Evolution of the Royal Wedding Dress

Evolution of the Royal Wedding Dress

These Historic Gowns Weren't Just Fashion Statements
Royal Wedding Dress as Symbol
Until Friday morning, probably the biggest mystery surrounding the latest British royal wedding was who designed Kate Middleton's wedding dress.

But when the future Queen Elizabeth II (pictured) walked down the aisle in London's Westminster Abbey in 1947, her wedding dress was more than a fashion statement: It represented the hopes of a nation, according to royal wedding gown curator Joanna Marschner.

With food and clothing still being rationed in postwar Britain, royal dressmaker Norman Hartnell sought to convey a message of national renewal, instead of focusing on opulent materials. He did this in part by embroidering the gown with garlands of spring flowers.

"It is a dress with a message for that particular moment in time," said Marschner, of Historic Royal Palaces, an independent charity that acts as caretaker for five British royal buildings.

"I think you can say that about all the royal wedding dresses—they have become amazing documents that can say a lot about the year when they were worn."

Thoroughly Modern Middleton?
Only time will tell what Kate Middleton's wedding dress—pictured during her Friday wedding to Prince William—really says about its time and place. But, despite its modern design, the dress clearly sounds themes of some historic British royal wedding gowns.

Like her new mother-in-law's 1947 wedding dress, Middleton's blooms with flora, including embroidered roses, thistles, daffodils, and shamrocks—which might be seen as signs of spring for Britain's stagnant economy. Some U.K. leaders, including Prime Minister David Cameron, who's called the wedding "unadulterated good news," have voiced hopes that the nuptials will provide an extended influx of tourist dollars, according to the Reuters news service.

And like Queen Victoria's 1840 gown, Middleton's does its bit to boost British industry. The handmade lace hails from the Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace, for example. And the new Duchess of Cambridge chose a British fashion house, Alexander McQueen, to design the dress—in part because of the brand's "craftsmanship and its respect for traditional workmanship and the technical construction of clothing," according to a statement on the official wedding website.

Springtime for Britain and Royalty?
The royal wedding dress of the future Queen Elizabeth II, worn during her marriage to Philip Mountbatten in 1947, is an important document of postwar Britain, according to royal wedding dress curator Marschner.

With the country still suffering from the human and economic costs of World War II, "the idea behind the dress is all important, because it's a dress for promise for the future, for better times to come," she said.

With that in mind, royal wedding dress designer Hartnell took as his inspiration the Botticelli painting "Allegory of Spring"—despite the wedding's November date.

Once More Into the Bleach
Worn for her wedding to the future King George V in 1893, Princess Mary of Teck's royal wedding dress belongs to a collection of royal wedding gowns kept at Kensington Palace in London.

During the 19th century British royal brides switched from opulent wedding dresses made with gold and silver textiles—almost advertisements of Britain's wealth and power—to simpler, more common white bridal outfits.

Pale or white wedding dresses had long been worn by wealthier commoners, royal wedding dress curator Marschner explained.

"The lower down the social system you were, the darker color you would wear, because it was harder to keep—or employ someone else to keep—your dress clean," she said.

The white-wedding trend among royals was started by King George's grandmother, Queen Victoria, whose decision to adopt the example of her subjects "marked a watershed in royal bridal fashion," Marschner said.

Royal Wedding as Public Pageant
Queen Victoria's newlywed daughter, Princess Beatrice, poses for a wedding snapshot with Prince Henry of Battenberg in 1885.

In earlier centuries royal weddings were largely private, governmental matters arranged among the Europe's royal families. But in the 19th century, the growth of print media and photography helped fuel public interest in the royal wedding dresses.

Reports of Queen Victoria's wedding in 1840 "went to all the colonial regions of the British Empire. Within … a month it was in the all the U.S. newspapers," commented Paula Richter, a curator at the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts.

"She married as the age of photography was beginning—there are quite a number of royal portraits done of the ceremony or of her wearing her garments … many people had a visual sense of that wedding," Richter said.

Nice Century for a White Wedding
When Queen Victoria tied the knot with Prince Albert in 1840, as shown in a period illustration, her choice of dress showed she approached her wedding day very differently to previous royal brides.

"All her advisers were suggesting red velvet robes and ermine and all the grand things of that earlier tradition," royal wedding dress curator Marschner said.

But Victoria, who wanted her marriage to be a personal event, not a political one, rejected royal protocol and opted instead for a simple—by royal standards of the era—ivory satin dress.

"It was the kind of dress well-brought-up girls up and down the country would wear," Marschner said.

"It may not be the first white wedding dress, but it is the first royal example," she added. "It made royal wedding fashions achievable for the general public."

Richter, of the Peabody Essex Museum, added the Queen Victoria's wedding "was as influential as Princess Diana's wedding in the early 1980s," in part due to Victoria's more accessible take on the royal wedding.

Made in Britain
Queen Victoria "saw it as her business to promote things British," and her wedding dress (sleeve pictured) was a perfect opportunity, royal wedding dress curator Marschner said.

Exploiting the worldwide media attention her wedding received, Victoria had the dress made from silk woven in East London and decorated with lace produced in southwestern England.

"Victoria on her wedding day was shouting loud about things that Britain was really good at," Marschner said.

Currently undergoing conservation work, Queen Victoria's wedding dress will go on display in 2012 in London's Kensington Palace—the potential future home of Prince William and Kate Middleton after their Friday wedding.

Last in a Royal Line
Shot through with silver thread, the wedding dress worn in 1816 by Princess Charlotte—only child of the future King George IV—is the last in a centuries-old line of royal wedding gowns made of precious materials.

"It's the last of the great big, expensive, showy dresses that survived in its entirety," said Marschner, the royal wedding dress curator.

Sadly, Princess Charlotte died in childbirth the year following her marriage to Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg.

Power Couple

While Prince William and Kate Middleton—who met about ten years ago in college—have had plenty of time to get to know each other before their wedding, Queen Mary I of England and Prince Philip of Spain (pictured) married two days after they'd met in 1554.

From medieval times to the 19th century, royal marriages were political unions, not fairy tale romances, and royal brides dressed accordingly, said royal wedding dress curator Marschner.

"They wore dresses made of precious gold and silver textiles to represent the status and the dignity of their nation," she said.

"Wearing something that was really precious, really striking, was important," Marschner added. "They were playing their part in the great game of international politics."

Official Royal Wedding pictures

Official Royal Wedding pictures

Official Royal Wedding pictures are released
Clarence House today released the official Royal Wedding album that shows the beaming bride and groom in the throne room at Buckingham Palace.
Prince William and Kate posed for the stunning photographs shortly after getting married in a moving ceremony that captivated the world yesterday.
The newly-titled Duke and Duchess of Cambridge appeared to be lost in matrimonial bliss as they smiled for the traditional wedding day photo album taken by Hugo Burnand. He said the scenes clearly reveal the couple's love for each other.
No sooner had they arrived at Buckingham Palace from the service at Westminster Abbey did the rapturous family assume their positions for the pictures.
In the first photograph the couple stand arm-in-arm together against a stunning rich red velvet backdrop trimmed with gold.
The second official photograph shows William and Kate in a more informal pose. Kate's wonderful dress flows onto the floor around them as she clutches her bouquet.
In the picture, the heir to the throne wore the ceremonial uniform of the Welsh Guards but was shown in a very relaxed seated pose with his arm across the back of an ornate chair.
Sitting around the newlyweds are two pageboys and four bridesmaids. They are from clockwise from the bottom right The Hon. Margarita Armstrong-Jones, Miss Eliza Lopes, Miss Grace van Cutsem, Lady Louise Windsor, Master Tom Pettifer, Master William Lowther-Pinkerton.
Mr Burnand said he hoped his photos looked 'effortless, relaxed and friendly'.
He said his favourite photograph was one of the newlyweds with the bridesmaids and page boys, but there were only seconds to set it up and the children were coaxed with promises of jelly beans and sweets.
He said: 'It was a picture we all wanted to take but we didn't know if we were ever going to have the time to do it.'

He said that, because he had discussed with his team and everyone in the picture knew what they were going to have to do, they were able to rush into position.
'When you look at those individual children in that picture you are seeing those children and their characters.
'That's the same with the bride and groom in the middle of the picture as well. That's really them. There's no time for direction, we've done all that.'
In the third photograph, the newlyweds pose for the traditional wedding photograph flanked by their families.
To the left of Kate stands her father Michael Middleton, mother Carole Middleton, brother James Middleton and sister Philipa Middleton.
Standing by William's side is Prince Harry, followed by Prince Charles,Camilla and Master Tom Pettifer.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh sit on the front way with Miss Grace van Cutsem and Miss Eliza Lopes to their right.
One the other side of the front row in front of the Middleton family is the Hon. Margarita Armstrong-Jones, Lady Louise Windsor, Master William Lowther-Pinkerton.

The official pictures of William and Kate's wedding were shot to show two families coming together, according to Mr Burnand.
'Amazingly it was a family wedding,' he said.
'From where I was and from their point of view it was two families coming together and that was the feeling, the sense of family and love going between everyone.
'They had their own buzz. Everyone had their own buzz. It was that excitement that I hope you feel at most weddings.'
Asked about his technique, he said: 'I hope it looks effortless and relaxed and friendly and smiley because that is how it was.
'But that comes from months of preparation, hours of setting up, and being so organised that you are sort of in control at the time.'
Mr Burnand had only a short period of time between the couple's arrival at Buckingham Palace and their appearance on the balcony to take the official photographs.
He said: 'I hope when you look at the picture you feel, as a viewer, that you're engaged with the people in the picture. The only way to do that is to be engaged as a photographer.'
Bridesmaid Grace van Cutsem, the new Duke of Cambridge's three-year-old goddaughter, won hearts at the wedding when she was pictured on the balcony with her hands over her ears.

Mr Burnand said he had met and photographed her as a bridesmaid before.
He said: 'When she walked in I was able to go straight up to her and talk to her about the last time we had met and explain to her it was the same thing and she knew what was going to happen.
'She was great. She's so adorable, Grace. They were all fantastic actually. A bit cheeky some of them, but we like that.'
Mr Burnand said Kate was a keen photographer herself and he discussed the images with her and William before hand.
Speaking of the main picture, where the two families are pictured forward in the room in a warm spring light, he said: 'It was a team effort. She does have a good knowledge and keen interest in photography.
'She had good ideas. She put them to me. I used my technical knowledge and together we came up with that picture.'
He said the lack of time gave the pictures "good energy" because he knew they had to get on and do it.
Asked about the mood between the couple, he said: 'Fantastic. I don't know what to say - I love them.
'They are so bloody nice. They are just so nice as individuals and as a pair, and they work so well together.'
He said of the formal portrait of them standing side by side: 'In a way what I really like about that picture is that it is formal and it shows their respect for the formality, where they are, who they are.
'At the same time they are right side by side with each other and they are connected and they are touching, their arms are connected and they've got a smile on their face.
That picture really sums up a lot about them. They understand and respect where they are and yet you can still see a smile and love between them.'
He described the occasion as the 'gig of the century', adding: 'It was amazing, incredible, and there were a couple of moments where I did pinch myself.'
He added: 'As far as I'm aware everything went according to plan from the moment they walked in to the moment they walked out.'
Married life began for newlyweds William and Kate today when they left London for a mystery destination.

The couple spent last night partying at Buckingham Palace with their close family and friends in celebration of their wedding.
At the black-tie do, which started with dinner in the palace's lavish ballroom and ended with dancing into the small hours, Prince Harry gave his best man's speech.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as the couple are now known after the Queen bestowed the title on her grandson, are expected to travel abroad for their honeymoon sometime in the next two weeks.
But this morning they left Buckingham Palace by helicopter for an undisclosed destination.
William and Kate began their journey by emerging hand in hand from the palace's garden entrance, located at the side of the imposing building.
In bright sunshine, they strolled along the gravel path and out into the open space where the maroon helicopter was waiting.
The Duke's new wife wore a light blue dress, dark jacket and platform shoes, while he was dressed in his trademark chinos with a pale blue shirt and navy jacket - a casual look in complete contrast to yesterday.
The couple, who spent the night at the Queen's official London home, stopped briefly to chat to two Royal Household footmen and appeared to be thanking for them after their stay.
When they finished, William put his hand on the small of his wife's back and they went over to talk to the helicopter pilot before climbing on board.
Before they boarded the aircraft, palace staff had carried out some of their luggage, which included a bouquet of white blooms.
The couple are said to still be on a high after their wedding day which was both an intimate family affair and a global event televised across the world.
Speculation has been mounting about where the couple could spend their time away together. Likely honeymoon destinations could include Africa - a continent for which William has a deep affection. He could take his wife to countries like Botswana, or Kenya, where he proposed.
There has been speculation that a secluded Caribbean island may be another option.
The couple could continue their wedding theme of championing the UK and spend part of their break in Scotland, where both the Queen and the Prince of Wales have private homes they could use.