Royal Wedding Gowns: A Look Back Through The Years!

Wedding Couture

In honor of Friday's Royal Wedding between Prince William and Catherine "Kate" Middleton, I have decided to do a posting on all the wonderful Royal Weddings of the past and, of course, what they wore! I hope you enjoy seeing all the wonderful ensembles as much as I did...plus I included a little Couture Dish!

Grace of Monaco: Helen Rose

Prince Rainer and Grace of Monaco--in a Helen Rose (an MGM Costume Designer) gown. Edith Head--Hollywood Costume Designer for the A-List of the time (and of Kelly) was reportedly saddened to not have been picked, for this once-in-a-lifetime occasion. COUTURE DISH: The gown was worked on by six seamstress at MGM and 30 million people around the world watched it. The gown has remained THE SYMBOL--and ruler-- of what a "Royal Wedding Gown" should be. Elegant, timeless, classic, serene, and above all, royal. Guests of the wedding included actresses Gloria Swanson and Eva Gardner, the Agha Khan, and many others.

Princess Caroline: Christian Dior Haute Couture by Marc Bohan

Their eldest daughter, Princess Caroline wore Christian Dior Haute Couture by then House Designer, Marc Bohan, when she married Commoner--and French Playboy--Philipe Junot, in 1978. The gown featured a high neck, scalloped edge embroidered gown, bishop sleeves and blouson top. I especially remember (I was VERY YOUNG!) how modern she looked with ringlets of flowers--a la Princess Leia--in her hair--as opposed to wearing a tiara or crown.

Queen Elizabeth: Norman Hartnell

Queen Elizabeth (then Princess Elizabeth of York) and Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh (then Prince of Greece and Denmark--he's actually German and Danish but born in Greece). Her wedding gown was designed by British designer Norman Hartnell. COUTURE DISH: The Queen Mother had specifically asked that Hartnell should use an unusually rich, lustrous stiff satin which was made at Lullington Castle. The satin was ideal for the train, but Hartnell thought that the dress required a more supple material of a similar tone. He ordered the similar fabric from the Scottish firm of Winterthur. Difficulties arose when rivals put about the rumor that the Scottish satin was made from "enemy silk worms", either from Italy or possibly Japan. A telephone call to the town where Winterthur was based, settled the scandal. Mr. Hartnell was assured the silk worms were from Nationalist China and were not "enemy silk worms". Good to know...

Princess Diana: Elizabeth Emanuel

Continuing with the Brits: Prince Charles and Diana in 1981: Her gown was designed by British designer Elizabeth Emanuel is iconic, of course, especially for its infamous 25 foot (wrinkled) silk taffeta train. COUTURE DISH: The entire gown--including the train and veil--were comprised of (wait for it), 275 total yards. The gown epitomized the excess that were to be the 80's.

Princess Anne: Maureen Baker

Another gown I loved was the one Princess Anne (only daughter of Queen Elizabeth) wore when she wed then-Lieutenant Mark Phillips (he was soooo handsome!!) in 1973. The gown was inspired from the Medieval and Tudor styles. It was very "Lady Macbeth Gets Married".

The gown--designed by Maureen Baker, head designer for Susan Small--featured Trumpet sleeves that hid inner Bishop Sleeves (FIERCE!), as you can see above. COUTURE DISH: Fifteen women worked on the dress and each worked on a different section, and they didn't know what the final outcome would look like--this was done for fear that the design would be "leaked" to the press by one of these girls.

Wallis Simpson: Mainbocher

Of course, when speaking of Wedding Couture, we can't leave out the Mainbocher gown worn by Wallis Simpson when she married Edward, Duke of Windsor (also Prince Edward, King Edward XIII of course) in 1937. This pale blue gown and hat--have gone down in history as the epitome of understated chic. The groom wore a Morning Suit, of course. There were only sixteen guests, not one a member of the royal family.

Princess Margaret: Norman Hartnell

Then , there was the Fashionista and "Party Girl" Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Queen Elizabeth's sister) and her wedding to Anthony Armstrong-Jones. Her gown was designed and created by the house of Norman Hartnell--same designer who created her sister's wedding gown.This was also the first royal wedding ever televised, and was watched by over 300 million viewers worldwide!Empress/Shahbanu Soraya of Iran: Christian Dior by Yves Saint Laurent

I also absolutely LOVE the wedding gown worn by Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari (of German-Persian descent) , who would become Empress and Shahbanu Soraya of Iran when she married the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (his second marriage) in 1951. She wore a a custom gown designed by Yves Saint Laurent for the House of Christian Dior.

COUTURE DISH: The gown was a silver lame gown studded with pearls and marabou stork feathers (!). To finish the gown, there was a cropped shawl-collar jacket AND a full-length white mink cape which she removed for "let-me-sit-down-and-breathe" photos. Poor Soraya (who was rumored to always have been the Shah's love of his life) soon discovered she could not give him a male heir (she was infertile) and therefore, divorced seven years after their wedding, but was left with a nice you-can-live-forever-in-style bank account.

Queen Sofia of Spain: Jean Dessès

Next of note was Queen Sofia's (then Princess Sophia of Greece) Wedding Gown--designed by Egyptian-born of Greek descent fashion designer Jean Dessès--when she married the future King of Spain Juan Carlos in Athens Greece to much fanfare.

Marie Chantal of Greece: Valentino Haute Couture

Speaking of Greeks, here's Crown Prince Pavlos and his bride, Marie Chantal Miller. Marie Chantal is of US-Ecuadorian ancestry and Pavlos, the son of the exiled King of the Hellenes (Greece), Constantine II, is well, of Danish-German (and not so much Greek) descent. Constantine II is Queen Sofia's (see previous wedding gown pic) brother--yes, keep up!! By the way, the Bride's gown was from Valentino Haute Couture. Don't mess with them darlings!

Maria y Carmen Martinez-Bordiu: Cristobal Balenciaga

Now onto another fabulous Royal Wedding Gown of note. This gown is from Maria y Carmen Martinez-Bordiu y Franco when she wed Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cadiz and Grandson of King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1972. General Franco made him Duke of Anjou and making him a Royal Highness, thereby making her a Princess: Can you say "At-a Girl!" in Spanish?? Momma didn't raise a fool!
COUTURE DISH: Her gown was designed by Cristobal Balenciaga. The Spanish Couturier ended his business in 1968 but came out of "retirement" to design her gown. It featured 14 meters of Abraham silk, 20 silk thread spools, 10,000 pearls, and over 5,000 sequins. It also had the Bourbon "Fleur-de-lis" embroidered into the front of this one-of-a-kind Haute Couture hand-made gown.

The future Queen Noor of Jordan's wedding dress is notable for it's elegant simplicity. It was a blouson gown, with no crinoline, no petticoat, no tulle. This is how you do "restrained" and unfussy, but still beautiful.

Queen Rania of Jordan: Bruce Oldfield

At the opposite end, was Queen Rania of Jordan's wedding gown to King Abdullah II. Her gown was designed by British designer Bruce Oldfield (a name that has been thrown around as a possible candidate for Catherine Middleton's wedding dress designer) and not by a Middle Eastern designer, which was odd.

Princess Maxima of the Netherlands: Valentino Haute Couture

Moving on to the New Generation of Royals--and their Wedding COUTURE: A gorgeous Valentino Haute Couture creation can be seen on Princes Maxima of the Netherlands when she wed Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, and heir apparent to the throne of the Netherlands. Maxima is from Argentina darlings, in case you weren't aware. South American girl done did good, as they say...The Netherlands will have an South American-born Queen sometime in the future.

Princess Mette-Marit of Norway: Ove Harder Finseth

Staying in Scandinavia: There was the wedding gown of Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway. Ove Harder Finseth was the designer. I loved this gown for its elegant simplicity. The shape was perfect for Mette-Marit's lean figure and again, as one of the "Next Generation Royals", I love that she chose to do without the Disneyland Princess Crinoline-and-Petticoat Ball Gown "Princes Diana" silhouette. Norwegians know how to give you "Directional Modern Brides" for sure!

Princess Letizia of Spain: Manuel Pertegaz

I also LOVED Princess Letizia of Spain's wedding gown when she married Crown Prince Felipe in 2004. It was designed by 93-year old (yes, 93!!) Spanish Designer Manuel Pertegaz. I'm sure his "staff" had a lot to do with this and he probably sat there and said "Si!" and "No!". Letizia’s beige Valencia silk wedding dress was graceful and Medieval in its silhouette. It featured long sleeves, a decorative stand-away collar, veil and skirt embroidered with flower-de-luce and ears of wheat. Her wedding dress was 4.6 meters long!!

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden: Par Engsheden

And last but not least in my Royal Wedding Couture Nick Verreos Hall of Fame, I have to include the gorgeous gown worn by Victoria Crown Princess of Sweden. The silk fit-and-flare gown was designed by Swedish designer Par Engsheden. Simple. Elegant. Sublime. The stunning crown and lace veil finish it off. THAT is a future Queen ladies and gentlemen.

Now....Which one was your FAVORITE Royal Wedding Gown???

One’s first wedding

The soon to be new Duke and Duchess of somewhere

Verily I have refrained with all my R(r)epublican fibre from commenting on the “Great Event.” But the demand for information on the Royal Wedding has been insatiable, particularly from my Blogistas across the pond who previously rejected the tea and taxes of Farmer George and his rapacious redcoats. Ever since I revealed my chance meeting with Wills and Kate (at Marylebone Station of all places!) and then, in a moment of untypical hubris precipitated by The Royal Magic, revealed that One was invited to the Great Event I have been deluged with requests for snippets of Royal Fairy dust to share with my impoverished readers. It is with no great pride I must report to you that, by popular acclamation, I have been made into that strangest of creatures, A Royal Expert!


Metal detectors and barriers on the streets leading to the Abbey.

So as the wedding of Price William and Kate Middleton approaches London’s streets and corners are being gradually doused in red, white and blue. In the lead up to April 29th, flags, bunting - and, increasingly, people decked out with Union Jack emblazoned t-shirts, umbrellas and picnic blankets - are colouring-in the areas around Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace with. Soon we can look forward to vox pop interviews with toothless grannies in Union Jack T-shirts camping out on pavements to get the best view telling us “it’s luverley innit, it’s something we’ll remember for the rest of our loives, or seven days, whichever is longer!”


The Pearly King of Wandsworth displaying his Cockney charm to a motorist in front of the Abbey

Rather than Canute like resistance to the Royal Curiosity I decided to give in to the flowing tide and sate my Blogistas with details of the Great Event which, let’s face it many of them are paying for. So dejected, hunched of shoulders and shuffling of foot, I took myself the whole five minutes from my office to Westminster Abbey to record the burgeoning preparations for the 29th April in London. You soon realise this is theatre performed by the world’s press but with an edge. Part of the edge is security and the first thing you notice is metal detectors and car bomb proof barriers set up in a ring of steel around the Abbey. Indeed in the days before the wedding even residents of the area have to remove their cars to facilitate the cordon sanitaire which surrounds the event as the Great and Good and dubious rulers from dictatorships around the world make their way to the Abbey.


Horse drawn tourists soaking up The Royal Magic


The flag of Saint Edward the Confessor flying over Westminster Abbey. He founded the Abbey and his shrine and tomb are at the centre of the Abbey in their own chapel. He was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066. Once Patron Saint of England (before St. George) he is the Patron Saint of the Royal Family. This is the flag which is flown except when the Queen is in the Abbey when the Royal Standard is flown. The Abbey is a "Royal Peculiar", under the personal control of The Crown and the clergy are appointed by The Queen, not by the Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Church of England.

Two people who won’t be making their way there are former LABOUR Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. This appears particularly ungracious as Tony Blair probably single handedly saved the monarchy after their insensitivity after the death of Princess “The People’s Princess” Diana outraged the world. What we are seeing being played out in London in the run up to this wedding is not really the “Royal Magic” but the “D Factor.” The D Factor is that this is William, the son of Diana, Prince of Wales, who is getting married in the same church where her brother Charles’s Spencer thundered in his polemical eulogy on September 6 1997;

“Diana was the very essence of compassion, of duty, of style, of beauty. All over the world she was a symbol of selfless humanity, a standard-bearer for the rights of the truly downtrodden, a very British girl who transcended nationality. Someone with a natural nobility who was classless and who proved in the last year that she needed no royal title to continue to generate her particular brand of magic.”

Earl Spencer’s words seem slight on their own but in the context of the Life and Death of 36 year old Diana Spencer they were explosive. Knowing what had transpired in Diana's life - the betrayal shortly after her marriage by the man she loved, her divorce, the removal of her title and the apparent coldness of the royal family towards her - you begin to see the real meaning behind the words. Spencer stressed that his sister was essentially a British girl, a definition surely aimed at the German background of the royals. She no longer needed, he said, a royal title (earlier removed) to generate her particular brand of magic.





The Royal Family sat stunned and humiliated at this searing condemnation but worse was to come as the funeral service inside the Abbey was interrupted by the sheer crescendo of applause coming through the thick stone walls of the Abbey. The people had spoken and were with Earl Spencer. Tony Blair saved their bacon and the lead head courtiers and flunkeys surrounding the Royal Family don’t even invite him but have room for the Ambassador of Zimbabwe and the Ruler of Bahrain, fresh from throttling pro-democracy protesters?




A reporter in front of the Abbey bringing the joyful news to the world

It is that brand of Diana’s magic being perpetuated today and is the reason that the streets of London are choked with visitors and TV crews from around the world. This does not come cheap; want a photographer to stand on scaffolding on the roof of Methodist Central Hall overlooking the Abbey, that will be £900 for the day. Want a temporary studio in front of Buckingham Palace, that will £60,000 and the lead heads of the Palace will turn off the floodlighting on the facade at 12.30 just as the breakfast bulletins start in New York.




Buck House and the press centre in front of it from which the world will receive detailed analysis of the spontaneous balcony kiss

I saw myself in Westminster light standards and manhole covers being checked and locked days before he was due and whole roads were closed off. At Westminster Abbey Police snipers were on neighbouring rooftops and a search team with 4 sniffer dogs searched the Abbey beforehand. Hidden automatic TV cameras are in the stonework on either side of the Abbey’s Great West Door through which the couple will emerge and the stone dais in front of them is in fact scaffolding for more cameras. Meanwhile the Abbey resembles a giant wiring loom as it is cabled up for the event.


A tasteful selection of priceless memorabilia

Early risers in London were given a sneak preview of the pomp and grandeur to expect on Friday as up to a thousand members of the military carried out a pre-dawn royal wedding dress rehearsal. The full-scale walk through in preparation for the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton saw British Army, Navy and RAF members lining the route the couple will take to and from Westminster Abbey. Participants wore full military dress, but marching bands refrained from playing their instruments as the whole exercise was complete before 6.30am.


The pre-dawn royal wedding dress rehearsal

The eyes of the world will be on Prince William and Kate Middleton when they begin their journeys to and from Westminster Abbey. So nothing is being left to chance with the dry run in which timings were tested to the second and all armed forces taking part got the chance to practise their role in their service uniforms.


Remote control cameras being set up in alcoves by The Great West Door of the Abbey

The coverage of Kate Middleton’s family, who seem hardworking and decent, has been patronising and nauseous imbued with class snobbery - it is not as if they are from Wolverhampton! I already feel sorry for the girl as when she goes into a shop every item is plastered over the pages the next day as it seems the Press think her function in life is to be a clothes horse. But who is Kate Middleton who went to a £29,000 a year private school and a prestige University where (like Prince William) she studied “History of Art.” What is this onerous subject for it must have been so difficult as to cure them of their illness as neither of them has shown the slightest artistic inclinations since?




The front and back of Ye Olde Stone camera stand in front of The Great West Door of Westminster Abbey, from which Mr. Prince and Consort will emerge

But who is Kate Middleton for we have no idea of her views on anything for we have never heard her speak or give the slightest pretence at an interview. Like William’s great grandfather George VI in “The King’s Speech” she surely has a voice but we have not heard it?








Westminster Abbey - At £16 entrance charge God and Mammon live in harmony?

And just what is silent Kate getting herself into by joining “The Firm.” In these days of diversity and inclusion we should remind ourselves of a certain institutional prejudice on the part of the British state. The Statute Law of England, in the Act of the Williamite Succession, describes the Pope as “An Anti-Christ and Object of Perdition” – In this of course it is repeating the words of the same King Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up along with his parliament, James VI of Scotland and I of England in his preamble to the official bible of the Church of England, the “King James” Bible. His mummy, Mary Queen of Scots, would have been very cross with him if she had not been beheaded by his predecessor, Elizabeth I. James I of England (James VI of Scotland) will be at the wedding as he is buried in Westminster Abbey between the bodies of two of his male “suitors.” This somewhat inaccurate tract translated from the Greek and Hebrew is 400 years old this year and is hailed as a masterpiece of English literature responsible for the spread of the English Language around the world. Be that as may be did the words of simple fishermen of Galilee require poetic embellishment?




Press and photo stands in front of Westminster Abbey

More seriously, the same act prohibits both the Sovereign or their Consort from being Catholic or the heir to the throne and their Consort. It goes further and says that neither the Sovereign’s First and Second Lords of the Treasury (namely the Prime Minister and The Chancellor of the Exchequer) nor The Lord Chancellor (The head of the English legal system and successor in office of Sir Thomas More) can be Catholics thus institutionalising sectarianism at the very centre of the British state and legitimising the somewhat snide anti-Catholicism still fashionable in some quarters. They of course can be any other religion or indeed none but they cannot be Catholics. It remains to be seen if Queen Catherine will stay with The Firm, which doesn’t have a good recruiting record, and if the lead heads surrounding the Monarchy will get with the agenda of the modern world. You will need to look elsewhere for updates on these issues.


Royal Wedding Route

Let’s take a look at the route that Kate Middleton will take on her way to Westminster Abbey to her wedding on April 29, 2011 and the schedule for the “big day.”

10:30am – The Princess-to-be and Prince William will leave travel separately to the service. Kate will go by car starting from either Buckingham Palace or Clarence House and head along the Mall, cross the Horse Guards Parade and head towards Parliament Square.

11:00am - The ceremony will start at Westminster Abbey which can hold up to 2,200 guests.

12:00pm – At noon the couple will return along the same route via horse-drawn carriage.

12:30pm – The couple, after being wed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, will go to Buckingham Palace after the ceremony by carriage along a route which will include sights like Parliament Square, Whitehall, Horse Guards Parade and the Mall. Once inside the Queen will throw a reception, a fancy one as you can imagine, for the couple and 700 of their friends and family.

1:30pm - Kate and Will are expected to make an appearance on a balcony at Buckingham Palace to kiss for the cameras.

6:00pm – After the “official reception” the couple will enjoy a private dinner with the Prince of Wales… dancing of course will follow.

For now my dear Blogistas whatever side you are on do your best to get through this coming Friday.

Here, for you, are the amazing details of One’s chance meeting with Wills and Kate @ Marylebone Station

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2011/02/wills-and-kate-marylebone.html

And, even more unbelievable, the details of One’s invitation!

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2011/03/one-is-invited.html


And, this is truly unbelievable, exclusive advance shots of the ceremony!