Beatrice’s fairytale look was thoughtful, historical and highly personal
It’s highly unusual for modern royal wedding dresses to be embellished with jewellery, but this was a highly unusual wedding – almost certainly not the one that Princess Beatrice originally imagined.
The dress, a reconfigured Norman Hartnell evening gown from the early Sixties and borrowed from her grandmother, the Queen, was a charming nod both to their bond and to the exceptional circumstances surrounding the occasion. It also suited the diminutive princess. Her diamond tiara, the Queen Mary’s Fringe, another loan from her grandmother – was originally adapted by Garrard & Co in 1919 from a diamond necklace that was given to Queen Mary, then Princess Mary of Teck, by Queen Victoria on her wedding day in 1893.
The 31-year-old Beatrice has been engaged to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi since September 2018 but had to postpone the date of her nuptials. When the engagement was announced in September 2019, it was assumed the couple would marry in St George’s Chapel at Windsor, where her younger sister, Eugenie, married in October 2018, and Prince Harry and Meghan took their vows five months earlier.
After her father the Duke of York’s disastrous interview with Emily Maitlis last November, it became clear that his daughter’s wedding would have to be toned down. It was finally arranged for May, then delayed again until this month due to the pandemic.
Nestling in the grounds of the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, the Grade II listed All Saints Chapel is more like a charming village church than the medieval St George’s Chapel, which can seat 800 guests
The Queen arrived in an aquamarine dress and matching coat that she wore later to bestow a knighthood on Sir Tom Moore.
With just one official photographer and mainly close family in attendance, and a bridegroom in a morning suit rather than ceremonial uniform, this was an intimate royal wedding.
Princess Eugenie opted for a traditional, fairytale bridal look. The Hartnell may have started life as a sleeveless evening gown but, composed of layers of silk taffeta, encrusted with diamante, with a geometric checked bodice and accentuated waist, it easily lent itself to being converted into a contemporary looking wedding gown.
Stuart Parvin, who has designed many of the Queen’s outfits and Angela Kelly, HM’s long-standing dresser, collaborated on the remodelling, keeping the original narrow, jewelled straps, but adding short organza puff sleeves that imbued it with a sweet playfulness that is in tune with current fashion as well as what we know of the Princess’s sartorial preferences.
On so many levels this was an imaginative, wise choice. Upcycling probably isn’t quite the right word for a ballgown worn by the Queen, but
On so many levels this was an imaginative, wise choice – a decision that will be interpreted as a green, ethical and financially restrained option
technically that’s what Princess Beatrice has done – a decision that will be interpreted as a green, ethical and financially restrained option. When the vintage on offer is museum quality (the dress was previously on display in an exhibition of the Queen’s dresses at Buckingham Palace in 2006), why wouldn’t you avail yourself of it?
The bouquet, by Patrice Van Helden, a favourite florist in upper class circles, was simple and modestly sized (by royal standards), composed of pink and white roses, trailing jasmine and sweet peas from the gardens of Windsor Castle.
With her hair worn mainly loose beneath a plain tulle veil anchored by the Queen Mary tiara, Princess Beatrice’s wedding dress will go down as a thoughtful, unique blend of the historical and the highly personal.