We’ve got a bunch of Meghan Markle stories to talk about today, because I guess I was saving these for a rainy day or something? The wedding is in a MONTH, people. Sound the alarm! We all have to buy hats and wedges. And trousers, for the love of God. Anyway, as the wedding approaches, of course people love to speculate and gossip about the wedding gown and what it’s going to look like and all of that. As it turns out, Meghan will wear TWO dresses on her wedding day. Which is quite common these days? One gown for the wedding, a second gown for the reception. That’s what Katie Nicholl at Vanity Fair says:
Time to take the fevered speculation about who will design Meghan Markle’s wedding dress and double it. Sources close to Markle say that the actress is having two dresses custom made for her May 19 wedding—an elaborate yet traditional bridal gown for the ceremony and reception, and a glamorous, more sophisticated dress for the evening.
“She will have two dresses, one for the ceremony and another dress for the evening,” revealed a source. “The plan is for her to change after the ceremony so that she can party the night away in something glamorous and less restrictive. Meghan can’t wait to surprise everyone, especially Harry. The wedding dress itself will be traditional and elegant. There is talk of some lace and sleeves and Meghan has been working very closely with the designer who has been sworn to secrecy.”
Neither the public nor Prince Harry know who the wedding dress designer will be. Yesterday British fashion house Burberry emerged as a new front-runner after the Daily Mail reported on top-level meetings within the fashion house. Markle is a fan of Burberry, and stepped out in a £1,995 blue-and-green tartan coat for an engagement in Edinburgh in February. The label would be a patriotic British choice, as well as a coup for outgoing chief creative officer Christopher Bailey who will leave Burberry at the end of the year. In addition, one of her good friends, P.R. guru Isabel May, was Burberry’s director of communications.
“Izzy and Meghan are very close and Izzy has been quite involved with helping Meghan behind the scenes,” according to one of their mutual friends.
The Duchess of Cambridge also did this, although I remember thinking at the time – when some of the reception photos were released – that Kate’s reception gown looked just like her wedding gown, minus the lace. Wouldn’t it have been funny if Kate’s crazy-expensive Sarah Burton-for-McQueen wedding gown basically had a lace dickie and velcro’d sleeves? That’s not what it was though. As for Meghan’s two dresses… yes, everyone says that she’ll go very conservative and traditional with the wedding gown. I hope she sexes it up with the reception gown though.
Meanwhile, People Magazine is late to the “what will Meghan’s title be?” discussion. The British papers have been debating this for months, and most royal-title experts believe that the “favorite” choice for Meghan and Harry is “the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.” People Mag also suggests that there are a few other potential titles in the mix: the Duke and Duchess of Clarence and Avondale, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. I feel pretty confident that the Queen won’t give them Duke/Duchess of Windsor. Too much bad history with that one. Clarence doesn’t feel zazzy enough, but as I said before, I’m a fan of Sussex. Meghan Sussex, Harry Sussex. The Sussexes. Putting the sus in sex.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid, PCN.
Connaught is never going to happen (Irish). Ditto Windsor. Clarence is a possibility, but I’m a fan of Sussex because there would be too many Cs otherwise (Cambridge, Cornwall, Clarence).
Agree on Connaught. Just from the reactions alone to MM wearing ROI colors, I wouldn’t want that title for the couple. Oddly enough, the news media (the Independent and Irish Mirror, included) ran articles indicating it’s still a possibility despite the political fall-out. Needless to say, I’m puzzled why it’s even being considered.
Really? Given the whole mess with the border due to Brexit, that seems extraordinary. I think the Queen knows better than to touch that one. I’d rather Cumberland & Teviotdale and stirring the hornet’s nest up with the Germans than Connaught.
Connaught , may be a good choice…sadly the name died when the only son died in Canada (he was drunk, fell from his room balcony & suffered hypothermia). I think it has a link to Fife…& I love the Fife tiara! The Dukedom I would love to see return is Kendal, but we will have to wait & see.
Cumberland is suspended rather than vacant. Ernest of Hanover, it’s current titular heir, retains the right to challenge it’s suspension despite the titles deprivation act 1917.
That said, Cumberland is a very sore title for the Scots especially SNP supports due to Butcher Cumberland and Culloden.
Finally, are we sure Kendal isn’t extant?
Oh yeah LAK, I wasn’t really serious about Cumberland, that’s why I talked about stirring the hornet’s nest up with the Germans. But I still think Connaught is a non-starter.
Imagine the fun the media will have with Sussex as Megan’s title. I can see the headlines now: Megan is Sus- sexy and red. Duchess Sus-sexy.
I agree. Meghan is getting enough crap about being married 27 times, being a porn star ad nauseum, and then make her the Duchess of SusSEX? The abuse writes itself.
Exactly, plus the more extreme haters will take it as a covert message from The Queen that she disapproves of Meghan’s Jezebel ways…
Clarence just sounds more regal.
Can she just be the Duchess of Avondale? that sounds so beautiful
@theoriginallala
Avondale is my pick too! It does sound very dreamy and also elegant.
I also agree with you downthread that Duchess of Sussex is the beginning of a dirty limerick. She deserves better than that!
His and Her Royal Highness The Duke and Duchess of Avondale …ahhh has a brautif ring to it!
So those in the know can that be a thing?! I want to know how committed I can be to the idea!
Avondale is in Scotland, so that is unlikely to be the dukedom. The Earldom will be their Scottish title.
ITA — I’ve already seen tons of horrible “putting the sex in Sussex” “jokes” and Meghan doesn’t need that on top of everything else.
I actually hope that the Queen doesn’t stay away from every title with negative history behind it or else it will never change! Give one of them to Harry & Meghan and then THAT will be the association going forward, you know?
Sadly, every title has negative history. at best, they use one that hasn’t been used for a long time so that very few people remember and or use one that has less ergregious history attached to it.
Windsor is never going to happen. That’s a silly suggestion. I don’t like Sussex only because I think “Duchess of Sussex” is too rhyme-y and I’m not a fan lol. I like Clarence but who knows.
I also love the way Kate Nicholl acts like she has a big scoop with there being TWO GOWNS! Well, duh. Of course she is going to have two gowns. And one with lace and sleeves???? Wow she really has the inside track. lol.
Lol she will faint if Meghan is Asian. Some Asian brides have up to 5 outfits.
Haha, my culture is the same too. So many different beautiful bridal outfits. so fun!!
I did too !!! And yes – the agonies – I changed 5 times😊
Even mere mortals have two wedding dresses… It was expected. One’s gonna be royal and the other will be more her style. Just keep posh away from the dresses.
I have a tough time saying “Duchess of Sussex” without sounding tipsy.
sounds like the beginning of a dirty limerick
There once was a duchess of sussex…
Ha! With that suggestion of a limerick, you’ve completely thrown Sussex out of the running for me. My vote now goes to Clarence, but here’s a interesting article on the other possibilities.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/finding-the-right-titles-for-meghan-markle-and-prince-harry
Oleanna: I guess that writer was assigned an article on possible titles and rather than use the numerous *sources which list the vacant possible titles for Harry decided to waffle on endlessly whilst mentioning just one and repeating every scandal attached to the various unavailable ones.
* Wikipedia is a better source than that article. A disappointment given it’s the New yorker.
Thanks, Lak. I figured it was a quick “assignment”. Every time I go to look up some royal or title I’m not familiar with, I end up lost in Wiki-land following links to relatives and ancestors. She probably has more restraint that I do. Hate to admit it, but I even got “lost” looking up the engagement photographer’s Polish royal lineage.
My pick would be Clarence, because of the Duke of Clarence who drowned in “a butt of Malmsey.” I think that would suit Harry – the Malmsey part, not the drowning part.
I hope you understand that it was a made up event in a Shakespearean play, and that the person who inspired such a death was a traitorous weasel who was lucky his brothers tolerated him as long as they did.
I had two as well and I am not royal.
My wedding dress and for our reception, a tea dress.
But my family is British and my mom insisted. She loved to ‘put on airs’. LOL
It’s not uncommon. I’ve been to multiple weddings where the bride isn’t British or royal, but had 2 different dresses. I think big, fancy dresses would be inconvenient to wear while eating, dancing , and socializing with the guests
2 dresses are very common, nothing to do with airs. The reception gowns usually have a glamorous factor.
Most brides have two gowns though. It’s not news.
The Queen isn’t stupid enought to even try and give them Connaught. Its in the Republic of Ireland so its never gonna happen.
Here’s hoping we get to see the second dress (if it exists). We only saw Kates as she left Clarence House, so hopefully we’ll get something similar with Meghan.
I’m here for Clarence.
Windsor and Connaught are non-starters.
Please not Sussex…too many party prince = s3x jokes.
I remember reading back when Will and Kate got married that Oxford was a possibility for Harry, and I wonder if that’s still true. If so, I can see that happening so that its Cambridge and Oxford. No clue if theres bad history there or anything.
Harry will be duke of whatever for life now, right? His title wont change again?
Oxford hasn’t been vacant for nearly a century. It’s extant as the Earl of Oxford and Asquith. Current holder is one Raymond Asquith, 3rd Earl of Oxford and Asquith.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_of_Oxford_and_Asquith
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Asquith,_3rd_Earl_of_Oxford_and_Asquith
Ah thanks. I figured there must be a reason it was never coming up. It’s like that random article I read 7 years ago was wrong, lol.
To answer your other question, yes, Harry will be duke of whatever for life and will pass the title on to his eldest son, if he has one. If he only has daughters (like Andrew) or no children at all, the title will revert to the monarch when he dies, to be handed out again.
So if Kate’s third child is a boy, I would expect him to be given the title Duke of York one day (barring the unlikely event that Andrew marries again and has a son).
Connaught is in the Republic of Ireland, so that will not happen as a title.
Clarence is my favorite and I actually *like* the idea of three C’s – then they’d all work well together. It’d be nice!
Please don’t go with Sussex.
This is fairly common if your wedding dress has an extravagant train. My friend is very short and no amount of hemming was able to fully get it off the ground without ruining the overall look of the skirt, so she just went forward with it as is and wore six inch heels down the aisle. She changed into a shorter halter dress after dinner was served so she wasn’t tripping over the hemline and ruining the gown.
Can’t wait to see them.
I like Clarence so much more than Sussex. I hope they get that. And wow, that’s some ground breaking scoop that she’ll have TWO dresses-one for the wedding and one for the evening reception.
I had a friend who had 4 wedding dresses and she is American. She and her husband had a private ceremony at home the week before the official wedding as they were getting married in Bermuda and it was just easier to have it sorted out legally before the real wedding. So they had a backyard wedding so her grandmother could attend as her grandmother was too frail to fly to Bermuda. But she ended up passing away the week before the wedding and not even being able to attend it.
Then for Bermuda she had one dress for the ceremony, one dress (that was much shorter and allowed for movement) for her choreographed dance with her husband, and another dress for “cake cutting.”
I found it all a bit much but I will say she looked beautiful in every single dress.
Yea giving them the Sus-Sex title is just asking for tabloid trouble- no encouragement to go down-market required.
Please let it be Avondale.
I would LOOOOVE it if Burberry is indeed doing the gown!
Everyone I know who had anything resembling a formal wedding had two gowns. What is the big deal?!
I liked both Kate’s gowns – one was a faint homage to the Victorian era in the back, with beautiful material, and I liked the lace bodice and unfussy veil. The reception gown was modern and youthful and I loved the glitzy belt.
I hope Meghan isn’t doing a traditional bridal gown that swallows her up – so much of her clothes seem to do that. She seems to like a lot of cloth, but she isn’t built to handle it.
Duke of Earl. I’ll see myself out.
Duke of Hazzard? I’ll come with you.
Talk about conspicuous consumption. So healthy for the planet.
Makes sense, though. This is the woman who thought that 70K was okay for an engagement dress. I’m betting she outshops Waity.
Other thing is, this is her *second* wedding at age 37 yet we are going to get a blushing new bride it seems.
I am curious to see how Markle will play her wedding dresses after her 70k engagement dress. And I am curious about the comments.
Just like Camilla did.
Camilla wore a big, traditional gown? When she married Charles?
No, she didn’t. Not at all. I think it’s silly for a 36 year old divorced woman to wear a big traditional gown, but I’m pretty traditional. I was hoping for something with clean lines and streamlined. I don’t care what color it is, but big and fussy seems silly.
I didn’t say she wore a big traditional gown. She did wear two outfits – one an elegant dress and coat with a hat for the registry office then a long equally elegant dress and sort of fascinator for the service of blessing in the chapel of Windsor Castle
Those were 2 different *services* not a wedding and a party.
The comment about Kate’s reception dress looking like a removable lace version of her wedding dress made me think of Jamie lee Curtis ripping up her fussy dress in True Lies.
Can you picture Kate ripping the lace off, slicking her hair back with water from a nearby vase, posing seductively, then walking into the reception? Lol
Till now, Sussex has connoted the Kingdom of the South Saxons to me, and I think it’s a bit sad that it’s now become a joke about “sus sex”. Do people also think of “we sex” when they hear about Edward and Sophie? Of course now I, too, will think of “sus sex”, but hopefully I’ll grow out of that. 😀 I still prefer Sussex to the other possibilities, because I like the Saxon connection.
i think the sus s3x connection is due to the fact that that Harry is the so-called party prince shagging his way through actresses and models.
Edward never had that reputation so no one made the wes s3x connection or jokes.