By Wonderwall.com Editors
5:00am PDT, Apr 29, 2024
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We love to see what members of the aristocracy wore on their wedding day. To mark the Prince and Princess of Wales' 13th wedding anniversary on April 29, 2024, we're taking a look at the best and worst royal wedding dresses in recent decades…
Kate Middleton wore a long-sleeved Alexander McQueen ivory satin and lace dress when she married Prince William on April 29, 2011, at Westminster Abbey when she became the Duchess of Cambridge (and, later, the Princess of Wales). The gown, made by English designer Sarah Burton — the luxury fashion brand's creative director — also featured an eight-foot train. The lace appliqué on the bodice and skirt was hand-embroidered by workers at the Royal School of Needlework.
Keep reading to see dozens more of the best royal wedding gowns in recent history…
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Princess Beatrice of York married property developer Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi at The Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge in Windsor, England, on July 17, 2020.
But unlike most royal brides, instead of wearing a new bespoke designer dress on her wedding day, Princess Beatrice chose a vintage creation — an ivory Peau De Soie taffeta gown by Norman Hartnell that belonged to her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II (the monarch memorably wore the dress to the 1962 London premiere of "Lawrence of Arabia").
The dress was altered — Beatrice added sheer organza puff sleeves and a new hemline — by the queen's personal designer and wardrobe maven, Angela Kelly, and British bridal designer Stewart Parvin.
Keep reading for another look, plus details on that familiar-looking tiara…
MORE: Royal engagement rings
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On her wedding day in July 2020, Princess Beatrice accessorized her vintage Norman Hartnell wedding dress with a classic veil topped with the Queen Mary Fringe Tiara — the same tiara that her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, wore on her own wedding day in 1947. The monarch's daughter, Princess Anne, also wore the tiara at her 1973 wedding.
MORE: Royal wedding tiaras
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In June 2021, the late Princess Diana's bridal attire went on display at London's Kensington Palace — where she lived while raising her sons — for the first time in more than 25 years as part of Historic Royal Palaces' "Royal Style In The Making" exhibition, which runs until Jan. 2, 2022. The dress, which was designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel for the former Lady Diana Spencer's July 1981 wedding, was last seen at the palace in 1995, though it later was put on display at Althorp, her childhood home where she is now buried. Keep reading to see the dress on Diana…
MORE: Royal engagement rings
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Princess Diana's wedding dress, which was designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel for the former Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles's July 1981 nuptials, is one of the most iconic of all time. The ivory silk taffeta dress is covered in 10,000 mother of pearl sequins as well as panels of antique Carrickmacross lace that originally belonged to Britain's Queen Mary (ex-husband Charles's great-grandmother). Di accessorized with a 25-foot sequined train and the Spencer family tiara.
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Ahead of Princess Eugenie of York's wedding to Jack Brooksbank on Oct. 12, 2018, there was only one thing we knew for sure about her wedding gown: It would be from a Britain-based designer. On the big day, the bride delivered in a stunning white Peter Pilotto dress and a gorgeous Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara.
The royal had opened up to British Vogue about her selection a month earlier, explaining that she knew exactly what she wanted to wear on her big day: "[The dress] is the one thing that I was really decisive about. As soon as we announced the wedding, I knew the designer and the look straight away."
The beautiful dress included personal touches and symbols. "The symbols are a Thistle for Scotland acknowledging the couple's fondness for Balmoral, a Shamrock for Ireland as a nod to the Bride's Ferguson family, the York Rose and ivy representing the couple's home [at Ivy Cottage at Kensington Palace]," The Palace explained.
However, the biggest surprise was that the bride opted to forgo a veil!
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Camilla Parker Bowles became Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, when she married Prince Charles — who's now King Charles III — in 2005. For their blessing ceremony following a civil service, she wore a striking floor-length pale blue coat embroidered with gold designs atop a matching chiffon gown from designers Robinson Valentine, now known as Anna Valentine. The future Queen Camilla topped it all off with a gold feather headpiece by Philip Treacy.
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Before their religious blessing ceremony, Camilla Parker Bowles and Prince Charles — now King Charles III — legally tied the knot in a civil service at the Windsor Guildhall on April 9, 2005.
For that ceremony, the future Queen Camilla wore a short cream silk chiffon dress trimmed in Swiss-made appliqué discs under a matching oyster silk coat. Like her second wedding dress, the ensemble was designed by London label Robinson Valentine. Camilla accessorized with a diamond and gray pearl Prince of Wales brooch on her lapel and a French lace and feather-trimmed hat by milliner Philip Treacy.
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Old Hollywood darling Grace Kelly became European royalty when she got hitched to Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956 in a gown designed by Hollywood costumer Helen Rose — who also designed memorable looks for Elizabeth Taylor (including her first wedding dress, when she married Conrad "Nicky" Hilton). This chic high-neck gown was made from 25 yards of taffeta and 125-year-old lace embroidered with pearls.
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On Nov. 20, 1947, Britain's Princess Elizabeth married Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh — who was born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark — in a silk and satin wedding gown sewn with thousands of seed pearls. Though she was royalty, the future Queen Elizabeth II still had to purchase the fabric with ration coupons since the wedding took place during England's recovery from World War II. Her ethereal train was star-patterned and inspired by a Botticelli painting from 1482.
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Here's a closer look at the details on Queen Elizabeth II's wedding dress, which she wore with the Queen Mary Fringe Tiara when she married Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh (later known as Prince Philip) at Westminster Abbey in London on Nov. 20, 1947.
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Meghan Markle looked positively stunning in a wedding dress created by British designer Clare Waight Keller, the first female artistic director at French fashion house Givenchy, when she married Prince Harry on May 19, 2018. Keep reading to see it from another angle…
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Duchess Meghan's white silk dress featured an open bateau neckline, three-quarter-length sleeves, a train and an underskirt made of triple silk organza. Her 5-meter-long veil featured an embroidered flower from each of the 53 countries of the British Commonwealth plus two of Meghan's favorites — wintersweet, which grows in front of Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace, where she lived with Prince Harry at the time, and the California poppy, the state flower of her home state. She secured her veil with Queen Mary's diamond bandeau tiara, which she borrowed from Queen Elizabeth II.
MORE: See the best photos from Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan's wedding
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Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden wore an ivory silk Pär Engsheden gown for her wedding to her personal trainer-turned-prince husband, Daniel Westling, in 2010. The off-the-shoulder dress featured a 16-foot train. She also wore an elaborate tiara: a crown of cameos that her mother, Queen Silvia, wore to her own wedding.
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Former reality TV star Sofia Hellqvist married Prince Carl Philip of Sweden in 2015 in an Ida Sjöstedt dress adorned with handmade lace from Jose Maria Ruiz. On her head, Sofia sported a sparkling emerald and diamond tiara — a gift from her new in-laws, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden.
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Princess Madeleine of Sweden dazzled in a cap-sleeved Valentino wedding gown crafted from Chantilly lace and featuring a 13-foot train when she married British-American financier Christopher O'Neill in 2013. Her beautiful tiara was decorated with tiny orange blossoms.
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When Rania Al-Yassin wed Prince Abdullah of Jordan in 1993, she became a princess and, later, Queen Rania of Jordan. She wore a silk short-sleeved gown by Bruce Oldfield, accented with gold embroidery, for their nuptials.
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Nearly 30 years after her parents tied the knot, Princess Iman of Jordan wore a bespoke bridal gown designed by Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri when she married Jameel Alexander Thermiotis in Amman, Jordan, in 2023.
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Princess Caroline of Monaco — the daughter of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier — wore a custom-made Christian Dior boho-inspired gown (with a floral crown instead of a jewel-encrusted one!) at her 1978 wedding to first husband Philippe Junot.
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Princess Hajah Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah — the daughter of one of the world's wealthiest men, the Sultan of Brunei — married Pengiran Haji Muhammad Ruzaini in 2012. The bride sparkled in a regal lavender gown with more jewels than we can count.
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England's Princess Margaret married photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, later known as the Earl of Snowdon, in 1960 wearing a chic gown designed by Norman Hartnell. It was made of silk organza and featured clean and simple lines.
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In 1995, American socialite Marie-Chantal Miller married Prince Pavlos of Greece in a Valentino-designed pearl-encrusted silk wedding gown with a 14-foot Chantilly lace train. Her lavish gown reportedly cost $250,000.
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In 1973, Princess Anne tied the knot with Captain Mark Phillips in a gown designed by Maureen Baker of the fashion label Susan Small. The dress was a Tudor-style, high neck gown with medieval-style sleeves. She, like her mother, Queen Elizabeth II, wore Queen Mary's fringe tiara on her wedding day.
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When Queen Elizabeth II's granddaughter Zara Phillips married English rugby player Mike Tindall in 2011, the Olympic equestrian wore a silk faille and duchess satin gown with a chevron pleated corseted bodice designed by Stewart Parvin. She topped off her classic dress — which featured hidden pockets in the skirt — with the stunning Meander Tiara, which belongs to her mother, Princess Anne.
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Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon (later known as Queen Elizabeth, then the Queen Mother) opted for a long flapper style that was all the rage in the 1920s for her wedding to Prince Albert, the Duke of York (later known as King George VI) in 1923. The royal bride chose a loose-fit embroidered gown and a lace veil designed by Madame Handley Seymour, a former court dressmaker for Queen Mary.
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Journalist Letizia Ortiz became Princess Letizia when she married Prince Felipe of Spain in 2004. The bride — who's now Queen Letizia — wore a collared gown with a 14-foot train and a gauzy silk veil by Manuel Pertegaz. She also wore a diamond tiara that belonged to the prince's mother, Queen Sofia of Spain.
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Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark looked flawless at her wedding to King Juan Carlos I of Spain in Athens in 1962. The bride wore a Jean Desses lamé gown covered in lace and tulle and featuring three-quarter-length sleeves and a full skirt with an extravagant veil and train.
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Sarah Ferguson became the Duchess of York when she wed Queen Elizabeth II's second son, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, in 1986 at Westminster Abbey in London. The bride wore a silk wedding gown designed by Lindka Cierach.
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Bhutan Queen Jetsun Pema looked incredible at her wedding to King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck in Punakha, Bhutan, on Oct. 13, 2011. The bride wore a striking gold traditional dress with multi-colored prints and statement jewelry.
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Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan and his wife, Crown Princess Masako, both looked formal and fabulous at their June 9, 1993, wedding at Tokyo's Imperial Palace. The bride wore a formal white gown with a diamond tiara and collar, long silk gloves and a matching handbag.
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Publicist Sophie Rhys-Jones became Sophie, Countess of Wessex, when she married Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex — Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son — in 1999 in a V-neck, hand-dyed silk and crepe gown designed by Samantha Shaw. More than two decades later, they were given new titles two years after the death of the prince's father: Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.
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Single mom Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby became a princess when she married Crown Prince Haakon of Norway in 2001 in a romantic silk crepe Ove Harder Finseth gown with a 20-foot veil and minimal jewelry.
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American-born Lisa Halaby married Jordan's King Hussein in 1978, becoming his fourth wife, Queen Noor of Jordan. She's seen here, with her parents, in a beautiful, loose-fitting silk crepe wedding dress by Christian Dior.
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Elisabetta Maria Rosboch Von Wolkenstein sported a Valentino gown with a delicate lace collar, three-quarter-length sleeves and a lace veil for her wedding to Prince Amedeo of Belgium in 2014.
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Former fashion designer Ekaterina Malysheva stunned in a lace gown embroidered with pearls and beadwork — created by the bride's friend, designer Sandra Mansour — for her wedding to Prince Ernst August of Hanover in Hanover, Germany, on July 8, 2017.
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Peruvian lawyer and former model Alessandra de Osma wore a mock-neck gown with a lace overlay designed by Jorge Vázquez with the Hanover Floral Tiara — which was previously worn by Princess Caroline of Hanover (and Monaco) and Ekaterina Malysheva — to her wedding to Prince Christian of Hanover in Lima, Peru, on March 16, 2018.
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Scottish-Australian businesswoman Mary Donaldson became the Crown Princess of Denmark when she married Prince Frederik in 2004. The bride wore an elegant ivory satin scoop-neck Uffe Frank gown for her big day.
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Japan's Princess Noriko, second daughter of the late Prince Takamado, wore a maroon-and-yellow ancient Japanese formal court dress featuring a floral print during her wedding to Kunimaro Senge in Japan on Oct. 5, 2014.
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Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy of Belgium married Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg in a custom Elie Saab dress adorned with a silver floral motif and 50,000 pearls in 2012. The heavily embellished ensembled featured a 13-foot train and a silk tulle veil.
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Elie Saab designed the dress that Claire Lademacher, a German bioethics researcher, wore for her wedding to Prince Felix of Luxembourg in 2013. The silk ivory dress was intricately embroidered with Chantilly lace and accented with a 10-foot train. The bride, who became Princess Claire of Luxembourg, topped her hair with a vine leaves tiara from his family's collection.
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Prince Joachim of Denmark and his bride, Marie Cavallier — now Princess Marie of Denmark — married in 2008. She wore a custom Arasa Morelli lace gown with a diamond floral tiara on loan from her mother-in-law, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.
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Mabel Wisse Smit wore a conservative silk gown by Victor & Rolf to her 2004 wedding to the late Dutch Prince Johan Friso of Orange-Nassau. Her dress reportedly took 600 hours to create and was adorned with 248 handmade bows.
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The 27th titular head of the Wodeyar Dynasty, Yaduveer Chamraja Krishnadatta Wodeyar, wore a bright red and orange traditional sari with gold accents and jewelry during her wedding to Trishika Kumari of the Dungarpur Dynasty at the Amba Vilas Palace in India on June 27, 2016.
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Lady Charlotte Wellesley, daughter of Princess Antonia, Duchess of Wellington — a descendant of Queen Victoria — married financier Alejandro Santo Domingo in Spain in May 2016. The bride looked gorgeous in an Emilia Wickstead bridal gown with an off-the-shoulder neckline and a stunning train that she accessorized with a veil scattered with pearls.
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King Letsie III of Lesotho married Karabo Motsoeneng in Maseru, Lesotho, on Feb. 18, 2000. The bride dazzled in a long-sleeved embroidered gown with a bedazzled empire waist and jaw-dropping diamond jewels.
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Narriman Sadek, who was a 17-year-old bride, wore an embroidered and beaded white gown with a jaw-dropping train during her wedding to King Farouk of Egypt in the Royal Palace in Cairo on May 19, 1951.
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Princess Ruth Komuntale of the Ugandan Toro Kingdom looked gorgeous in a traditional gold dress with bright blue, red and gold statement jewelry while marrying her American accountant love, Christopher Thomas, in Uganda on Nov. 15, 2012.
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Queen Soraya wore a gorgeous custom Christian Dior gown covered in tulle and sequins for her wedding to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in Iran on Feb. 12, 1951.
