Royal weddings capture the attention of the world and while the nuptials are important, many are in awe of the beautiful dresses the brides wear. To add to this, the royal bride’s choice of dress influences both the wedding and fashion industry tremendously. But who’s wedding dress is the UK’s most popular royal bridal gown?
Kate Middleton married Prince William in 2011 and wore a stunning lace bridal gown, designed by Alexander McQueen.
The dress, which boasted an elegant Victorian bodice, a delicate V-neckline, and long, lace-embroidered sleeves was estimated to cost £250,000.
The gown, as it adorned a future Princess and Queen Consort of England (Kate is likely to become Queen Consort when Prince William becomes King and takes the throne), was rich in meaning, with hand-cut images of roses, thistles, daffodils and shamrocks (the national flowers of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales).
These details were particularly fitting as Kate holds titles in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and will become Princess of Wales when Charles ascends the throne.
New research can reveal Kate’s wedding dress is the UK’s most Googled royal wedding dress as it pulls in 14,000 searches a month – more than triple the searches for all royal gowns on the list.
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The research, by wedding printing and photography experts Printique analysed monthly Google searches for the wedding dresses of the most high-profile royal women, in order to discover which dress was the most popular of all in the UK.
The UK’s second most Googled royal wedding dress belongs to Princess Beatrice, who wed her fiancé Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in July 2020.
Princess Beatrice’s bridal gown fetches 11,000 searches a month, nearly three times the searches for all royal wedding dresses on the list.
The iconic Norman Hartnell gown, crafted from Peau De Soie taffeta and adorned with diamante accents, is famed for its departure from recent royal tradition.
Rather than being a new couture dress, as we see with the wedding gowns of Kate, Meghan Markle (who wore a bespoke Claire Wright gown) and Beatrice’s sister Princess Eugenie, Princess Beatrice borrowed her wedding gown from her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.
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Princess Beatrice’s choice of dress – which caused searches for ‘vintage style wedding dress’ to spike 228 percent globally in July 2020 – was a touching decision, emphasising the bonds of family love and connection within her small, intimate and privately funded wedding, amidst coronavirus restrictions.
The bridal outfit, with its elegant, fitted bodice and gently flared skirt, was remodelled by royal designers Angela Kelly and Stewart Parvin.
The designers added organza sleeves for the wedding ceremony, and Princess Beatrice accessorised her vintage look with the same diamond fringe wedding tiara worn by the Queen on her wedding day to Prince Philip in 1947.
As for Princess Diana’s gorgeous dress, it is the UK’s third most Googled royal wedding dress, pulling 8,000 searches a month.
The legendary piece, crafted by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, is widely regarded to be one of the most secretive creations in the history of fashion (so desperate were journalists to catch a glimpse of it before the Royal Wedding), with the designers creating a back-up dress in case the design was leaked before the nuptials, as well as a taffeta parasol in case it rained on the day.
The Princess of Wales’ wedding gown was an ivory silk taffeta and tulle sensation, featured a 25 foot train and was encrusted with hand-embroidered pearls and sequins, curving towards a heart motif on the fitted, boned bodice.
Along with Diana’s train, her cathedral length tulle veil (153 yards), which she arranged above the diamond bandeau Spencer tiara (a sweet acknowledgement of her family – the Spencers – on her wedding day), made her the wearer of the longest train and veil of all royal brides in history.
The Emanuel gown also featured lace flounces along the neckline and puffed sleeves and these, along with its waves of crinoline skirts – which David Emanuel reminded her to double-hook to her petticoat just before the ceremony, saving her from having her skirts fall apart before the globe – worked to create one of the most dramatic and iconic fashion pieces in history.
As for Meghan Markle’s wedding creation, she sits in number four as the UK’s most Googled royal gown, fetching just 4,000 searchs a month.
Meghan’s white Givenchy dress, with its now iconic bateau neckline – searches for ‘bateau neckline’ exploded 3233 percent in May 2018, the month of Meghan Markle’s wedding to Prince Harry – featured an elegant train and a veil embroidered with the national flowers of the 53 Commonwealth countries.
The UK’s most Googled Royal wedding dresses
1. Kate Middleton – 14,000 monthly searches
2. Princess Beatrice – 11,000 monthly searches
3. Princess Diana – 8,000 monthly searches
4. Meghan Markle – 4,000 monthly searches
5. Queen Elizabeth – 1,000 monthly searches
6. Princess Eugenie – 700 monthly searches
7. Princess Margaret – 600 monthly searches
8. Zara Tindall – 450 monthly searches
9. Queen Victoria – 250 monthly searches
10. Sarah Ferguson – 25 monthly searches
A spokesperson for Printique commented on the findings: “Royal wedding dresses represent some of the most extraordinary pieces of couture in history.
“With few financial limits and the finest designers in the world at their fingertips, the Royal Family has produced a line of rare and enviable wedding gowns, from Princess Diana’s classic taffeta creation, the epitome of style in the 80s, to Kate Middleton’s iconic lace gown by Alexander McQueen.
“However, the fact that Princess Beatrice’s wedding dress is the second most Googled in the UK, beating both Princess Diana’s and Meghan Markle’s gowns, proves the British public’s affection for the Queen (who lent the dress to Princess Beatrice) and interest in vintage styles and the delicious nostalgia they evoke.”
