridesmaids is not unique to Meghan Markle's wedding. In 2011, Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding included young bridesmaids and page boys, some of whom stole the limelight with their adorable and grimacing facial expressions. This tradition can be traced back to Queen Elizabeth's wedding, where the royal bridesmaids were children or early teens.

The role of bridesmaids at royal weddings is often filled by the children or young relatives of the couple. For instance, at Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's wedding in 2018, their young relatives were part of the bridal party. Similarly, at the wedding of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong, her 9-year-old niece, Princess Anne, served as one of the bridesmaids.

While it is customary for brides in the U.S. to choose their closest friends as bridesmaids, British royal weddings have maintained the tradition of selecting young family members or relatives for this role. This tradition adds a unique charm to royal weddings, with the young bridesmaids and page boys often becoming memorable highlights of the celebrations.

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