5 best British royal wedding dresses of all time, from Queen Elizabeth’s pearls and Meghan Markle’s Givenchy veil, to Kate Middleton’s Alexander McQueen creation and Princess Diana’s iconic tiara
- Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s daughter, Princess Beatrice, wore the Queen Mary Fringe Tiara at her wedding – which Queen Elizabeth donned on her big day too
- Princess Diana went for British designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel – and a Spencer family diamond tiara – for her nuptials with Prince Charles
But it was in 1981, on the July 29 wedding ceremony of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, that brought out one of the most iconic royal bridal gowns.
Here are the royal wedding dresses that went down in history …
Princess Beatrice’s hand-me-down from Queen Elizabeth
When Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s daughter Princess Beatrice married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in 2020, she wore the same Queen Mary Fringe Tiara commissioned from Garrard by the queen’s grandmother Queen Mary in 1919, as Queen Elizabeth wore on her own wedding day in November 1947. But the item wasn’t the only piece full of history on Princess Beatrice; the queen loaned her granddaughter a Peau De Soie taffeta and organza gown from 20th century designer Norman Hartnell.
The item is recognisable from 1960s images of the queen wearing it herself at several events. Stand-out details include a Duchesse satin trim and a unique pattern of diamanté, but triple organza sleeves were added along with other reversible alterations.
Meghan Markle’s incredible veil
Under French fashion house Givenchy, British designer Clare Waight Keller worked on the Duchess of Sussex’s dress for her May 2018 wedding to Prince Harry. According to the official British royal website, Markle and Waight Keller worked closely together on the design of the dress, which was made from double-bonded silk cady, “with the pure lines of the dress achieved using six meticulously placed seams”.
The design is particularly impressive because the American-born Duchess of Sussex opted to have the 53 countries of the Commonwealth factored in and the designer did so by creating a unique floral composition on the veil.