Something blue? The secret was in the dress

Duchess of Sussex reveals romantic wedding day tribute to outfit from her first date with Prince Harry

The Duchess of Sussex has been reunited with her wedding dress for a documentary on the Royal family’s work in the Commonwealth, in which she says there was more to the Givenchy gown than met the eye, harking back to her first date with Prince Harry

WHEN Meghan Markle walked up the aisle of St George’s Chapel, the watching world could only guess what was running through her mind.

Four months on, as she takes part in her first television interview as a member of the Royal family, she has shared one of the secrets she carried with her: a very romantic “something blue”.

The Duchess, who married in a simple Givenchy gown, has disclosed that she had a blue ribbon, made from the fabric of the outfit she wore on her first date with the Duke of Sussex, sewn inside the dress.

The Duke has said he was “beautifully surprised” when he first saw his future bride in July 2016, and realised he was “going to have to up my game”.

The Duchess has spoken for the first time of how she kept her “something blue” a secret, as well as surprising her husband and new in-laws by having the 53 flowers of the Commonwealth sewn into her wedding veil.

In a television documentary called Queen of the World, she is reunited with her dress at Buckingham Palace, where curators of the Royal Collection Trust are conserving the garment ready to put on public display.

“My goodness, it’s amazing, isn’t it?” she said, upon seeing the handiwork of designer Clare Waight Keller and her team.

‘I didn’t know much about him. So when she said she wanted to set us up, I had one question: “Is he nice?”’

“Somewhere in here, there is a piece of … did you see it? The piece of blue fabric that’s stitched inside?

“It was my ‘something blue’. It’s fabric from the dress that I wore on our first date.”

The Duchess has previously said of the date, after the couple were matched by mutual friend Violet Von Westenholz: “It was definitely a set-up. It was a blind date.

“I didn’t know much about him and so the only thing I had asked her when she said she wanted to set us up was, I had one question. I said ‘Is he nice?’”

The couple, who married in May, will appear in the documentary about the Queen’s work around the Commonwealth and speak of how they plan to carry it on.

The Duchess disclosed her decision to include wild flowers from each of its 53 members into her veil had gone down well with her new family, who interpreted it as a sign of her commitment to duty.

“It was important for me, especially now being a part of the Royal family, to have all 53 of the Commonwealth countries incorporated,” she said.

“And I knew that it would be a fun surprise as well for my now husband, who didn’t know, and he was really over the moon to find out that I would make this choice for our day together,” she said.

“I think the other members of the family had a similar reaction, and just appreciation for the fact that we understand how important this is for us and the role that we play, and the work that we’re going to continue to do within the Commonwealth countries.

“So it was good news all around, I think. I hope people liked it as much as The Princess Royal and household staff also share the secrets of life on the Royal Yacht Britannia in the the programme. Ellis Norrell, a