For ten weeks, there’s an exhibition at Windsor Castle featuring the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding stuff – Meghan’s gown, Harry’s uniform, the page boy’s uniform and bridesmaids’ uniform. I remember when the Duchess of Cambridge agreed to have her wedding gown exhibited at Buckingham Palace shortly after her wedding too – the Queen and Kate viewed the exhibition together, and the Queen was not a fan of the way Kate’s gown was presented. She thought the exhibition was ghoulish and had ghost-bride vibes (I’m paraphrasing the Queen, obvs). I wonder if Meghan and Her Maj will view her exhibition together?? Hm. Here’s a little taste:
As you can see, the exhibition includes Queen Mary’s Diamond Bandeau, the tiara Meghan wore for the wedding. The video also says that Meghan and Harry agreed to a short recording for the exhibition, where they talk about planning the wedding, and sitting down and picking out the tiara. This is so cool:
Meghan has recalled the ‘surreal’ day the Queen helped her pick out her wedding tiara at Buckingham Palace. The Duchess of Sussex, 37, said the Queen Mary Diamond Bandeau was the ‘perfect’ choice, describing how she wanted her bridal look to be ‘incredibly timeless’ yet ‘still modern’. She spoke about picking out the tiara in a special recording for a new exhibition at Windsor Castle, where the tiara is on display alongside her stunning Givenchy wedding gown. Meghan also revealed Prince Harry, 34, accompanied her to Buckingham Palace to pick out the tiara, although her now husband admitted ‘I shouldn’t have really been there’.
The Duchess said: ‘When it came to the tiara on the day, I was very fortunate to be able to choose this gorgeous art deco style bandeau tiara. Harry and I had gone to Buckingham Palace to meet with Her Majesty The Queen to select one of the options that were there, which was an incredibly surreal day as you can imagine. And that was the one that, I think, as we tried them on, stood out. I think it was just perfect because it was so clean and simple – and also to that point, an extension of what Clare and I had been trying to do with the dress which was have something that could be so incredibly timeless but still feel modern.’
Harry said that ‘without question’ the Queen Mary Diamond Bandeau the one that looked best on Meghan.: ‘[I]t’s every girl’s dream to be able to try on a tiara. Funnily enough, [it was] the one that suited the best, the one that looked the best on you without question. I shouldn’t have really even been there, but such an incredible loan by my grandmother, it was very sweet…’
Prince Harry is the kind of prince who will accompany his bride-to-be to the palace and help her pick out tiaras for their wedding day. SWOON. I’ve always said that I would give pretty much anything for a tour of the Royal Collection jewelry. I sort of doubt that Meghan really got a tour of all of it though – my guess is that the Queen selected a variety of tiaras herself, and then Meghan got to try on maybe four or five and choose her favorite, with Harry’s help. So sweet.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid and Avalon Red.
Yeah, that story definitely makes it sound like the Queen picked out some tiaras first and then Meghan got to choose from them. I think that if Meghan had said “there is this tiara from the 1950s that I really want to wear” or something the Queen would have probably made sure to include it in the selection. Like she says – such a surreal experience.
I loved Meghan’s wedding tiara, and every time I look at pictures from their wedding day I think of how perfect her makeup was too. She just glowed.
Meghan really did have the perfect look, head to toe!
Yes – I thought her dress, veil & tiara were all exquisite and she truly looked (as Harry said) amazing. I also loved her reception dress/shoes/ring. Harry looked wonderful too, they both wear clothes so well.
Yes and I’m still so here for seeing photos again. They cheer my heart. Like @Harla too, I think Meghan’s wedding dress etc, was all perfect, head to tie. My friend just brought me some gifts from London, including an official wedding tea cup. So I doubt my enthusiasm is ending soon.
This article just confirms what I’ve thought all along, that the bride has several options to choose from, not that the Queen say’s “here, you’re wearing this one”. It seems that Harry, in contrast to many a groom, was heavily involved in all aspects of wedding planning which doesn’t surprise me one bit 🙂
There is so much mystery behind the tiaras that I find fascinating. I would love to see how they are stored, how they’re chosen–do they all get brought out by white-gloved men in suits on a plush velvet cushion? The fact that there are SO many tiaras in the BRF, including ones that haven’t been seen in public in decades, is amazing.
@L84Tea – I agree! The fact that people actually say things like “we aren’t sure if this tiara is even in existence anymore” is kind of mind-boggling to me. Wear your bling royal family! And yes I do think about how they are stored – at BP? In a vault at a bank somewhere (Gringotts?) lol.
(I also think the same about the hats the royal family wear. Do Kate and Camilla have separate rooms just for storing all their hat boxes?)
As I recall Diana once said that a tiara she was borrowing came in a red leather box and I imagine that it’s velvet lined. But beyond that it is all a mystery and one that I’d love to be in on!! I’m such a jewelry lover that if I had the chance, touring the royal jewel vaults would be my all time favorite way to spend a day (or three!).
I think the jewels are part of the Royal Collection and basically have their own vaults/conservation staff and curators? I may be wrong about this though….
@Becks1, oh the hats! THE HATS!! What I wouldn’t give to see QE’s “closet”. I imagine long rows of whites fading to creams fading to yellows, to oranges, to reds, to purples, to blues, to greens, etc. I bet it’s amazing and something I doubt we will ever get to see. 🙁
I’m picturing a bunch of footmen, all dressed alike, wearing gloves and carrying velvet lined boxes, ala Deal or No Deal.
😁😁😁
I wonder if it depends on the bride? Because if Sophie chose hers, I hate to see what the other options looked like.
Sophie’s tiara is notorious because it was a gift from the queen, and reportedly something the queen herself designed from pieces belonging to Queen Victoria.
HM has many fine qualities but if that part of the story is true, jewelry design would not appear to be one of them.
There’s more info about Sophie’s wedding tiara at http://www.thecourtjeweller.com/2018/01/the-countess-of-wessexs-wedding-tiara.html?m=1
and
http://orderofsplendor.blogspot.com/2011/10/tiara-thursday-sophies-wedding-tiara.html?m=1
Well people do say that the Queen isn’t very erm…’artistic’, or ‘stylish’ and that once the very elegant Charles gets his hands on BP, the interiors will be as they should, and that the quality of food, wine and flowers will improve. The Queen is mainly interested in horses, not fashion, design, jewellery or interiors, very unlike Charles.
The dress fits the chest/waist of the mannequin far better in the still from the video of the exhibition than in the photo of where the bride and groom are just leaving the chapel. Just to potentially (probably not, ha) settle the argument of how they wanted the dress to look vs how it actually looked.
The dress designer’s brother said in an interview, that the dress was altered a few times, due to Meghan’s weight lost.
Basically he was talking about proud the family was of his sister, and she told them two days before the wedding, that she was the designer.
I’m sorry, Brits. I know the monarchy is outdated, a relic, ridiculous, uses money, etc…. but I’m living for this distraction. This is adorable.
If I remember correctly, and please let me know if I’m wrong, I think TQ didn’t like the Cartier Halo Tiara hanging from wires, floating up above the dress. It wasn’t perched on a mannequin’s head, like Meg’s is. It did look a bit weird.
Ahhh…. here we go: http://theduchessdiary.com/2016/04/royal-wedding-rewind-a-closer-look-at-kate-middletons-wedding-gown/
While I think both women looked lovely on their wedding days (though Meg’s makeup was way better; Kate’s blush too harsh), I loved both dresses. But I have to say, I really love Meg’s tiara MUCH more 😊
Yeah it really gave the dress this disembodied veil and tiara and kind of made it look like a ghost bride or something. Not sure whose idea it was to cut out the mannequin head (Kate’s??) but I think it spooked the Queen and it spooked me too.
In the linked article: “Burton released a statement the day of the wedding, describing her vision for the future consort’s gown.” When I read that, I thought it was unnecessary of them to use the word consort.
It occurs to me that consort might have a different meaning in the UK, but to me the term consort is diminishing, or not as good as. The term seems more of a putdown to me, and I was wondering if the word was seen differently where Kate lives?
The purpose of using the word Consort is to distinguish from the Regnant. A Queen consort is very different from a Queen Regnant.
Now see, I actually like it floating better. When I watched the video, the mannequin head seemed weird to me. I kept wishing it had hair and facial features. It didn’t look so weird with Harry’s because the hat put the mannequin “face” in shadow. To each their own, I guess.
it would have looked better floating , I don’t like the mannequins.
So Harry knew what tiara she’d be wearing the day of the wedding?? Kind of ruins the surprise for him! I’m assuming he didn’t know what the veil or dress would look like, though I think it’s sweet he wanted to help her pick one out.
As for where the tiaras are stored, I just assume it’s locked in a vault within a vault within a vault where only a select few know the codes/have the keys to bring them out.
“So Harry knew what tiara she’d be wearing the day of the wedding?? Kind of ruins the surprise for him!”
I mean, honestly, I doubt most men would care about a detail like jewelry not being a surprise. I think for my husband at least, he just made sure not to know what the dress looked like. Didn’t go in a specific closet to avoid it. He actually got me a necklace to wear for the wedding – so he knew what that looked like obviously. But he was also super nervous, and neither of us like a lot of attention so the whole thing was just kind of a stressful event.
I’ll be honest, the tiara wasn’t my fav! (You know, bc the Sussexes care so much about my opinion.) I wasn’t big on how it was all one solid piece with no opening or airiness. And I didn’t like how the centerpiece juts out, and that’s the only time we have a placement change like that. Sue me! I thought there might’ve been better options, but who knows what the queen pulled for her 🙂 I doubt the Fringe Tiara was a choice, but I think those lines would’ve had the clean modern look she was going for. She still looked amazing, of course. I’d die to know how to do my makeup like that, where it feels like you’re still seeing so much of my actual skin.
I don’t think Meghan would have been offered a tiara as large as the Fringe. Even Kate, marrying the future king, had a smallish tiara. I think the big one are saved for those in the direct line or born royals: Camilla and Diana both wore big ones, Ann wore the fringe, Kate’s are getting bigger.
I’m trying to remember a lovely one, not seen in a long time, it was a floral one, maybe made from other pieces.
I liked the one Meghan wore.
I know there are a lot of theories, positive and negative, about why Kate got the Cartier Halo tiara (I’ve definitely contributed some of them, haha), but it seems like the simple truth is that it was most likely chosen because of how well it worked with her dress, specifically the lace. Both women ended up with tiaras that suited them.
This sounds like a great exhibit—I love that they recorded the explanations themselves. Harry explanation of why he chose her entrance music is just SWOOOOON.
Wow! They recorded the explanations themselves. I do hope the exhibition runs again because I will miss it.
I love the thought of the Queen giving tiara advice.
Has anyone else noticed how terrible the hem on Charlotte’s/ the little bridesmaid’s dresses was? It wasn’t at all straight as evidenced by the video above (and pics of Char from the day). Would love to know what Kate thought of it.
Further evidence that Givenchy’s tailoring was an all-around fail at this wedding.
I read somewhere that the Spencer tiara was an option. Personally, that would have been my first choice. But maybe the association with Diana is just too strong.
Wherever you read that–the author didn’t know what they were talking about.
::: shrug emoji :::
Never would the Spencer Tiara had been even a remote be an option for Harry or Willam’s brides, and it also never be an option for their heirs.
It belongs to the Spencer family, and will pass on to the next Earl of the Spencer, to with as they please.
Diana had it on loan, with permission from her father, then her brother as they are the rightful owner of the tiara as the Earls of Spencer. Only Spencer family daughters, and brides have worn it in the past. The current Earl’s (Dian’s brother) wives (ex-included) have not worn it for their weddings.
Victoria Lockwood (formerly Countess Spencer, 1st wife of the 9th Earl) did wear the Spencer family tiara at her wedding in 1989. To my knowledge none of his other ex-wives wore it.
The tiara does belong to Diana’s brother who is free to lend it out which is what he did when one of his other sisters daughters got married a few months ago.
I wish she could tell us which other ones were on the table as options.
The tiara was the only saving grace of this look, I think- I was so disappointed with the whole execution.
I was very disappointed with Meghan’s wedding dress, but I must admit: it has grown on me.
Could we please stop saying “what every little girl dreams of”. Who says?? Stop putting all women in the place where their only dream in life is to marry a prince to be noticed and worthy. I just find this so wrong. There were many who didn’t want to marry Harry or William and perhaps they thought the princess dream was a nightmare and good for them. I just hate when when everyone thinks that is all a woman/girl wants. Perhaps that is what Meghan and Kate wanted and that is fine but not everyone wants this type of life
Harry said it lol. I agree with you. Meghan wanted this life, Kate wanted this life, but there are so many women who would never want to give up so much for this type of life. No voting, no real opinions shared – just smile, look pretty in your outfits, keep your convos and speeches to a minimum. When you come from a certain background, there’s no point, so I understand why so many girls didn’t want Harry and Wills. When you have the jewellery, the couture outfits, the helicopter rides, a place to carry out charitable works without the scrutiny, and family wealth/your own riches.. being restricted doesn’t seem all that great.
I have said this before, and here it comes again: I’ll never forgive Kate for choosing the tiny Cartier Halo, AND hiding it behind all that hair and veil. I suspected she was offered a selection of tiaras just like Meghan, and she chose the smallest one (tiaras do not get much smaller than the Halo although it is a very beautiful piece of jewellery). Now getting off my soap box….