Most Amazing Royal Wedding Dresses: Photos
There’s nothing people love more than a royal wedding. They’re always so elegant, glamorous and downright heavenly!
As beautiful as the entire ceremonies are, fans can never get enough of the dresses. From Queen Elizabeth II’s fit-and-flare pearl-embellished Norman Hartnell number to Princess Kate’s lace-adorned Alexander McQueen gown — royal wedding looks stand the test of time.
For example, Meghan Markle’s custom boat neck Givenchy dress made royal lovers do a double take. She and Prince Harry tied the knot at St George’s Chapel in May 2018.
“She was just glowing,” Meghan’s bridal dress designer Clare Waight Keller exclusively told Us Weekly of the moment the Suits alum saw the completed gown. “There’s so much emotion on a day like that, but I think particularly when it all comes together, it’s tremendous. She was absolutely radiant.”
Five months later, Princess Eugenie exchanged vows at the same church wearing a Peter Pilotto gown that highlighted her neck scars, which she received following a scoliosis surgery she had as a child.
“It’s a lovely way to honor the people who looked after me and a way of standing up for young people who also go through this,” the princess told ITV the day before the October 2018 nuptials. “I think you can change the way beauty is, and you can show people your scars and I think it’s really special to stand up for that.”
Eugenie’s big sister, Princess Beatrice, said “I do” to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in a borrowed number from her grandmother.
The vintage embellished Norman Hartnell dress was previously worn by the late queen in 1962 at the Lawrence of Arabia film premiere. She paired the number with the Queen Mary diamond fringe tiara, which the monarch wore on her wedding day in 1947.
Other favorites include Princess Charlene of Monaco, who walked down the aisle in 2011 in an off-the-shoulder Armani look crafted with silk organza and duchess satin.
Queen Letizia of Spain’s 2004 off-white Manuel Pertegaz gown with a silk veil featuring a 15-foot train was also a showstopper. The elegant ensemble cost an estimated $8 million.
Scroll down to see some of the most buzzworthy royal wedding dresses through the years:
Credit: Shutterstock (2)
The Most Amazing Royal Wedding Dresses Ever
There’s nothing people love more than a royal wedding. They’re always so elegant, glamorous and downright heavenly!
As beautiful as the entire ceremonies are, fans can never get enough of the dresses. From Queen Elizabeth II’s fit-and-flare pearl-embellished Norman Hartnell number to Princess Kate’s lace-adorned Alexander McQueen gown — royal wedding looks stand the test of time.
For example, Meghan Markle’s custom boat neck Givenchy dress made royal lovers do a double take. She and Prince Harry tied the knot at St George’s Chapel in May 2018.
“She was just glowing,” Meghan’s bridal dress designer Clare Waight Keller exclusively told Us Weekly of the moment the Suits alum saw the completed gown. “There’s so much emotion on a day like that, but I think particularly when it all comes together, it’s tremendous. She was absolutely radiant.”
Five months later, Princess Eugenie exchanged vows at the same church wearing a Peter Pilotto gown that highlighted her neck scars, which she received following a scoliosis surgery she had as a child.
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“It’s a lovely way to honor the people who looked after me and a way of standing up for young people who also go through this,” the princess told ITV the day before the October 2018 nuptials. “I think you can change the way beauty is, and you can show people your scars and I think it’s really special to stand up for that.”
Eugenie’s big sister, Princess Beatrice, said “I do” to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in a borrowed number from her grandmother.
The vintage embellished Norman Hartnell dress was previously worn by the late queen in 1962 at the Lawrence of Arabia film premiere. She paired the number with the Queen Mary diamond fringe tiara, which the monarch wore on her wedding day in 1947.
Other favorites include Princess Charlene of Monaco, who walked down the aisle in 2011 in an off-the-shoulder Armani look crafted with silk organza and duchess satin.
Queen Letizia of Spain’s 2004 off-white Manuel Pertegaz gown with a silk veil featuring a 15-foot train was also a showstopper. The elegant ensemble cost an estimated $8 million.
Scroll down to see some of the most buzzworthy royal wedding dresses through the years:
Credit: Topical Press Agency/Getty Images
Queen Elizabeth II of England
Still Princess Elizabeth at the time, the long-reigning monarch wed her husband, Philip Mountbatten, in 1947 wearing a fit-and-flare dress embellished with a floral print and 10,000 seed pearls by Norman Hartnell. Because she was married at the end of World War II, Elizabeth actually purchased the material for the dress (a soft white satin) using ration coupons.
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Princess Grace of Monaco
In 1956, the Oscar-winning American actress married Prince Rainier of Monaco in a dress by MGM studio costume designer Helen Rose. It was created from 125-year-old Valenciennes rose-point lace, silk taffeta and 98 yards of tulle and took more than a dozen seamstresses six weeks to complete.
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Princess Diana of Wales
The most famous wedding gown in the world was created by David and Elizabeth Emanuel and featured 275 yards of pearl-studded silk taffeta, tulle and netting. They designed the 25-foot train with the scale of St. Paul’s cathedral (the location of Diana and Charles’ 1983 royal nuptials) in mind.
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Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson
“There will never be a dress to match it,” Sarah Ferguson has said of the Lindka Cierach ivory duchess satin gown she wore for her 1986 nuptials to Britain’s Prince Andrew. It featured a large beaded ‘A’ for ‘Andrew’ on the bottom of the 17-foot train.
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Queen Rania of Jordan
The 22-year-old executive-in-training, married Jordan’s Prince Abdullah in 1993 after less than a year of courtship. She wore a gold-trimmed short-sleeve gown designed by Bruce Oldfield, who later revealed that Rania’s wedding updo was so high that she had trouble getting into cars.
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Crown Princess Masako of Japan
After wearing traditional waxed wigs and 30 pounds of ceremonial garments by designer Hanae Mori for her 1993 wedding to Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito, Masako donned a more contemporary ivory gown.
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Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece
It took more than 25 seamstresses to create the $225,000 ivory silk Valentino gown that the New York City socialite wore to her 1995 wedding to Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece. The tiara was borrowed from her new mother-in law.
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Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway
In 2001, the single mother married the Crown Prince of Norway in a simple silk crepe and tulle long-sleeve Ove Harder Finseth gown with a nearly 20 foot train. Her antique tiara was a gift from the King and Queen.
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Princess Maxima of the Netherlands
In 2002, Argentinean banker Máxima Zorreguieta married Prince Willem-Alexander, the Netherlands’ future king, in a long-sleeve ivory silk Valentino gown with a 16.4 foot lace train. She also wore a diamond tiara and lace veil.
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Queen Letizia of Spain
In 2004, the journalist married Felipe de Borbon (the heir apparent to the Spanish throne) in an off-white Manuel Pertegaz gown with a silk veil and a nearly 15 foot train. She donned the same diamond and platinum tiara that Queen Sofia wore at her wedding to King Juan Carlos.
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Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
At her 2004 wedding to Prince Frederik, the bride wore a scoop-neck ivory satin gown designed by Uffe Frank with a veil first used by Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden in 1905.
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Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden
In 2010, the 32-year-old bride walked down the aisle in a cream-colored duchess satin Pär Engsheden gown with a 16.5 foot train. Notable accessory: A gold and pearl Cameo tiara which the bride’s mother, Queen Silvia, also wore to her own wedding on the same day in 1976.
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Annemarie, Duchess of Parma and Piacenza
Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Parma’s bride wowed in a mermaid-style dress with a crisscrossed, ruched bodice, and a magnificent train, paired with a long lace veil, a pearl-topped tiara, and pearl earrings, during her 2010 wedding.
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Princess Kate
Kate Middleton wore a custom-made Alexander McQueen dress designed by Sarah Burton to her 2011 nuptials to Prince William at Westminster Abbey. The dress boasted lace sleeves, a V-neckline, a Victorian-style semi-bustle, and a lace hem crafted by the Royal School of Needlework. She topped it all off with a diamond tiara on loan from Queen Elizabeth II herself.
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Princess Charlene of Monaco
Walking down the aisle to wed Prince Albert in 2011, the former Olympic swimmer modeled an off-the-shoulder Armani dress, which was crafted from silk duchess satin and silk organza. It was embellished with 40,000 Swarovski crystals, 20,000 mother of pearl teardrops, and 30,000 gold stones, weaved to create a floral pattern.
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Princess Stephanie of Luxembourg
In 2012, the countess married Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume while sporting a custom Elie Saab dress, complete with long, lace sleeves and an A-line bodice. The cream creation boasted a 13-foot-long train and 50,000 pearls, each sewn with silver thread.
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Princess Claire of Luxembourg
The heiress-turned-princess wed Prince Felix in 2013, wearing a bespoke Elie Saab creation embellished with Chantilly lace. She also rocked a nine-foot veil with a floral design, which sat beneath a diamond tiara (the same one favored by Grand Duchess Maria Theresa).
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Princess Madeleine of Sweden
The princess, who wed American financier Christopher O’Neill in 2013, donned a Valentino dress with an off-the-shoulder neckline, a lace hemline, and a rose print throughout on her special day. She topped the ensemble off with a glittering fringe tiara, which she embellished with orange blossoms.
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Princess Sofia of Sweden
When tying the knot with Prince Carl Philip in 2015, the former model and reality TV star stunned in a crepe and silk organza gown by Swedish designer Ida Sjöstedt, trimmed in lace from Jose Maria Ruiz. She added a diamond and emerald tiara, a gift from her in-laws, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, as her “something new.”
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Duchess Meghan
Meghan Markle wore a custom-made Givenchy dress designed by Clare Waight Keller when she married Prince Harry on May 19, 2018. The minimalist gown featured a boat neck that framed the former Suits actress’ shoulders and three-quarter-length sleeves. It was made of double-bonded silk cady cushioned by an underskirt in triple silk organza. The 16-foot-long ivory silk tulle veil included hand-embroidered floral details representing all 53 countries of the Commonwealth, at the bride’s suggestion, as well as the California poppy, to represent Markle’s home state, and wintersweet, which is found at Kensington Palace. The veil was held in place by Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau tiara, loaned to her by the Queen. The bride also wore earrings and a bracelet by Cartier.
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Princess Eugenie
The youngest daughter of Prince Andrew and Duchess Sarah of York said “I do” to Jack Brooksbank in October 2018 at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. The princess opted for a long-sleeved Peter Pilotto gown. She didn’t wear a traditional veil, instead choosing to keep the scars on her back visible. Her emerald and diamond Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara served as her “something borrowed” as it came from Queen Elizabeth’s collection.
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Duchess Sophie von Wurttemberg
The German duchess said “I do” to Count Maximilien d’Andigné near the Bavarian Alps in October 2018. She wore two custom dresses for the occasion, one of which featured a scooped back lined with lace.
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Princess Beatrice
The eldest daughter of Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, borrowed a dress from her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, for her July 2020 nuptials to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. It was a vintage embellished Norman Hartnell gown, which she paired with another one of Queen Elizabeth’s pieces: the Queen Mary diamond fringe tiara. But that’s not all! the headpiece was previously worn by the British monarch on her wedding day in 1947.
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Nina Flohr
Princess Diana’s godson, Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark, tied the knot with Flohr in December 2020, but it was limited to just their fathers as guests amid COVID-19 restrictions. The couple celebrated their nuptials with two additional ceremonies in 2021. During the third wedding the bride wore a white Chanel gown with intricate beading and a large, asymmetric bow in the front.
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Belen Corsini
The new Countess of Osorno exchanged vows with Count of Osorno, Carlos Fitz-James Stuart y de Solís in Madrid’s Liria Palace in May 2021. She wore a beautiful off-white gown by designer Cristina Martínez-Pardo Cobián. The silk dress was embellished with tiny pink flowers on the train.
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Princess Maria-Anunciata of Liechtenstein
In September 2021, the princess married Emanuele Musini in Vienna. She stunned in a Valentino satin gown with balloon sleeves.
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Lady Gabriella Windsor
In May 2022, the royal, whose parents are the Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, married Thomas Kingston. The twosome celebrated their nuptials at Windsor Castle where Gabriella wore a gown designed by Italy’s Luisa Beccaria.
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Countess Olympia von und zu Arco-Zinneberg
The countess wed Prince Jean-Christophe Napoleon Bonaparte, a descendent of Napoleon Bonaparte I, in Paris in July 2022. She chose an Oscar de la Renta dress that was embroidered by 10 dressmakers according to Brides.
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Princess Maria Laura of Belgium
The princess tied the knot with William Isvy in Brussels in September 2022. The granddaughter of King Albert II wore a short dress for her civil ceremony but opted for a Vivienne Westwood gown with a 13-foot train for the church nuptials.