An iconic look. Meghan Markle‘s wedding dress stunned the world when she said “I do” to Prince Harry.
The pair, who announced their engagement in November 2017, married in May 2018 at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. While Harry wore his military uniform, the former Suits star donned a simple white Givenchy dress with an intricate veil designed by the fashion house’s artistic director, Clare Waight Keller.
In the 2018 ITV/HBO documentary Queen of the World, Meghan was reunited with her custom wedding day frock ahead of the outfit going up on display. The dress was the centerpiece of “A Royal Wedding: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex,” an exhibition hosted by the Royal Collection Trust at Windsor Castle in late 2018 and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh the following year.
The Duchess of Sussex recalled wanting to honor the commonwealth on her big day. “I had originally said to Clare Waight Keller, the designer, how can we incorporate that?” she recalled in the documentary. “Would it be the state flower, country flower of each place? And it was her idea to do wildflowers, which I think ended up being a really beautiful way to embody the feeling of it.”
The craftsman at Givenchy spent over 500 hours embroidering the 16-foot veil with flora from every commonwealth nation. Additionally, flowers from California and Kensington Palace were included as a nod to Meghan’s birthplace and her new home.
“With Harry’s role as Youth Ambassador for the Commonwealth, it was so important for us to have the spirit of inclusivity in our wedding,” Meghan added.
Waight Keller said she and the Archewell cofounder had a very “collaborative” relationship while creating the wedding dress. “We exchanged conversations about what would be the ultimate lines and proportions and the scale of the dress,” the Givenchy boss said shortly after the wedding. “But over time we quickly got to a point where I know she felt really she knew exactly what she wanted … And then it evolved into the final design.”
The stylist was thrilled with the final look, which took over 3,900 hours to create. “She was just glowing,” Waight Keller said of the moment the California native saw herself in her 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.”
She wasn’t the only one who thought so. “It is an immense honor to have worked closely with Meghan and to have lived by her side for all these special moments,” Waight Keller told French news outlet Paris Match in 2018. “Prince Harry came to me and said, ‘Oh my God. Thank you. She is absolutely magnificent.’ I am very proud. It’s a fairy tale. A dream come true.”
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