Everything You Need To Know About The Best Royal Wedding Dresses: From Queen Elizabeth II To Meghan Markle
Royal weddings are a treat to watch. There's literally nothing that can be compared to the glitz, glamour, and anticipation these weddings bring to the entire world.
Just when you thought you had seen it all, the Royal wedding dresses came one after the other—from Princess Elizabeth to Meghan Markle.
There's, of course, no denying that every bride—from a Princess to a commoner wants to look their supreme best on the day of their wedding. And some even do, straight from the fairytale. However, some wonderful women from the British royal family were those who stole the world's attention and created history with their royal wedding dresses while walking down the aisle. After all, these women are 'princesses.'
Some of these royal gowns were created straight from Chinese silk for the future Queen, while some had intricately and meticulously handmade laces for the Princesses.
If there's one thing we would love to add to these beautiful royal wedding dresses is—they are simply unforgettable and were designed to create history. However, out of all the dresses chosen and worn by the royals, some make fashion what it is today. They were trend-setting then; they are the milestones now.
Let's go straight into what really went into making these royal wedding gowns a treat to watch!
- Princess Elizabeth II's Wedding Dress By Norman Hartnell, 1947
Princess Elizabeth’s (the future Queen Elizabeth II) untimely beautiful wedding gown was immaculately designed by Normal Hartnell at her wedding to Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh.
The Princess had to purchase the material using ration coupons, given the rationing of clothing at the time. On 20 November 1947, the Princess walked down the aisle in Hartnell’s signature embroidery gown. He stated that he loved working with floating, soft fabrics, particularly chiffon and tulle, and with plain, lustrous silks for this royal wedding dress for the Queen.
Being one of the most iconic dresses of all time, her royal wedding dress was made of Chinese silk and had a short train with a high neckline. Enough to create history, the gown also had a star-patterned fan-shaped train that was about 13 feet in length.
Being chosen at the specific directive of the Princess’s mother—the Queen, the silk sure had an unusually lustrous and rich stiff satin. Not only were the silkworms (to manufacture the silk) brought from Nationalist China, but also the iconic dress was adorned with 10,000 seed pearls.
Not to forget, the then Princess and the wedding gown designer were given extra 200 coupons to create this—one of the most iconic dresses of all time in the history of the Royal family.
- Lady Diana Spencer's Wedding Dress By David & Elizabeth Emanuel, 1981
Well, you speak of royalty—you think Princess Diana. You talk of beauty—you think Princess
Diana. Being the ultimate epitome of beauty, grace, and poise—we couldn't resist adding Spencer to this list. However, we aren't talking about her beauty today; we are talking about one of the most iconic dresses of all time—Princess Diana's wedding gown.
Designed by husband-and-wife David and Elizabeth Emanuel, the royal wedding dress had the most anticipated details at her royal wedding to Prince Charles. The supremely pretty ivory taffeta dress was intricately embroidered with frilled lace, sequins, and 10,000 pearls. Yes, you heard that right!
It was one of those royal wedding dresses that was estimated at a whopping $115,000 back in 1981.
This historic wedding dress was declared the most closely guarded secret in fashion history. Diana's one of the best royal dresses of all time stayed a complete mystery until its dramatic reveal on the wedding day at Paul's Cathedral.
The stunning wedding gown had such an excessive amount of fabric that the Princess had to be stuffed into the carriage on her way to the venue. Designer Elizabeth Emanuel cleared by stating that folding the fabric over to fit in the coach caused wrinkles to the dress.
The beautiful antique laced gown was created with a fabric spun especially at a British silk farm—sticking with the tradition; she wore something new, old, borrowed, and blue.
As a rich, beautiful epitome of wedding attire, it became one of the most recreated and copied wedding dresses for women after. The supersized gown for the Princess of Wales had a hugeee 25-foot train and a horseshoe charm sewn inside for good luck. It was later given to her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, as per her decision.
Speaking of the most talked-about royal wedding dresses that created history, also note that Diana lost some weight before the big day—ending up being a 23-inch waist from 26-27! Over the years, with the stunning display of grace and style, her royal wedding gown remains one of women's most popular dresses and iconic royal looks.
Quick Trivia: Princess Diana actually had to be sewn into her royal wedding dress.
- Duchess Kate Middleton's Wedding Dress By Alexander McQueen, 2011
After the grand reveal of Princess Diana’s dress, the world witnessed another beauty when The Duchess of Cambridge decided to walk the aisle.
On her wedding with Prince Willaim on April 29, 2011, Kate Middleton wore an untimely, unmatched royal wedding dress by Alexander McQueen designer Sarah Burton.
Middleton chose the perfect blend of tradition and modernity with details that characterised McQueen’s work. The wedding gown was so beautiful that the ivory satin bodice that was padded slightly at the hips was enough to turn heads and shake the fashion world.
Being one of the most iconic dresses of all time in Royal family history, it was inspired by the Victorian tradition of corsetry—the Alexander McQueen hallmark.
The narrowed-down at-the-waist bodice also featured beautiful floral motifs cut from machine-made lace. The long beautiful train measured 270 cm and also incorporated perfectly fine lace work. As one of the most beautiful ivory royal wedding dresses, it was made using UK fabrics that designer Sarah Burton specially sourced to give the Duchess the best royal wedding gown.
With a v-neck, Kate Middleton's wedding gown had a full skirt designed to look like an open flower. Also, for a Victorian effect, the gown featured padded hip detailing, a corset and handmade lace appliqué. To fulfil the 'blue' portion of the British wedding, a blue ribbon was sewn into the insides of the beautiful dress.
Well, this royal wedding dress is one of the most iconic wedding dresses of history, but what most don't know about the Duchess's outfit change at the reception. But make notes; this one's as classic as the first.
With a sweetheart neckline and sparkly silver belt, Middleton layered the evening dress with a fuzzy white cardigan. She wore long, flowing locks without the Cartier tiara at the second change. The dress for the new Duchess of Cambridge was described by designer Burton as "the experience of a lifetime."
When the Duchess said “I do” to the Duke, she surely made an ever-lasting impression on the world. With Diana in vision, people indeed wanted her to match Spencer’s beauty standards and wedding dress, and we can safely say—she did!
- Meghan Markle's Wedding Dress By Clare Waight Keller, 2018
BDesigned by Clare Waight Keller, the famous British fashion designer, Meghan Markle’s wedding dress was minimal and subtle. The bride had a veil embroidered with flowers representing 53 countries of the Commonwealth, the California poppy, in honour of the Duchess’s home state—California.
Being one of the most iconic royal wedding dresses of modern history, Keller, the artistic director of the fashion house Givenchy designed this classic and chic dress for Markle.
On May 19, 2018, the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took place at Windsor Castle, where she wore a boat-neck designed outfit.
Perhaps, the world was wowed by this minimal wedding gown, much describing Markle’s fashion choice. It was noted that Keller and Markle wanted to have an elegant and timeless aesthetic, impeccable tailoring and a relaxed demeanour.
Her ultra beautiful five metre-long white silk veil also featured Kensington Palace’s Wintersweet. The royal wedding dress was made in Paris by a small team of ateliers with only five months to have the dress and the veil ready.
It was reported that Markle wanted to highlight the success of British talent—Keller, who has been Givenchy’s creative director since 2017. The bride and the designer met for eight fittings.
According to a Kensington Palace announcement, Clare and Markle worked closely together to design this royal dress that was an epitome of “timeless minimal elegance.”
The designer went out of her way to convey modernity through sharp cuts and sleek lines, while paying homage to the History of Givenchy house.
