Kate Middleton’s Thoughtful Act at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Wedding Made Sure the Spotlight Stayed on the Bride
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding was a memorable royal event that took place inside St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018. The couple said “I do” in front of around 800 guests including several big-name celebrities, dignitaries from around the world, and of course members of the royal family.
While it was a star-studded affair, the spotlight stayed on the bride throughout the ceremony. And what many fans didn’t realize is that the now-Princess of Wales (formerly known as Kate Middleton) made an intentional choice that day so attention wouldn’t shift away from Meghan to her at any point.
Here’s more that, plus a few things you may not have known about the Duchess of Sussex’s wedding dress.
What Kate did so Meghan remained the main focus during her wedding ceremony
The now-Princess of Wales is one of the most photographed women in the world and there is always so much attention on what she’s wearing. But according to Guides for Brides, the day Harry and Meghan tied the knot Kate sported a muted outfit that she had worn before which was “carefully selected” to ensure the spotlight remained solely on what the bride was wearing.
“Kate is renowned for her style but at Harry and Meghan’s wedding, she chose to recycle her outfit for the big day, wearing an Alexander McQueen coat dress,” Guides for Brides noted. “It’s thought she didn’t want to take any attention away from Meghan with her outfit, and she had also given birth to Prince Louis just weeks earlier.”
Guides for Brides director Alison Hargreaves added: “We were delighted that Kate recycled a previously worn coat dress; it was an effective way to ensure positive press coverage while keeping the focus on her new sister-in-law.”
Kate did the same thing for her own sister Pippa’s wedding in 2017. The princess wore a modest, long-sleeved Alexander McQueen dress and did not serve as her sibling’s maid-of-honor, so the focus was on Pippa’s beautiful gown.
Details about the duchess’s veil
The now-Duchess of Sussex wowed fans in her dress designed by Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy.
A sweet detail about the former Suits star‘s veil is that it featured a piece of blue fabric from the outfit she wore on her first date with Harry. The fabric was stitched into her veil.
Meghan later confirmed: “It was my something blue.”
Her veil also paid tribute to the Commonwealth as it was “Made from silk tulle and measuring over 16 feet long, Meghan’s veil featured 53 flowers to represent each country within the Commonwealth. Meghan has since revealed that the veil was a surprise to the royal family and Harry was touched by the gesture.
And the embroidered flowers paid tribute to the Sussexes’ former Kensington Palace home.
“Meghan went above and beyond to ensure the details of her veil celebrated her old life and the new chapter she was venturing into,” Hargreaves said. “Among the embroidered flowers was the Wintersweet, which grows on the grounds of Kensington Palace. She also included the California Poppy, which is the state flower of Meghan’s home of California. It’s reported that it took the team hundreds of hours to hand-sew the flowers and they had to wash their hands every 30 minutes to maintain the silk’s integrity.”
