7 British royal wedding rules – and how the protocols have been followed and broken: from Meghan Markle’s wedding gown to Prince Harry’s rogue ring

Aug 23 , 2021

Check out which special protocol famous UK royals have to follow their wedding. Photos: AFP, EPA, AFP

Tradition dictates royal brides wear locally designed gowns, but Meghan Markle toed the line by choosing a British designer under French fashion house Givenchy

Prince Philip, Andrew and William opted out of rings – Prince Harry is the first royal husband in three generations to wear a wedding band on his ring finger

Who doesn’t love a royal wedding? From Prince William and Kate Middleton, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, to more recently Princess Beatrice of York’s nuptials to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, there’s a part of us that gets butterflies from watching princes and princesses walk down the aisle. Like most royal activities, their weddings are steeped in tradition. Here are some protocols royal weddings usually observe.

The queen’s approval

Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, walk down the west steps of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, in Windsor, after their wedding ceremony. Photo: AFP

Most grooms-to-be will traditionally ask the bride’s father for his blessing on their marriage, however, according to the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, royals must ask the monarch for approval. Queen Elizabeth has given her royal consent recently to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice of York.

Famously, as seen on The Crown, she did not approve of her sister Princess Margaret’s request to marry Peter Townsend. She instead finally married Anthony Armstrong Jones, which ended in separation in 1978 and marked the first British royal divorce in 400 years.

Dress British

The wedding dress of Britain’s Princess Diana is displayed during a media preview for the “Royal Style in the Making” exhibition at Kensington Palace in London, June 2021. Photo: AP

Apart from getting the queen’s approval on the wedding dress – which she has never reportedly disapproved of one yet – it is also tradition that royal brides wear British-designed dresses for their wedding.

Princess Diana’s dress was by her favourite couture designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel from Emanuel Salon in Mayfair. Kate Middleton’s dress was designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. Meghan Markle partly toed the line on this one, opting for British designer Clare Waight Keller under French fashion house Givenchy.

The bridal entourage

Bridesmaids and page boys during the wedding ceremony of Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, May 2018. Photo: AP