Franklin Dean
Royal wedding dresses are often considered historic pieces, so it is unlikely that they are kept in the royal brides' closets. The British Royal Household has a large team of experts specialising in managing and caring for the Royal Collection, including historical clothing. Some dresses are displayed in exhibitions, such as Princess Diana's wedding dress, which was displayed during a media preview for the Royal Style in the Making exhibition at Kensington Palace in London in 2021. Other dresses are kept in museums, such as the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, which has a Life at the Palace museum with wedding dresses of various queens and princesses.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Fabric | Lace, satin, silk, tulle, chiffon, organza, gauze, jacquard weave, taffeta |
| Design | Long sleeves, short sleeves, sleeveless, high neckline, dropped waist, floral embroidery, beading, pearls, diamonds, feathers, ruffles, pleats, flounces, veil, tiara, train |
| Designers | Madame Handley Seymour, Norman Hartnell, Catherine Walker, John Cavanagh, Sarah Burton, Clare Waight Keller, Alexander McQueen, Peter Pilotto, Christopher de Vos, Lindka Cierach, Bruce Oldfield, Elizabeth and David Emmanuel |
| Other | The Duchess of Sussex's dress took 3900 hours over four months to make |
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What You'll Learn
Queen Victoria popularised the tradition of wearing white
Queen Victoria is commonly credited with popularising the tradition of wearing white wedding dresses. On her wedding day in 1840, Victoria wore a white satin court train, bordered with orange blossom, instead of the traditional crimson velvet robe of state. In her journal, she described her dress as:
> A white satin dress, with a deep flounce of Honiton lace, an imitation of an old design. My jewels were my Turkish diamond necklace & earrings & dear Albert's beautiful sapphire brooch.
Victoria's choice of attire was a romantic gesture, presenting herself as an adoring and innocent bride, which captured the public imagination. The notion of the bride clad in pure white spread quickly, aided by the rise of print media and commercialisation. Fashion magazines of the time, such as Godey's Lady's Book, reinforced the idea that white was "an emblem of the purity and innocence of girlhood".
However, some sources suggest that Victoria's choice of white was also influenced by other factors. One theory is that she chose white to highlight the delicate lace on her dress, which was handmade and intended to support and stimulate Britain's lace industry. Another suggestion is that she wanted to be seen as simply the wife of her future husband, rather than a monarch.
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Princess Margaret wore a Norman Hartnell dress
Hartnell, a leading British fashion designer, was well-known for his work for the ladies of the royal family. He received his first commission from the British royal family in 1935, designing the wedding dress and bridesmaids' dresses for the marriage of Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott and Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester. Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth, who served as bridesmaids, first wore his designs for this wedding.
Princess Margaret's wedding dress was made of silk organza and featured long sleeves, a V-neckline, and a full skirt that required about 98 feet of fabric. The gown lacked the embellishments common for royal wedding dresses, such as lace or beading, which would have overwhelmed the bride due to her petite frame. Instead, the dress featured a dramatic silhouette that showed off the British royal's figure.
The dress was complemented by a cathedral-length veil held in place by the Poltimore tiara. The whole wedding received worldwide publicity, and the gown is now on display at Kensington Palace as part of an ongoing exhibit about royal wedding dresses.
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The Duchess of Sussex's dress was designed by British designer, Claire Waight Keller
The Duchess of Sussex's wedding dress was designed by British designer Claire Waight Keller, who was working for the French fashion house Givenchy at the time. The Duchess, also known as Meghan Markle, and Ms. Waight Keller worked closely together on the design. The dress was made of silk tulle and featured a simple bateau neckline, a long, full skirt, and a white veil embroidered with all 53 flowers of the Commonwealth countries, as well as flowers representing Kensington Palace and Meghan's home state of California.
Waight Keller's relationship with the Duchess extended beyond the wedding dress. She dressed the Duchess for other occasions, including Ascot, the trooping of the colour ceremony, and Remembrance Sunday. The Duchess also wore Givenchy designs by Waight Keller while pregnant and to present the British Designer of the Year award to Waight Keller in 2018.
Waight Keller is a British stylist and fashion designer who has served as the artistic director for several luxury fashion houses and brands, including Pringle of Scotland, Chloé, and Givenchy. She was the first woman to helm the house of Givenchy. She launched a collection with the Japanese mass-market brand Uniqlo in 2023.
Waight Keller was born in Birmingham, England, in 1970. She studied at Ravensbourne College of Art, now Ravensbourne University London, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in Fashion. She then earned a master's degree at the Royal College of Art. Before joining Givenchy, she worked at Calvin Klein in New York as a stylist for the women's ready-to-wear line and at Ralph Lauren for the Purple Label menswear line.
The Duchess of Sussex's choice of a British designer for her wedding dress reflects the emphasis on British design and tradition in royal weddings. Royal wedding dresses are often deeply romantic, using symbolism in their embroidery and fabrication, and are extremely well-constructed due to the intense media scrutiny they receive.
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Princess Diana's iconic taffeta look
Princess Diana's wedding dress is one of the most iconic British royal wedding dresses of all time. The dress was a voluminous ivory ball gown with a sparkling veil and a record-breaking 25-foot train. The dress was designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel and featured puffy sleeves, ruffles around the neck, and a cathedral-length trail. The gown was made of taffeta, a type of silk, and was paired with a custom tulle veil hand-stitched by Peggy Umpleby. The veil was embroidered with 10,000 micro pearls to create a "fairy dust" effect, complementing the sparkles on the gown itself.
The Emanuels took several precautions to keep the dress a secret before the wedding, including destroying the pattern after the dress was made and putting scraps of unused fabric in the garbage to mislead the press. The dress transformed the 20-year-old Diana into a style icon, capturing the hearts of people worldwide.
Interestingly, there was a second dress made as a backup in case the design was leaked. The alternate dress, revealed in 2011, was also an ivory silk taffeta gown with ruffles around the neck but lacked the signature lace of the original.
Before her wedding, Princess Diana wore a black taffeta gown to her first official engagement with her fiancé, Prince Charles. The strapless, black silk taffeta dress, also designed by David Emanuel, marked her public debut as a princess-to-be and transformed her image overnight.
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Queen Elizabeth's dress was made using ration coupons
In 1947, just two years after the end of World War II, Princess Elizabeth married Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey. The war's political aftermath meant that the fabric for Princess Elizabeth's wedding dress was sourced from China, rather than World War II foes Japan or Italy. The then-Princess had to purchase the tulle, chiffon, and silk for her gown using ration coupons that she had saved up. The government also granted her 200 extra ration coupons. These coupons were also provided by brides-to-be from across the country, who wanted to help the Princess acquire her dress. However, she had to return these coupons as it was illegal for them to have been given away in the first place.
The dress was designed by Norman Hartnell and inspired by a Botticelli painting. It featured a high neckline, long tight sleeves, a heart-shaped neckline, a tailored bodice, and a full skirt that gave way to a 13-foot train. The dress was encrusted with 10,000 imported seed pearls, wheat ears (a symbol of fertility), and diamante. It took 350 women seven weeks to make the gown, which was complemented by a double strand of pearls, a diamond tiara, and a dramatic tulle veil. The final design of the dress was kept secret, although there was much speculation surrounding it.
The dress drew parallels with the one worn by Grace Kelly in 1956 and the "Westminster décor" wedding dress designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen for Catherine Middleton. In 2024, Princess Beatrice, the daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, wore Queen Elizabeth II's dress for her wedding to Edoardo Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi.
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Frequently asked questions
Royal wedding dresses are historic pieces and are likely stored in a museum or the royal archives. Some dresses have been displayed at the Summer BP opening and are thought to be kept in Windsor Castle.
It is a royal wedding tradition that the bride's bouquet must contain myrtle. After the wedding, the bouquet is left at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey.
Royal brides usually wear British-designed dresses. Princess Diana's dress was designed by her favourite couture designers, David and Elizabeth Emanuel. Kate Middleton's dress was designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. Meghan Markle's dress was designed by British designer Clare Waight Keller for the French fashion house Givenchy.
The Queen must approve the wedding dress. She has the final say and gets a sneak peek at the dress before the big day.
