11 most iconic royal wedding dresses that stunned the world

Royal weddings have always caught the eye of the public. Whether it’s a world-wide televised wedding ceremony of the Queen herself or the most recent secret nuptial between Princess Beatrice and her beau, royal weddings seem to hold great attraction and continues to amaze everyone with its royal elegance and magnificence.

That being said, royal weddings are simply unimaginable without elaborate wedding gowns and elegant jewellery pieces. While some choose to keep it simple yet chic, others have re-created their wedding dresses from a classic traditional dress. To have a better glimpse of it all, here are some of the best royal wedding dresses that caught a lot of buzz.

On November 20, 1947, Queen Elizabeth II married Prince Philip Mountbatten and wore a beautiful Norman Hartnell designed long-sleeve dress for her wedding. The dress came with a high neckline, tailored bodice, and short train and she teamed it with the “Queen Mary fringe tiara”, which was recently borrowed by Princess Beatrice for her wedding.

Princess Diana's wedding gown is one of the epic wedding gowns and also one of the most talked about. On her wedding day, Princess Diana flaunted a David and Elizabeth Emanuel designed wedding dress that left the world in awe. It was a pearl embroidered gown with a 25-foot-long train.

One of the icons of fashion, Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco married Prince Rainier on April 18, 1956. Her wedding dress was designed by Helen Rose, who was an Academy Award-winning costume designer. The dress was a perfect embodiment of a fairy-tale wedding dress that was embroidered by laces and pearls.

When it comes to wedding dresses, Japanese royals have also outdone themselves with elaborate traditional gowns. Princess Ayako Moriya of Japan, on her marriage to a shipping-firm employee Kei Moriya, wore a red kouchiki, which is a traditional Japanese cloak with long, wide sleeves, along with a divided skirt, called a naga-bakama.

Photo: AP images

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s royal wedding was one of the most attention-grabbing weddings of the modern times. On May 19, 2018, the Duchess of Sussex walked down the aisle with Givenchy dress designed by Clare Waight Keller. Prince Harry couldn’t take his eyes off her and the world noticed this warm moment.

In 2011, when 2 billion people gathered to get a glimpse of the royal wedding between Kate Middleton and Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge was wearing an Alexander McQueen long sleeve dress, inspired by a Victorian corsetry.

On her wedding day in 2015, Dayangku Raabi'atul 'Adawiyyah Pengiran Haji Bolkiah, while marrying her husband Prince Abdul Malik of Brunei, was clad in precious stones and also carried a bouquet of gems. It was a rare sight!

Photo: Ahim Rani/Reuters

Princess Sofia Hellqvist married Prince Carl Philip on June 13, 2015. For her wedding, she wore a white laced dress with an open V-neckline, designed and created by the Swedish designer an A-line silhouetteIda Sjöstedt.

When the King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck married his Queen, Jetsun Pema, neither did she wear a couture-dress created by a world renowned designer, nor a custom-made dress, instead she wore a local garment called ‘Kira’, which took almost three years to weave. It was long Bhutanese dress that is wrapped around the body and pinned on the shoulders.

Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden married on June 19, 2010. She wore a cream silk satin dress with a detachable 16-foot train. While she chose a simple look for the wedding, she looked extravagant in her dress.

The most recent talked about royal marriage is certainly the secret wedding between Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mopelli Mozzi. Having been postponed due to the pandemic, the couple tied the knot on 17th July, 2020. Wearing a vintage Norman Hartnell dress borrowed from the Queen herself, she teamed it up with the Queen Mary fringe tiara, worn by the Queen during her wedding too.