This is Part I of the coverage of Lady Gabriella Windsor’s Windsor Castle wedding over the weekend. Lady Gabriella – who goes by Ella – is the daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. The Kents are no one’s favorite people, but Ella got a decent turnout for her royal-adjacent wedding at St. George’s Chapel. She got married one day before the first wedding anniversary of Prince Harry and Meghan. Ella had her wedding in the same chapel, and her reception in the same place too – Frogmore House. Prince Harry probably walked from Frogmore Cottage to the wedding, and the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Edward, the Princess Royal and Princess Beatrice were all in attendance. They’ll come in Part II of the coverage. This post is just for Ella, because I know we all enjoy talking about wedding gowns and such.
Ella wore a custom Luisa Beccaria gown in what is being described as “blush,” but just reads as white on-camera? The description of the gown, via People: “The blush gown, which was embroidered with flowers and embellishments, got its color from all the layers of tulle and organdy beneath the lace, which created the body of the gown. Her romantic veil was also made from layers of tulle and covered with embroidered flowers.” Ella also wore a tiara – the Russian Fringe tiara, which was worn by her grandmother (Princess Marina) and her mother (Princess Michael) on their wedding days.
I’ve tried to find good angles on the gown to properly judge it and… I’m not really feeling it. On the plus side, Ella seemed very pleased with her look, and her confidence and happiness makes me like the gown more. But I really feel like the whole thing is way too busy, with the different kinds of patterns on the lace of the gown, from the skirt to the sleeves. I’m one of those people with an aversion of too much lace though, so different strokes from different folks. The actual cut of the gown is fine – very flattering and appropriate. It’s almost like Ella’s gown is the love child of Kate and Meghan’s gowns.
Also: the most bored and distracted bridesmaids EVER. Those children were agents of chaos during the photos outside the chapel.
Photos courtesy of WENN and Avalon Red.
I actually really liked her dress. I thought it was pretty and yes, a little too lace-y, but I didn’t think it overwhelmed her.
They had gorgeous weather too!
I like it too.
You can tell when someone feels beautiful in what they are wearing and she does. It’s just a bit too much lace for my taste and it makes me feel itchy, but I’m not the bride.
Yeah, that’s exactly how I feel, minx. But in general I’m not crazy about lace, anyway.
I like the dress, too. I’d like to know if the different designs mean something to them. The circles at the bottom resembles ocean waves, and it looks like there are some fern leaves in there. Do the lines mean movement, or maybe kelp? It all seems very beachy to this California girl.
My only complaint is whatever design element that is around the neckline looks cheap. It reminds me of the zig zag bric-a-brac my mom used to put on my clothes when I was a kid.
That trim caught my eye right away, and not in a good way. It’s sort of floral and doesn’t lay correctly. The dress would have been much better without it.
Looks like incredible handmade lace. Very posh!
The little kids crack me up every time! I can see why they do it – you just get the littles so no one gets snubbed – but yeah, can’t control little ones. And, I suppose, it is good training for them.
You know some of those photos are going to make it into the kids’ parents’ family albums.
Love the dress!
Gorgeous dress..
One of the things I love about these Royal wedding is the bride is always dressed elegantly simple. Nothing flashy. American weddings sometimes have the Brides dressed so overdone. The makeup on these women is perfect. Natural. She looks lovely. Radiant.
I thought it was nice too – not what I myself might choose, but pretty.
It’s the Kent City of London Fringe Tiara, which was worn by Princess Michael and Princess Alexandra on their wedding, but not by Princess Marina. The Court Jeweller has a very detailed explanation on it: http://www.thecourtjeweller.com/2019/05/the-kent-city-of-london-fringe-tiara.html?m=1
Good article! It seems as if Ella has taken gown inspiration from her aunt, Alexandra, who’s pictured about halfway through.
But where was Princess Alexandra, and the Duke of Kent for that matter, no sign at all of them at the wedding. Although her daughter Zenouska Moffat, who apparently lives in Windsor was there.
I believe Princess Alexandra was there with her daughter Marina Mowatt. The duke had another engagement apparently.
Ha! Bridesmaids were Agents of Chaos!! 🤣 Pure blog gold! I love it. Best wishes to the bride & groom!
I didnt like the dress not that I am an expert on wedding dresses.
All the patterns on the dress threw me off and veil is too large.
However, I think the silhouette is nice and the patterns hide any fit issues.
I love the dress and I’m sure the fabrics used make it even more beautiful in person, however the neckline just doesn’t look right. I agree the rickrack-type edging looks inexpensive but I’m even more bothered that the bateau neckline is not right for her shoulder/long neck (am I right?) I think maybe I got used to seeing pics of this neckline on Meghan’s petite frame. I briefly looked up flattering necklines for long neck/wide shoulders on the net and the recommendation is crew neck! The lace on this dress would have been infinitely better cut in a crew neck, or at least covering more of that area. It would seem that a beautiful tall woman with a long neck such as Ellie would look like a swan or something with that neckline, but I’m not feeling it. Kate’s wedding dress neckline was so beautiful on her…a perfect choice. As CB says, this dress certainly is a blend of Kate and Meghan’s gowns. If I were the designer (although the dress and her other creations are lovely) I would be cringing that the dress must not have been fitted well enough, or something, since it skewed off center with the bride’s movements. Though the designer was quoted as saying Ellie lost weight and had to be re-fitted. But, sorry, that’s why they get the big bucks for their work…get it right.
I do not have the bride gene. The dresses are trend based, the ceremony overpriced & insincere. Let’s throw big parties for blended and or intact families who send kids off to college. Seriously. Anyone can spend money on a SCHMALTZ BALL package. I can’t believe these cookie cutter cash burnings are a THING.
The groom is Tom Kingston. Works in finance and was a hostage negotiator in Iraq.
His credentials are solid. And on a horribly superficial note, he has gorgeous hair.
Heeheehee! His hair was the first thing I noticed about him, too.
They’re a very good looking couple.
Question: Why is Gabriela Windsor allowed to wear a tiara of Russian origin when Ms Markle was not?
(Genuinely asking)
PS: I hate the wedding dress as it’s just fussy and frumpy, but I love the mother of the brides outfit as I always do. Lovely sense of style despite her horrid personality.
She’s not. She’s wearing a tiara that was a gift from the city of London when Marina married the Duke of Kent.
It’s not of Russia’s origin first of all. And second of all people are still on tiara-gate? It so obviously never happened! The story was clearly part of the we have to show uppity Meghan her place narrative. Just look at the woman’s style. She knew how simple her wedding dress was going to be. It never made sense that she suddenly was like oh open all the jewel vaults I will pick the blingiest thing I can find.
Ah! I read the name of the tiara wrong – inferred the origin from the name. Silly me. 🙃
Re tiaragate, I don’t doubt that she may have asked to wear a tiara that wasn’t available to her, for whatever reason (no crime there), I mean that sounds plausible enough to me.
What I doubt very much is that she would have thrown a strop over it.
@Bella – you aren’t that far off. There IS a Russian fringe tiara, but that’s not what she is wearing. The palace got the name wrong in its release. If you look at the Court Jeweller link someone posted above, it details the differences between the two.
Oh and re Tiara gate – the one thing that I can see happening is that Meghan picked Eugenie’s tiara – like Meghan picked first, picked that one, and then later Eugenie/Andrew/someone was like “no Eugenie wants to wear that one, blood princess, she gets precedence, make Meghan pick something else.” But I still don’t think Meghan had a fit over it. But that version makes sense to me because their two tiaras were so similar.
@ Becks
I totally agree re tiaragate. I also wonder if maybe Eugenie had had a word to her grandmother about perhaps wanting an emerald tiara, maybe long before either engagement. And then when Meghan made her emerald “Russian” pick, they were like “Errr….no can do”.
PS: I know it’s an abomination to admit this, but I hated Eugenie’s tiara (I’m not a big fan of cabochons). The only one I hate more is Sophie of Wessex’s tiara which brings tears of sadness to my eyes as it looks so tragically cheap and flimsy. Having said that, the emerald green colour was absolutely gorgeous against all that white.
Becks1 that is my theory to, that Eugenie pulled rank and I could see Harry throwing a fuss because he is used to out ranking his cousin’s on such matters and thinks Eugenie should too. Wedding planning can make emotions run high and in a family with such a defined pecking order… I can believe drama happened
Either way, the emerald tiara was BEAUTIFUL on Eugenie and it was perfect for her complexion. I really loved her entire look. The same goes for Meghan´s tiara – it suited her really, really well and went so well with her look. I cannot imagine her with that emerald tiara.
It´s strange, because I also adored Kate´s tiara, which was so beautiful and small and went well with her iconic dress. A larger tiara would have been too much.
All of them chose beautiful tiaras.
@Katherine, I ascribe to @Becks1’s theory about tiara-gate: that Meghan was offered a selection of tiaras, including the emerald tiara (that Eugenie wore at her wedding) and the palace (Angela Kelly? The Queen?) later took back the offer because Eugenie wanted to wear it. That Russian origin story was just made up by the person or persons at BP that reneged on the deal (Meghan’s first choice). That the tiara at issue was both offered to Meghan and Eugenie’s wedding tiara was indicated (confirmed?) in that horrible Tatler article.
I agree: it so obviously never happened.
As if TQ would offer the same tiara twice in the first place! It’s not like she hasn’t got enough to go around.
Eugenie’s choice was so right with her more voluminous dress. She looked incredible.
Meghan’s tiara was perfect – for her – with her more sleek gown.
Both were radiant and gorgeous. I frankly do not see a tiara issue being even remotely likely.
Fairy tales!
I liked her dress, not my thing but it was lovely.
Hahaha, the photo’s of those bridesmaids were gold. There were several in the Fail article that made it look like they had decided to take a nap on the steps of the chapel. They looked so bored and over it.
So Gabriella’s father is the Queen’s first cousin? One of Bertie’s younger brother’s kids?
Yes. Bertie’s younger brother was the duke of kent, who married Princess Marina of Greece, and this is the younger son from that marriage (Prince Michael.)
I thought this was the royal dating a shaman. All these royals look alike.
@Adrien – That one is Danish. This one’s a Brit.
Wrong country. Princess Martha Louise of Norway is dating the shaman.
@Julaine: Oops! Thanks for the catch. I’d never heard of her until yesterday, and just slammed down the comment without checking myself, a lazy mistake.
I really like her dress. She looks lovely.
same here Cas. Not a fan of lace but the bride looked gorgeous
Beautiful. Don’t see the blush though.
So fucking petty to choose the day immediately before Harry and Meghan’s anniversary. I know it was likely down to whatever weekend in May was free, but with the K*ents, I will forever side-eye their motivations.
Never forget that Princess Michael’s father was a literal SS officer and she thought they were in the *right*.
I don’t think it was petty because I think it was one of those things where they had limited dates, BUT I’m just commenting bc I was reading an article maybe a year ago and it mentioned that Princess Michael’s father was an “alleged” Nazi and then in the next sentence talked about how he was a Nazi party official or something. How on earth is that “alleged”???
Even ignoring her Nazi father, Princess Michael of Kent is a big enough Dick in her own right for me to side eye the date as well. The original Princess Pushy. It must gnaw at her gigantic ego, that a black/mixed race woman ranks so far above her now. 😢
If I were Megan and some bitch named her animals after my friends, I’d be finding a way to make that bitch courtesy every. damn. time I entered a room. And I’d act like I didn’t know what I was doing.
Gove those old Nazi knees a good workout!
@ Yup
😂
Harry and Meghan’s anniversary isn’t a sacred holiday. Why should anyone not get married on the date of their choosing because it is the day before someone else’s anniversary? Sheesh.
I’m aware it’s not a special holiday, thousands of couples around the world probably share the same anniversary, but in the context of the Kents, when the mother of the bride wore a blackamore(sp?) broach to Meghan’s first official Christmas with the RF, nothing with Princess Michael is accidental. She will take every opportunity to get her jabs in, so I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this was a serendipitous ‘coincidence.’
This woman hates Meghan’s guts on principle for having the gall to just exist, she named two black sheep on her estate ‘Venus & Serena’.
I’m with you on this one!
Harry and Meghan got married on the 482nd anniversary of Anne Boleyn’s beheading. Where was the outrage for that?
@Tilly, the way how the weather is set up in England, if you can, you’d plonk down for a May date. The days are bright, warm but not too warm, and people aren’t off on holidays, like say, June – August.
I’m normally a pretty fierce Meghan defender, but I’m dubious that this was done to be petty. They may not even have realized the day, and even if they had, this is an incredibly popular time for weddings, in parts of the world with a climate such as England’s.
If they decided to be petty about the date they will regret it….Meghan and Harry will be remembered for this day…not them….no competition on that issue!
I’m sure it had nothing to do with the date and personally I wouldn’t care if a second cousin or anyone for that matter got married on my exact wedding anniversary. Who cares?
Also I could be wrong but I don’t even think these Windsor cousins were invited to the Sussex wedding!
Well, Harry for one, looked like he could care less they were getting married close to the date of his wedding. I don’t think he or Meghan would mind in the least or be petty about it. Mid-late May is likely prime wedding season in England.
Gabriella’s wedding date was May 18, M & H were May 19. No one owns a wedding date.
A bit of a stretch to say it’s petty. The whole world does not revolve Harry and Meghan’s anniversary.
Seriously what a bizarre thing to say
That picture with the two women futzing with Gabriella’s gown? What in the name of all things holy are those two women wearing on their heads?
Every photo I’ve seen, her huge bouquet is blocking my view of her dress. I think I might like if I could actually see it.
On the plus side, Ella and Tom look so happy!
They are a nice looking couple and look very happy together.
I think the lace looks cheap to be honest, which often happens even on very expensive dresses. Lace is best left as subtle detailing and not wide spread, especially when using the gauzy fabric underneath.
However, I liked everything else about her style and that she looked so happy, so a thumbs up from me.
Love the dress and the tiara
Love the flowers. So lush and pretty.
Me too. Her bouquet is simply gorgeous. Lovely dress and veil and they look very happy. Nothing bad to say about it.
I’m a lace hater, but I’ll aquiesce a few paces because she’s wearing it so well, and I’m positive the lace is superb quality. I do see hinted blush tones in the pic below the dark shot, which is a nice touch. As always, I love the kids romping around. Gives me giggles knowing the adult females are cringing every time they fall, sit down or scoot along grass and pavement.
The flowers outside the church we’re amazing..although natural foliage seems budget for a royal.
Eugenie’s keyhole dress and Sarah Ferguson three sizes too small dress were unbelievable though.
Princess Ofmichaels dad wasn’t just a nazi. He was a straight up SS officer. Mrs “go back to the colonies” is disliked by nearly everyone because SHE is the textbook uppity Royal. I’m glad she has to curtsy to Meghan! I don’t think she minds it though. I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t see a photo of it sometime at some event. I think a royal ratchet cow like her would make a big deal about “you’re curtsy honors the royal family itself, not the person.” She’d curtsy to a sentient mountain goat if that mountain goat outranked her. (I don’t feel the need to be nice to racists, as you can see). Prince Michael is pretty interesting—he takes great interest in the family’s Romanov connections and has become quite authorative on the subject.
Ofmichael, omfg IM CACKLING
Her father was an officer in the German military before WWI and was called up at the start of WWII. After the war ended, he was brought before a tribunal and was declared a “nominal party member.” With the benefit of hindsight, he should have fled Germany at the start of the war rather than serve, but he wasn’t exactly Himmler, Gobbels, or Goering.
Just stop. This incessant need to defend them is gross. He was a Nazi. He was an SS officer. That was high level soldiering, not like Hitler Youth where you may be able to argue lack of choice. It wasn’t even your bare basic enlisted level. There was choice involved. And you’re showing your ass by defending it.
A defense of a Nazi Officer!!
Lol….that HAS to be some sort of a first or record on this website.
Congrats! 🎊
As if anything most of those tribunals did was legit! Many actual Nazis were declared nominal or had inconsequential sentences handed down, hence were free to take up their careers in Germany after the war – helped along by members of the old Nazi network, with dire consequences for legislature, and the judiciary and executive branches of law still felt today.
Anyone with social standing in Germany could have left but choosing to be a SS officer is inexcusable. He wasn’t a peasant dragged into service upon pain of death. He was a literal Nazi. The absolute racist nerve to even try to defend an SS officer is astounding.
FFS, if you knew sh*t about history you would not be making the ridiculous claim that I am defending a Nazi. Her father joined the SS in 1933, the year Hitler was elected and six years before the start of WWII.
Her was drafted into WWII which meant he could serve, be executed or flee. When he did serve, he took a sick leave and was a POW at points in the war, it was on the battlefield, not in concentration camps. He was kicked out of the Nazi party and SS in 1944 for rejecting its doctrine and because his wife at the time was thought to be spying for the British.
As I said in my first post, he should have fled.
Prince Michael looks so much like Tsar Nicholas II and because of that he has quite the celebrity status is Russia. But I don’t know how interested most ordinary Russians are in royalty now or how they feel about their former Royal family. Like Germany the British Royal Family are the closest they have to one, as Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tsar Nicholas II were cousins to TQ’s grandfather George V. Wilhelm’s mother was Princess Victoria (Queen V’s eldest child) and Nicholas’s wife, Alexandra Feodoronva, was Queen Victoria’s grand daughter (her mother was Princess Alice).
Let’s not forget what Princess Michael of Kent is best known for:
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a14481097/princess-michael-of-kent-racist-brooch/
IKR. She likes her statement jewelry (/s). That necklace she’s wearing looks like a version of the German Blue Max (WWI) cross. The order of merit is no longer just for military, but it would not surprise me if she wore it to honor her father or her German heritage.
To be fair, she’s been known for being an awful human long before this incident.
I have a terrible, awful feeling that she thought she was honoring Meghan by wearing it. Just like when William and Kate were honoring the Obamas when they hung a painting of a slave for their visit.
Wouldn’t surprise me in the least. That or she is a particularly nasty racist troll.
I liked her whole look. I thought it very elegant and classy.
I wonder if she will be reprimanded because she did not use a British designer?
Budget version of Kate’s dress, budget version of Harry and Meghan’s wedding.
And like others who commented, i also side-eye the date AND venue they chose for their wedding. We’ve seen her horrible racist mother pull an offensive calculated move against Meghan before. I side-eye that entire family.
Going by everyone logic here about the wedding date I wonder why prince harry choose peter Philips and autumns anniversary as a wedding date lol. Does he hate them
Agree. I cannot see the significance of two couples associated with the BRF getting married on different dates in different years. The bride is not her ignorant mother, so let her have her time in the spotlight if that’s the issue.
Agree what a ridiculous thing to say. Maybe St George Chapel at Windsor should be closed to any weddings each May in honor of the Sussex wedding?
For those painting the bride negatively because of Princess Michael, Meghan has an awful parent too she has that in common with Gabriella.
From all accounts Gabriella herself is a nice woman so all I can say is she looked lovely at her wedding and best of luck on her marriage.
Harry must hate them if he chose the 10th anniversary of Peter and Autumn’s wedding for his own wedding.
Hmmm, this kind of makes me wonder if the third weekend in May is reserved for the BRF.
Megan
You might not be far off the mark .
As someone up thread said it is scheduling -the 2 bank holidays in May have to be worked around ,the Windsor Horse Show takes up an entire weekend so that takes 3 possible Saturdays out the calendar
For the record, Peter and Autumn got married May 17th, so Harry and Meghan did not actually choose the same exact day.
The bride looks pretty, the groom is gorgeous. The dress?? fine, she likes it. The bateau neckline bothers me because it slides around according to her movements & gets off-center. Symmetry is more attractive.
The tiara is big & splashy & an heirloom for her. If I were (ha ha!) getting to pick a tiara for myself, that one wouldn’t make the top 20 list.
I think these lesser royals stick with their family tiaras and don’t really get free rein at the entire Royal collection.
Love the dress, but I also wore a lace wedding gown with beading so to each her own.
I love that Meghan got married on Malcolm
X Day
Dress completely underwhelmed me and reminded me of a nightgown. Side by side pictures of her and Meghan reminded me of how amazing Meghan’s gown was.
Yes, I agree. Her dress reminds me of the beauty of Meghan’s dress. It looks to me she wanted to copy Meghan but not be so obvious. She even had flowers embroidered on the vail! Her bridesmaid had the same head piece…come on really! Just a reminder of the impact of Meghan! Even Kate didn’t have the beautiful pictures and moments that Meghan had! This dress is a miss for me! Also, on Meghan’s day there was this big fuss about the flowers around the entry. I notice both Eugenie and the Bride for this wedding did the same.
Oh for the love of Pete.
Seriously!
omg for real? That is some serious reaching.
She looks lovely and it’s a very pretty dress, my other initial thought was #whitestweddingever which is, of course, fine. Your family is your family, it just reminded me of one I observed in passing in Denmark.
Not trying to be rude, but comments like this actually really bother me. There´s no need for you to point out that it´s fine for people (especially Scandinavians or Europeans) to be white. I suspect you wouldn´t comment on the race of a wedding you might pass by in Vietnam or Mexico, even though they probably wouldn´t be racially diverse either.
It seems an above average version of the full on, highly textural lace sort of wedding gown, if your taste runs that direction. I’d bet the bespoke quality of the lace would lift it considerably if we saw the gown in person. Though I thought Rose Leslie’s oyster colored version of this traditional, lady-like approach was so *superbly* done and styled that all other recent lace gown contenders feel a bit “meh” by comparison.
She looks pretty and really young for her age too (she’s older than both Kate & Meghan), but I don’t love the lace. I want to know what the hell is going on with the ladies helping with her dress, what are those floral monstrosities?
The “hats” on those two women! Dear God!
She !ooks 45….and she doesn’t look younger than Meghan….
I agree. I had no idea and your comment was the first I knew she was older. She looks great.
Gabriella looked how every bride should aspire to look….. I first noticed what an incredibly beautiful and happy bride she looked, then went to look at the details of her dress and the flowers. Gabriella wore the dress and not the other way round. And it fitted and suited her to a tee, making others opinions impertinent. Wish she would have moved the flowers so we could see the waistline.
My opinion if I saw it in a bridal shop, not a style I would choose. It is too nightdress..ish on top and too busy looking at the bottom.
I think it’s a beautiful dress if lace is your thing, but I find the veil to be completely over the top. Once you’re into your late 30’s, I feel like it’s time to go with a more sophisticated, less virginal, look, and yards of tulle isn’t it.
I like the dress, at least from my laptop screen, and I’m not really a lace person. Her parents are assholes, but she looks lovely and hopefully she’s a nicer person than they are.
Not my taste but the bride was glowing with happiness.
I think that gown is purty! I actually like it better than Megan and Kate’s dresses. She is also wearing the crap out of that tiara! Hopefully Ella is a better person than her racist twit of a mother.
It’s a messy look.
The bridesmaids were like why the hell am I here…hot mess.
The grown-up bridesmaids’ outfits were so laughably terrible. I can’t stop looking at them!
Oof, Casey20. Get some professional help. You sound like a very, very bitter person.
You always have to be very careful with tulle and lace so you don’t end up doing a Scarlet O’Hara. Granny’s bedroom curtains are not a good look.
That neckline trim is the kind of thing that looks pretty in fittings but gets shot to hell as soon as you actually move around.
Princess Michael looks like she has ill intent towards those kids in the top photo. The kind written about in Grimm fairytales.