Royal Wedding: Markle's Choice To Shun Bridesmaids

When Meghan Markle married Prince Harry in 2018, she broke with tradition by choosing not to have a maid of honour. Markle was clear that she did not want to choose one close friend over another, and so opted for a bridal party of young bridesmaids and page boys. Markle's bridesmaids included Princess Charlotte, the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Ivy Mulroney, the daughter of Markle's best friend, Jessica Mulroney.

Meghan Markle chose not to have a maid of honour

• Princess Charlotte, aged three, the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
• Zalie Warren, aged two, one of Prince Harry's goddaughters and the daughter of his close friend Jake Warren.
• Florence van Cutsem, aged three, Prince Harry's other goddaughter and the daughter of Mrs Alice van Cutsem and Major Nicholas van Cutsem.
• Remi and Rylan Litt, aged six and seven respectively, Meghan's goddaughters and the daughters of her close friend Benita Litt.
• Ivy Mulroney, aged four, the daughter of Meghan's close friend Jessica Mulroney, a Canadian stylist, and her TV host husband Ben, whose father is the former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

The page boys were:

• Prince George, aged four, the oldest child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
• Jasper Dyer, aged six, Prince Harry's godson and the son of Harry's "second father" Mark Dyer, a former Welsh Guards officer who was equerry to Prince Charles.
• Brian and John Mulroney, aged seven, Ivy's brothers and also the children of Meghan's close friends Jessica and Ben Mulroney.

According to Kensington Palace, Meghan chose not to have a maid of honour because she "has a very close-knit group of friends and did not want to choose one over the other".

Royal bridesmaids are usually children

The choice to have children as bridesmaids is not unique to Markle. In fact, it is common practice in British royal weddings. For example, Princess Charlotte and Prince George, the children of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, stole the show as page boy and bridesmaid at the weddings of both Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in May 2018 and Princess Eugenie in October of the same year. This tradition can be traced back to Queen Elizabeth herself, who served as a bridesmaid to her uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, when she was just a girl.

The decision to have young bridesmaids is not just a matter of tradition, however. It also serves a practical purpose. Because bridesmaids are typically children, it makes sense for Princess Charlotte to serve as one of Markle's bridesmaids, and for her brother, Prince George, to be a page boy. Additionally, having children as bridesmaids and page boys ensures that all the attention is on the bride. This was certainly the case at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, where the bride's stunning Givenchy wedding dress and 16-foot-long silk tulle train took centre stage.

Markle's bridesmaids were her goddaughters

Markle's bridesmaids were a mix of her goddaughters and the children of her closest friends. In British royal weddings, attendants tend to be children, as opposed to the bride's closest friends as is the custom in the US.

Markle's bridal party included Princess Charlotte, the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and goddaughter of Prince Harry. Charlotte was accompanied by her brother, Prince George, who served as a page boy.

Markle's goddaughters Remi and Rylan Litt, the daughters of Markle's close friend Benita Litt, were also bridesmaids. Markle is the godmother to both Remi and Rylan, and spent Christmas with the Litt family in 2016.

Florence van Cutsem, the three-year-old goddaughter of Prince Harry and daughter of Alice van Cutsem and Major Nicholas van Cutsem, was another of Markle's bridesmaids.

Zalie Warren, the two-year-old daughter of Mrs. Zoe Warren and Mr. Jake Warren, and goddaughter of Prince Harry, was the youngest of Markle's bridesmaids.

Ivy Mulroney, the four-year-old daughter of Markle's good friend Jessica Mulroney, a Canadian stylist, was also a bridesmaid. Ivy's brothers, Brian and John Mulroney, served as page boys.

The bridesmaids' dresses were designed by Clare Waight Keller

On 19 May 2018, Meghan Markle wed Prince Harry in a ceremony at St George's Chapel, Windsor. Markle did not have a maid of honour, as she did not want to choose one friend over another. Instead, she had six bridesmaids, including Princess Charlotte, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and goddaughters of both Meghan and Harry.

Waight Keller began her career at Calvin Klein in New York as a stylist for the women's ready-to-wear line, before moving to Ralph Lauren, working on the Purple Label menswear line. In 2000, she was hired by Tom Ford to join Gucci, working on women's ready-to-wear and accessories. She has also served as artistic director for a number of luxury fashion houses, including Pringle of Scotland, Chloé, and Givenchy. In 2023, she launched a collection with Japanese brand Uniqlo.

The six bridesmaids' dresses were crafted from the finest ivory silk Radzimir, with short puff sleeves, and were hand-finished with a double silk ribbon sash, tied at the back in a bow. The dresses were designed in the Givenchy Haute Couture Atelier in Paris, where Waight Keller was artistic director of haute couture and ready-to-wear for women and men. The young bridesmaids also wore white leather Aquazurra shoes, monogrammed with their initials and the wedding date, which were gifted to them by Meghan as a memento of the day.

The bridesmaids' shoes were monogrammed and gifted by Markle

For her wedding to Prince Harry, Meghan Markle had a bridal party of six bridesmaids, ranging in age from three to seven. The bridesmaids wore white puff-sleeve dresses with silk ribbons and pleated skirts, designed by Clare Waight Keller, who also designed Markle's wedding dress. They also wore flower crowns, specifically chosen by the couple, and white leather Aquazurra shoes, monogrammed with their initials and the wedding date. Markle gifted the shoes to the young bridesmaids as a keepsake of the special day.

The bridesmaids' shoes were not the only monogrammed item at the wedding. The page boys, who wore uniforms modelled on the Blues and Royals frockcoat, had their initials embroidered in gold on their shoulder straps.

The six bridesmaids were: Princess Charlotte, Ivy Mulroney, Florence van Cutsem, Zalie Warren, Remi Litt, and Rylan Litt. The four page boys were: Brian Mulroney, John Mulroney, Prince George, and Jasper Dyer.

In British royal weddings, it is traditional for the bridal party to be made up of children, rather than the bride's closest friends, as is typical in the US.

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