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Before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tied the knot, one of the things fans were eager to see ahead of the big day was the bride’s dress. On May 19, 2018, when the former Suits star stepped out of a vehicle outside St. George’s Chapel, they finally got their answer.
Meghan wore an off-the-shoulder gown designed by Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy. It took five months to make. The estimated cost? Around $265,000. The detail that makes all the difference? A silk tulle veil that took 3,900 hours to make.
Reactions to the dress were mixed. While some described it as “very elegant,” others said it was “too simple.” For Queen Elizabeth II , the choice of dress raised some questions…
But why the veil?
Royal historian and author Robert Jobson revealed that the monarch was left very confused by Meghan’s decision to wear a veil with the dress. As The Sun pointed out , “the Queen questioned why Meghan needed a veil for the wedding, given that it was to be her second marriage.”
The Duchess of Sussex was married to Trevor Engleson before she married her second husband, Prince Harry, and there’s a long-standing rule that brides should only wear a veil if it’s their first wedding. Over the years, some brides have decided to forgo this tradition and wear one after their first wedding. However, members of the royal family have stricter rules, which is probably why Queen Elizabeth was so taken aback by this choice of accessory.
Too white, not virgin
And that’s not the only thing that surprised Queen Elizabeth.
In an excerpt from the book My Mother and I , serialized by the Daily Mail , biographer Ingrid Seward said the late queen spoke daily on the phone with her cousin, Lady Elizabeth Anson. She reportedly told her she didn’t think Meghan’s dress was appropriate. According to her, Elizabeth II thought the dress was “too white” for a divorcee remarried in church to look “quite as flamboyantly virginal.”
