Ooh La La! Look Back at Regal Royal Wedding Dresses Over the Years

Di wed Prince Charles in an extravagant ceremony at London's Buckingham Palace on July 29, 1981, an event watched by over 750 million people around the world. The Princess of Wales wore an Elizabeth and David Emanuel design made of six different fabrics, including 25 yards of silk taffeta, 100 yards of tulle crinoline and 150 yards of netting for the veil. The gown boasted a train composed of 25 feet of hand-embroidered silk.

The Duchess of Cambridge looked absolutely stunning when she married Prince William at Westminster Abbey in London on April 29, 2011. Her satin gazar Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen dress cost a rumored $434,000 and included a lace-covered bodice, sweetheart neckline, Victorian-inspired corsetry, 9-foot long train and a blue ribbon sewn on the inside for good luck. Kate's "something borrowed" was a gorgeous diamond Cartier tiara that Queen Elizabeth had been gifted on her 18th birthday, and the Robinson Pelham earrings she wore paid tribute to the Middleton family crest.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were married on May 19, 2018 at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England. The bride wore a Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy gown, a lengthy veil and a diamond tiara.
The pure lines of the dress are achieved using six meticulously placed seams, though the focus of the dress is the graphic open bateau neckline that frames the shoulders. The lines of the dress extend towards the back where the train flows in soft round folds cushioned by an underskirt in triple silk organza.

On Oct. 12, 2018, Princess Eugenie married Jack Brooksbank at at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England. The bride chose an off-the-shoulder Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos gown with a lengthy train that she paired with a Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara from her grandmother Queen Elizabeth II's personal collection, and satin peep-toe heels by Charlotte Olympia.
The dress features a neckline that folds around the shoulders to a low back that drapes into a flowing full length train. The low back feature was a the specific request of Eugenie, who had surgery at 12 to correct scoliosis, and wanted her scars to be visible.

Back when she was Princess Elizabeth, the current Queen of England wed Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at Buckingham Palace on Nov. 20, 1947, in a long-sleeved duchesse-satin gown covered in floral embroidery and crystal-and-pearl appliques. The best part of the Norman Hartnell design, which was inspired by Botticelli's "Primavera" painting, was the incredibly detailed 13-foot foot train.

Kelly was already American royalty, but she officially became a princess when she wed Prince Rainier III of Monaco on April 19, 1956. Considered one of the most elegant and iconic dresses of all time, the lace confection was a Pinterest dream well before social media was even a thing, and Kate Middleton's wedding gown is said to be inspired by it. Designed by Helen Rose of the MGM wardrobe department, the long-sleeved dress was created from 125-year-old Brussels lace and taffeta and featured hand-sewn pearls, two bodices, a nipped-in waist, a full skirt and a 10-and-a-half-foot-long train. She even carried a pearl-encrusted prayer book down the aisle.

Not every bride must wear white! For her nuptials to Prince Aly Khan in Vallauris, France, in May 1949, the movie star opted for a periwinkle tea-length Christian Dior dress and hat from the fashion house's New Look collection.

This Madame Hanley Seymour gown was designed for Lady Elizabeth's April 1923 wedding to Prince Albert, and the now iconic look was considered trendsetting for its time. Embellished in pearls and silver, the delicate, gorgeously embroidered gown and long veil gave off a Medieval feel yet was still rooted in '20s fashion.

Queen Rania of Jordan pulled out all the stops for her June 1993 wedding to then-prince Abdullah. The truly princess-like gown was created by British designer Bruce Oldfield and featured a very full skirt as well as intricate gold trim that was inspired by formal Syrian dresses, which also matched the embroidery on her collared jacket and heels.

Married almost 25 years, the couple first met at a dinner party thrown by Abdullah's sister in January 1993, and they were engaged just two months later. One month after her husband ascended to the throne in February 1999, Rania was proclaimed queen. The King and Queen of Jordan share four children, sons Jordan and Hashem and daughters Iman and Salma.

Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III's eldest daughter, Caroline, married Parisian banker Philippe Junot in June 1978. For the star-studded ceremony, which included guests like Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant, the Princess of Hanover opted for a long-sleeved, boho chic Christian Dior gown designed by Marc Bohan. She wore her hair in two Princess Leia-like buns covered in white flowers, as well as a long veil.

Caroline and Philippe divorced in 1980, and the princess went on to wed Italian industrial heir Stefano Casiraghi in 1983. Casiraghi died in a speed-boating accident in 1990 at age 30, and Caroline then married Prince Ernst August of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick, in 1999. The two are still together and though they have no royal rank in Germany, Monaco still recognizes the former German royal titles. 

The American socialite was twice divorced before marrying King Edward, a scandal that caused such a constitutional crisis in the United Kingdom that Edward was abdicated in order to marry her and became known as Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor by his brother and successor, King George VI. Wallis was then known as the Duchess of Windsor. When they finally wed at the Chateau de Conde near Tours, France, on June 3, 1937, Simpson donned a pale blue, long-sleeved Mainbocher gown with a fitted bodice and flowing skirt.

Letizia Ortiz, a Spanish journalist and news anchor, wed Spain's then-Crown Prince Felipe de Bourbon in Madrid on May 22, 2004. Clearly getting the memo of how to pull off a royal gown, the train on the bespoke natural silk dress, designed by couturier Manuel Pertegaz, was an incredible 15-feet long. On top of that, it had a very modern feel due to a high V-neck collar, but was grounded in tradition, thanks to silver-and-gold silk embroidery along the neck, sleeves and train in the shapes of clovers, strawberry fruit trees, wheat and fleur de lys, the symbol of the Prince of Asturias. Felipe ascended to the title of king in June 2014, giving Letizia the title of queen.

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden married Prince Daniel Westling, Duke of Vastergotland, in Stockholm on her parents' same wedding day in June 2010, and her simple but gorgeous dress tops nearly every royal wedding fashion list. Made of cream-colored duchess silk satin and created by Pär Engsheden, the structured, short-sleeved dress included a rounded collar, belt-like waist buttoned at the back and V-shaped back. A lacy, traditional Swedish veil from the 19th-century was fastened to the bejeweled Napoleon-era cameo tiara (Victoria also wore the earrings and bracelets from the set, which is now a Swedish royal wedding tradition), and while that may have stolen the show, the detachable 16-foot long train secured at the waist was no slouch either.

Queen Elizabeth II's sister wed photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey on May 6, 1960, in a white silk organza designed by royal favorite couturier Norman Hartnell. That same year, Life magazine described it as "the simplest royal wedding gown in history," which we're pretty sure was a compliment to the well-tailored gown, comprised of nearly 100-feet of fabric but minimal embellishments. She completed her look with a stunning jeweled crown and long veil.

Fergie married Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, at Buckingham Palace on July 23, 1986. The duchess wore a full-length, puffy-sleeved ivory satin Lindka Cierach gown, and an “A” for Andrew was monogrammed on the bottom of her 17-foot train, which was also embroidered with her personal coat of arms, a bumble bee, an anchor in honor of her husband's naval affiliation and a rose. 

Prince Charles remarried in 2005, tying the knot with Camilla at Windsor Castle in a private, modest civil ceremony, the first time an heir to the British throne was wed in such a ceremony. Camilla wore an elegant, blue Robinson Valentine silk chiffon dress under an ivory, silk basket-weave coat with herringbone embroidery and a Philip Treacy-designed hat adorned with ivory French lace and feathers tipped with Swarovski diamonds.