Wedding Wednesday: Queen Elizabeth’s Wedding Dress

HRH Princess Elizabeth of York and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten

November 20, 1947

Westminster Abbey, London

In 1947, Princess Elizabeth married her love, Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten. This wedding was in the middle of the war, and many people all over Britain felt every happy when Elizabeth said she was engaged to Prince Philip.

Elizabeth chose a court dressmaker, Norman Hartnell for her wedding dress duty. Hartnell got the inspiration of the gown from Botticelli’s painting, Primavera. (Above Left). The sketch (Above Right) was a dreamy creation in ivory duchesse satin.

Princess Elizabeth had to fund her gown with clothing coupons. She was given 200 extra coupons by the government. People sent in their own coupons to help the Princess out (these were sent back with a note of thanks, it was illegal for her to use them). The public had to be reassured that the silkworms used to create the gown came from China, rather than enemy countries. The gown was heavily embroidered with thousands of seed pearls (flown in from the United States), silver thread, crystals, and tulle appliqués.

The train was silk tulle embroidered in a star pattern that extended 13 foot back. The silk tulle veil was shorter than the train, leaving the embroidery to be the star of the show.

The bride accessorized with sandals in ivory duchesse satin fastened with a silver buckle ornamented with yet more pearls. Her bridal bouquet was made of white orchids, myrtle and was sent back to the Abbey the day after the wedding to rest on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Her bouquet was temporarily lost until someone remembered it was in a refrigerator. The shorter of her two pearl necklaces was the 'Queen Anne' necklace, said to have belonged to Anne, the last Stuart Queen; the longer 'Queen Caroline' necklace. Both were left to the Crown by Queen Victoria and were given to Elizabeth as a wedding present by her father, King George VI. In another mishap, both were left on display with the rest of the gifts at St. James Palace and had to be fetched through the crowds. They were returned to Buckingham Palace with minutes to spare before the bride's departure. Her earrings were a 20th birthday present from Queen Mary, who had inherited them from her mother. The bride also wore Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara.

Wedding Wednesday: A German Wedding

Another royal wedding was held over the weekend in Germany: Princess Felipa of Bavaria married Christian Dienst at the fantastic Pilgrimmage Church of Wies (or Wieskirche). Thanks to Royal Order of Satorial Splendor for the pictures!

Felipa is one of the children of Prince Leopold of Bavaria and his wife, Princess Ursula. We see his royal side at some of the larger gatherings (such as the Prince and Princess of Monaco's wedding).

The princess married her film producer beau in a gown from Natascha Müllerschön. It featured a white strapless base with a lace overlay and a cathedral veil. She arrived with the veil drawn up and over her family's tall diamond sunburst-style tiara. The tiara is usually worn by the bride's mother and has also been spotted on her sister-in-law Princess Anna.

Wedding Wednesday: The Queen Mother’s Wedding Dress

 

HRH The Duke of York and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

April 23, 1923

When Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon married Prince Albert, the Duke of York, on April 23, 1923 at Westminster Abbey, she became one of the trendiest royal brides...well, ever.

Her gown was crafted by Madame Handley Seymour, a former court dressmaker for Queen Mary, but it certainly wasn't your typical court dress. The design followed the Coco Chanel-dictated trends of the time: dropped waists, silhouettes without much shape.

 

The gown is silk crepe moire embellished extensively with pearls and silver embroidery. The detail and weight of the decoration gives the dress an almost medieval feel. She went for a short train and a longer veil.

Her veil (loaned to her by Queen Mary) covered her head and fell cloak-like at her sides. She anchored it with a band of myrtle and a York rose on each side rather than a tiara. (Bridal tiaras in the royal family weren't so common back then.)

Since her gown was short-sleeved, she had a fur wrap to warm her up from the April weather.

Wedding Wednesday: Princess Margaret’s Wedding Dress

HRH Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones

May 6, 1960

Princess Margaret chose Royal designer Normal Hartnell – the same designer who made Queen Elizabeth’s Wedding Gown and Coronation Gown. This wedding was the first Royal Wedding ever televised. The Wedding was seen by over 300 million people worldwide.

White silk organza with a satin-bound silk tulle veil and not a stitch of embroidery in sight. The whole design was made to accommodate the princess's short stature, including the tiara:

The Poltimore tiara, as discussed yesterday was made in 1870 for Lady Poltimore. Which was bought specially for Margaret. Her children sold this tiara after Margaret’s death in 2002.

Wedding Wednesday: Duchess of Cambridge’s Gown

In 4 days, Prince William and Catherine were married in London and were named the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. So let’s get into the magical dress:

Catherine chose Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen (that was not my guess for the designer). Her dress consisted many, many, many pieces of lace. On her sleeves, there were 4 different kinds of flowers. 

I love the shape of the train, it’s so nice. The dress was 2 meters and 70 centimetres or near 8 foot 10 inches. The Train as well had lace on it. The lace was made by the Royal School of Needlework (they didn’t even know that it was the lace for the royal Wedding dress. – They had to change their needle every 30 minutes, and wash their hands I think every hour.)

The back of Catherine’s dress include 58 buttons, a bustle and lace galore!

Under the dress she had a big skirt of tulle (Tulle gives a puff.)

The bouquet was small (and I don’t like comparing things to Princess Diana but, it was very small compared to Diana’s.) The bouquet included myrtle, lily-of-the-valley, sweet William and hyacinth flowers. The shoes were nice too, they were made by McQueen and the lace by the Royal School of Needlework.

The earrings were hand-made for Catherine, the top part was because of the scrolls on the tiara and the acorn is suppose to resemble the Middleton family emblem. The tiara that Catherine wore was the Cartier Halo Scroll Tiara. Catherine wore her hair half-up, half-down.

The only thing I would have liked more was Catherine, used too much Grace, and Margaret inspired dress then just Catherine Elizabeth Middleton style.

Wedding Wednesday: Queen Margrethe’s Dress

Princess Margrethe of Denmark and Count Henri de Laborde de Monpezat

June 10, 1967

Queen Margrethe and her husband, Prince Henrik, have proved to be quite the dynamic duo through the years. But they almost never met. The future Queen of Denmark and the French diplomat were both invited to a dinner party in London while the princess was studying there. He considered cancelling when he heard she'd be there; he assumed she'd be quite the bore. Needless to say, he went anyway, and found her fascinating. Margrethe didn't fall in love that night but when she eventually did, she fell hard.

The couple at the press conference announcing their engagement, and Margrethe's ring

Queen Margrethe has a healthy respect for tradition but isn't afraid to have her own crazy style. That streak starts with her engagement ring: these two large diamonds set in yellow gold make up a ring that is far from a conventional choice and is a sign.

Margrethe and Henri married in Holmens Kirke in Copenhagen at the close of days of glittering celebrations. She made a traditional selection for her wedding dress designer: Jørgen Bender, a favorite of her mother Queen Ingrid and a staple royal couturier. The resulting gown combined family traditions and the theatrical touches Margrethe's creative mind requires in to a gown with touches straight out of an old royal painting.

The silk dress featured a flared skirt, long sleeves and a square neckline. The front showcased several family traditions: the lace down the center is a piece of lace passed down from Queen Ingrid's mother, Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden, from her own wedding gifts. This lace (along with another narrower piece of lace) has been used on various family wedding gowns.

The gown without the lace, which was removed for use by other brides

In the center of the lace, she pinned a special family brooch. The diamond daisy brooch was commissioned by Ingrid's father from diamonds belonging to Crown Princess Margaret, and was a wedding gift for Ingrid (she wore it on her wedding day too). "Daisy" is the affectionate family nickname of both Crown Princess Margaret and Queen Margrethe herself, making it an extra precious symbol. She also carried daisies in her bouquet that day, and had them placed in her bridesmaids' hair.

Both the veil and tiara were family heirlooms from Margaret: the Irish lace veil was and is worn by many family members, and her use of the Khedive of Egypt Tiara (another of Margaret's wedding gifts) helped solidify it as the traditional family wedding tiara.

The six meter long silk train descended from Margrethe's shoulders and ended with an unusual squared edge detail which echoed the gown's neckline. A theatrical feature for a creative bride, I'm sure.

The wedding was a joyful affair with one dark spot: the absence of Margrethe's younger sister, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece. Her husband, King Constantine, was deeply embroiled in the political turmoil that eventually led the family into exile at the end of 1967. The Danish government did not want him in the country, and so the couple stayed away. In what seems to have been her own little form of vigilante retribution, Queen Ingrid placed pictures of the couple all over Fredensborg Palace, where the reception was held.

Henri adopted the Danish version of his name, Henrik, and was made a Prince of Denmark. They have two sons, Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim, and Henrik became the prince consort when Margrethe ascended the throne in 1972. Theirs has been a successful match, and seemingly a solid one; apart, that is, from one foible which involved Henrik fleeing to France in a huff, feeling downgraded after Frederik was chosen first to lead a New Year's Court reception in Margrethe's absence in 2002. (Well, I said it was an eccentric match.)

Wedding Wednesday: Crown Princess Victoria’s Wedding Dress

Back in June 19 of 2010, Crown Princess Victoria wed her boyfriend of 8 years, Daniel Westling – who was her Personal Trainer, I have never heard that fairy tail before :). Anyways, back to the thing that is important – the dress. Pär Engsheden made the dress for today. The dress was cream-colored duchess silk satin. The rounded collar was turned down all the way around, ending in a v-shape in the back, where the dress was fastened with buttons covered in silk. A cummerbund-style sash emphasized Victoria's waist, and it looks like the sash was possibly separate from the dress itself. The short sleeves were perfect for keeping modesty in the church.

Victoria had many accessories. On her head was the no diamond, Cameo Tiara – Yep, no diamonds! She wore the Cameo earrings and bracelet. And then there is her engagement ring and her wedding band. Her bling shoes, her small but, lovely bouquet. And her heirloom veil, which was worn many times before her.

The Back of the dress was very nice. During the ceremony she wore a petticoat – a train that is attached to your waist instead at the bottom of the dress. She took it off during the dinner.

The Train was believe it or not, was 5 meter (16 feet) train. That’s no Lady Diana Spencer or Sarah Ferguson but, it is big for a Swedish Royal Wedding.

Wedding Wednesday: Princess Tessy’s Wedding Gown

HRH Prince Louis of Luxembourg and Tessy Antony

September 29, 2006

In September of 2005, the grand Ducal Palace issued a announcement – a surprised announcement – 19 year old Prince Louis was expecting a child with his girlfriend, 20 year old Tessy Antony. Tessy met Louis in Luxembourg’s army serving (a future royals can be in the army.) Actually when the pregnancy was announced really no one really knew that Louis even had a girlfriend. On March 12, 2006, their first son Gabriel was born. In June of that same year, they announced they were getting married.

About a month before the ceremony, Louis renounced his own rights to the throne as well as those of all his descendants. (Like many royals before him – Wink, Wink Edward VIII.) He actually couldn’t do that, but he was following a precedent set by his uncle, Prince Jean.

The couple first married a civic ceremony at the Grand Ducal Palace. Then they married religiously at a church in Gilsdorf. Tessy did not wear a custom wedding dress she bought a dress from Pronovias and some gloves from Pronovias which she removed during the ceremony (most likely while putting the rings on.)

Maria Teresa & Gabriel

A year after they married, Tessy and Louis welcomed a second child, Noah. On National Day in 2009, the Palace announced that Grand Duke Henri granted his daughter-in-law Princess of Luxembourg, and his grandsons the titles of Prince Nassau (the name of their Royal House). As a bonus, everyone was to be styled HRH (His/Her Royal Highness).

Louis’ siblings (left to right): Prince Félix, Prince Sébastien, Prnce Guillaume (the Hereditary Grand Duke, Princess Alexandra)

These days, the couple and their family (Sons) live in London, where they are both students. And comes to Luxembourg for big occasions (National Day, Weddings, probably Christmas)