April 29th, 2011 – the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding date. They celebrate their ninth anniversary this week. I know there are many people who theorize that this marriage will not last, but… I do not agree. I think the marriage will last as long as William wants it to last. Kate has shown that she’ll never leave him. Even if Kate has secretly been drowning in unhappiness – which I don’t think she is – she still won’t leave him. Her identity is too tied up in being William’s wife and, frankly, she’s always had her eye on the prize of being the Queen Consort. Future Queen style.
Anyway, I do like to go back and look at William and Kate’s wedding photos because every year I look back, I feel a different way about their wedding and Kate’s gown and their vibe. This year, I’m feeling weirdly generous. This year, Kate doesn’t look as orange in these photos. This year, her wedding gown looks really classic and yet of-the-moment. I also didn’t give Kate enough credit for choosing a design which “walked” well and photographed in a very “clean” way.
A reminder: Kate commissioned Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen to design this gown. The Middletons’ paid for the gown, which was “unusual” at the time – usually the royal family picked up the costs of a royal wedding entirely, but the Middletons picked up the $434,000 tab for the gown. When the Queen wanted to exhibit the gown at Buckingham Palace, Kate allowed the palace to “borrow” it for the exhibit, and Kate ended up getting a cut of the profit from ticket sales, which reportedly went to charity.
Burton sewed a blue ribbon in the gown as Kate’s “something blue,” but I would argue that the sapphire engagement ring was “something blue” as well. Kate’s something new was the pair of diamond acorn-and-oak-leaf drop earrings her parents gave her for the day. Her something borrowed was the Cartier Halo tiara, which the Queen let her borrow. Kate did her own makeup for the day, but a professional hair stylist did do her hair that morning. Kate reportedly worried that she would cry on the ride to Westminster Abbey beside her father. Kate also planned it out so she would arrive at the Abbey in a car – like a “commoner” – and leave by a gilded carriage as a princess.
Oh, and their wedding cake was fruitcake! I’m still mad about that. Following the Westminster Abbey wedding, William and Kate went to Buckingham Palace for more photos, a balcony wave & kiss, and a lunch hosted by the Queen. After that, William and Kate changed into their party looks at Clarence House (Charles’ home) and attended a party there, and then went back to party at Buckingham Palace. Kate’s second wedding look was also Burton-for-McQueen. I’m including some photos of that second look, plus a shot of Kate’s wedding gown at the Palace exhibition after the wedding. The Queen reportedly hated the macabre “ghost bride” look of the exhibition.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red.
I remember this date so clearly.
I was at work and my elderly coworkers were so excited about the wedding.
I’m in Canada so I think the wedding started at 4AM.
I never watched the engagement video or the wedding. Never cared about William and Kate.
So looking at the pictures I can say Kate looks so orange and I cant believe Pippa got so much attention over a little butt.
I’m just here for the tiara 🙂
My interest is only because I correctly guessed which tiara she would be wearing. But I’ve always thought the gown was nothing special — it looked like a cheap gown you could get at David’s Bridal, trying to copy a designer gown, but lowering it for consumption by the masses. The top half looks like a copy of Princess Grace’s gown and the Monique Lhuillier gown Lea Salonga wore in 2004. And the cut of the bodice around her breasts is weird, it makes her breasts look like hard little bullets, like it would be physically uncomfortable to give her a hug. This dress should not have cost more than $800.
I never understood why she arrived with the tiara.
Sarah Ferguson arrived to her ceremony without a tiara & emerged with one. I thought that would have been smart for Kate, too. Poetic, you know? Arrive a commoner & leave a Duchess.
Diana was different. The tiara she wore belonged to her family.
I still wish kate had worn her hair up.
@Xo, Fergie actually had the tiara on the entire time. It was simply covered with massive flowers prior to saying “I do.” Her hairdresser has recounted how stressful it was plucking the petals from diamonds whilst on a ladder during the brief registry signing lol.
I never noticed that Kate was orange because her sister was so much oranger (not sure if that’s even a real word).
I actually really liked her wedding gown – I think they struck a decent balance between traditional, classic and still somewhat trendy.
But I’m also here for how creepy that exhibit looked. In a fun way – it does have a ghost bride vibe to it, doesn’t it?
It is 100% ghost bride and 100% a spooky Halloween vibe.
I was disappointed in the dress, it looked like a not so good imitation of Grace Kelly’s gown.
A modern imitation of Grace Kelly’s iconic dress is exactly how I saw it too. While it was beautiful, I felt like it was not very original.
I just posted this above before seeing your comment, but the dress is a closer rip-off of the Monique Lhuillier gown Lea Salonga wore in 2004.
I did love her dress at the time — very Grace Kelly-ish and I get the commoner-to-princess vibe she was going for. She is very tangerine in all these photos though, and it still cracks me up how much to-do was made over Pippa’s non-existent butt.
I was just thinking about that 😄 Pippa’s behind is as flat as it could be!
I loved the dress. Sarah Burton learned at the hand of Lee McQueen. The thing he was most known for, was most proud of, was that he could cut fabric. That gown was cut to perfection, technically. He taught that to Sarah & that dress moved beautifully & it photographed beautifully. It’s one of those dresses that will stand the test of time. (like Diana’s for example, but she is know to have stated her dislike of the Emmanuels finished product. I thought it looked like a satin comforter, but I digress) I truly believe that was in the back of Burton’s head while she was making the dress. I do see the Grace Kelly dress as an inspiration but I hated the cummerbund and poof skirt on Kelly’s dress. But at the time of Kelly’s wedding bridal satin was all the rage for Hollywood costume designers & she hired Helen Rose, who was the head designer of MGM to make her dress.
The exhibit was v v poorly done. I am very familiar w/how couture works but 400+K for that dress was a bit much
Apparently all the media hype about the SIL’s bottom was to hide the amount of arms dealers etc scattered in the congregation…. Wasn’t there an article at the time, with a picture and who’s who. They were saying that the number of dodgy people there was staggering.
I thought she did a fantastic job selecting a dress that would move well, photograph well, and stand the test of time. She looked lovely on the day(if a bit too orange). As with all royal weddings, the children stole the show. They were so cute!
I loathed her party look. It was just so uninspiring and the pieces didn’t go together. A preview of what the rest of her royal style would be like- a mix of pieces that don’t work together.
The children were dressed to resemble the bridesmaids at Diana’s wedding. No one ever mentions that, but it was a lovely, subtle tribute.
Her dress was lovely but was totally a Grace Kelly rip off but I think that was the look she was going for.
The lighting on that dress for the exhibiton is absolutely horrible, and scary. 😳 It was a pretty dress on Kate, except for that overly long V-cut which did nothing to enhance Kate or the dress. The exhibit lighting makes the original dress look indistinguishable. What were they thinking?
I guess coming up with the money for the dress is because Kate’s family desired to own and to keep the dress, which makes sense. I hadn’t thought about that at the time.
I agree that the dress wears fairly well and it walked beautifully. Still the sharp and overly long V-cut is distracting. For sure, the top of the dress and overall styling is referencing Grace Kelly’s royal wedding dress.
More and more, I also think Kate had dieted herself into oblivion. The second wedding dress is pretty and suited to Kate, but not my style. I like the white fur jacket and the bling around the waist, but the styling of that dress is nothing special. And again, Kate was so overly thin, accentuated by her long-waisted frame.
Kate continues to be abnormally thin today. She always looks much better and happier when she’s pregnant (after her first several months of serious nausea, of course).
I dont hate the dress tbh. I’ve been in TWO weddings now where we sat around the dress boutique for hours while multiple women said they want “The Kate Middleton.” And one was last summer, so it’s still popular. I think the dress looked nice on her, I think it looks horrible on almost everyone else. It’s not a “shared” style, like something that everyone could wear.
I still hate that ring. Well, no. That ring makes me nervous. We have been ring shopping for a while and in the interim I’ve been wearing my mothers old wedding ring that I was meant to modify and use and while it fits, nothing just *doesnt* slide and everytime I see Kate like throwing a ball or something I have this vision of it flinging off into the grass.
As for their marriage… honestly I imagine it has its ups and downs but *and here I’m about to get burned* I dont think they are as unhappy as everyone here seems to think they are. Every article with them there is a lot of speculation about how William glares at her, or doesnt look at her, or how they seem to hate each other.. and I dont see it? I see two people who have accepted a lot of flaws about each other and dont plan on going anywhere due to both conscience and comfort and yes, probably love. I dont doubt that they love each other . I dont believe that William will ever leave Kate, she is well liked and has a personality that draws away from a lot of his very visible social flaws. I also dont think he wants a public mess like his parents and would risk going to bat with Ma Middleton in the eyes of the press because I’m sure Kate and the Middletons have their stories.
All in all… it aged fine.
Kate waited years for the ring, she would not complain about anything. I don’t think Kate is well liked with all, especially after the way she acted with Meghan at their last appearance together. And William is no prize either. IMO. William may not leave her but with some royal marriages they may lead separate lives.
As long as William gets to do what he wants, then they will stay married. That’s always how it worked for them. There is no fairy tale equal partnership here despite the PR spin. It’s a typical aristocratic marriage.
What would break them up would be a woman that William can’t resist and then Kate would be expendable. His father set a precedent.
TESSA –
That is a good point about her 2020 likeability, it probably has gone down. I’m going off what I see in like comment sections, but those can be hugely biased.
@Tessa: I’m not a Brit, but if Meghan was forced to leave the UK because they are all racist, no one there is going to like Kate less because she gave Meghan the cold shoulder at that last engagement.
I don’t know what was behind that, but the fact that the Cambridges didn’t do the procession at the last minute, despite that being on the program, hints towards some sort of last minute drama. So maybe she had a good reason to be miffed, who knows?
I don’t think the looks were from being “miffed” I think the two were downright hostile. It would not have hurt either of them to at least keep up appearances. I don’t like what they did because they were downright rude, and I don’t see any excuses for them. Kate also participated in that commercial flight stunt which I found abominable and they even brought the three small children into it. I don’t think everybody likes them to say the least or their behavior.
@Tessa: My understanding is that, particularly when the Queen is present, there are rules. One of which involves who has to curtsy to who.
Any of you Brits can correct me if I’m wrong, but for Meghan, that includes The Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Camillia, William and Kate.
That Meghan chose, in public and on TV, to curtsy to only the Queen and Charles was a huge eff you to everyone, including the Brits. And that was what went on in public. Behind the scenes? Probably far worse.
@Janet: no, she is not supposed to curtsy to W&K and anyone who keeps one eye on royal watching knows that. The fact that you’re claiming that Meghan’s supposed failure to curtsy to them is an “eff you to everyone including the Brits” makes me think you’re trolling (or at best peddling the idiocy from tinhatter blogs).
@Janet No, she doesn’t have to curtsy to Will and Kate when she is with Harry. Did you see Sophie curtsy to Kate? No. And Kate flouts that kind of protocol enough when it suits her (i.e. walking in ahead of Harry even though when William is not present, Harry should go first before Kate.)
But you are right. We saw their public behavior at the event and what went on behind the scenes was probably far worse. It makes me think Kate is a true Mean Girl and was actively bullying Meghan behind the scenes.
Oh wait, that’s not that you meant? Hm, wonder why.
@beachdreams: so this diagram is incorrect? And she doesn’t have to curtsy to Camilla either?
https://theroyalpost.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/d7d3265c5361e2e5e10a49f395697f88.jpg
@Janet, you think she was “miffed?” I and most others saw flat out rage emanating from Kate. What’s this “miffed” minimization about?
I did not like that “made Kate cry” story. Kate could have deliberately worked up tears and then ran to William. Or if not true, she could have denied the story. I do think Kate is not a nice person. I heard all those stories in her biographies about her glaring at other women she saw as competition for William.
@janet it may technically be correct but I have never seen a royal curtsy to Kate or vice versa. Those rules were drawn up more about Camilla vs Anne as I understand it. (Anne does not have to curtsy to Camilla unless she is with Charles.) I’ve never seen Sophie curtsy to Kate, or B&E, or Zara.
All that to say – Meghan’s “failure” to curtsy to Kate is not something that was a “huge eff you to everyone, including the Brits.”
@LadyD: and so what do you think put that look of rage on her face? It’s not like Kate hasn’t been practising her poker face for years.
According to more than one story the Cambridges were annoyed at not being included in the commonwealth service procession. So Kate pulling bitch face over that makes her look worse. There are no reasons for mean looks at a church service period. It shows Kate has poor character.
The curtsy thing seems complicated but there are photos online of Camilla curtsying to Kate. Has something to do with pecking order with or without husbands present.
Kate and William wanted Meghan to fall flat on her face, right from the beginning, when Harry introduced her as a bride, they (especially Kate) could have given her some guidance, but she purposely didn’t because she wanted Meghan to look worse than her, she was jealous that Meghan had enough sense not to show her ass to the entire British public, and Kate hated her for it. I think Kate hated Meghan as much as her stans do, but she makes them do her dirty work for her while sits looking pretty.
@Janet its really not as complicated as you are making it out to be. If Kate is with William, she outranks most of the other members of the royal family. If she is not, then she doesn’t. The blood princesses take precedence over her because she is only entitled to the curtsy via her husband.
I just googled and could not find a single picture of Camilla curtseying to Kate. There are pictures of her curtsying to Queen Rania, and pictures of an older woman with white hair who is not Camilla curtsying to Kate.
This is a stupid thing to be arguing about but I am digging in my heels because you are insisting that Meghan broke some huge protocol rule to such an extent that it caused Kate to act like that, despite the fact that SOPHIE DID NOT CURTSY TO HER EITHER.
I just realized, Kate bears more than a passing resemblance to Tiggy legge-burke, William’s childhood nanny.
@Janet, I don’t know what put that look of rage on Kate’s face that day, but it must have been something completely out of the norm. Like you said, she’s been practicing her poker face for a decade or more.
Camilla is married to the Prince of Wales and outranks Kate. I don’t know why she’d curtsey to Kate.
I agree. I found her and Wil’s behaviour at the church down right unacceptable and they should have been given a lashing for their despicable behaviour. In regards Kate’s dress, it’s blah, and her secondary dress is atrocious!! I must admit though that Meghans secondary dress was stunning!! She has incredible taste and it shows in everything that she wears down to the very last detail! On H&M overseas tour, I was enchanted by her delicate jewelry and immediately fell in love with all of it!!
Camilla is the princess of Wales and will forever outrank Kate. She is not going to curtsey to Kate.
There are rules of who should curtsy. The Queen made a change to rules before Meghan when Camilla/Kate was hated by the Royals by birth women (both Kate and Camilla benefited from Meghan marrying Harry). Princess Anne refused to curtsy to Camilla and the York Girls refused to curtsy to Kate so the Queen changed the rules. Basically Camilla and Kate would have to curtsy to nearly everyone without their husbands. Which is why you will rarely see them without the husbands or they must bend the knee. Example Camilla without Charles would have to curtsy to Kate with William but if Charles is present Kate/William should curtsy and bow to Charles/Camilla. Kate without William must curtsy to the York Girls with William they curtsy to her. 100% certain when they get together at family events this stuff matters to them.
@Tessa said:
“Kate waited years for the ring, she would not complain about anything. I don’t think Kate is well liked with all, especially after the way she acted with Meghan at their last appearance together. And William is no prize either. IMO. William may not leave her but with some royal marriages they may lead separate lives.”
I agree with you @Tessa, and I also agree with most of what @CidyKitty had to say in post #3. These two are suited to each other. And Kate waited for far too long to give up the ghost (so to speak 😉) on this marriage. Kate and Will surely have their strains and disagreements. Recent times have definitely been tense with his alleged straying habits, but they are in this together for the long haul.
I totally agree that ‘leading separate lives’ while maintaining a ‘stiff-upper-lip’ is a common thing, particularly among the British aristocracy and also among British royals.
@Janet said:
“… the fact that the Cambridges didn’t do the procession at the last minute, despite that being on the program, hints towards some sort of last minute drama. So maybe she had a good reason to be miffed, who knows?”
I personally do not think Meghan & Harry cared about not being in the procession. So your suggestion that Kate had a right to be ‘miffed’ at the Sussexes because of her and Will being taken out of the procession is rather presumptuous. We don’t know exactly what happened, but it could have been the Queen and Prince Charles who overruled at the last minute feeling that the optics wouldn’t go over well if W&K were in the procession and the Sussexes were not.
Unless some real tea is spilled regarding the truth of what happened surrounding the procession changes, we’re all in the dark. OTOH, Will’s and Kate’s stiff greetings/ lack of warmly greeting the Sussexes, coupled with the putrid looks on W&K’s faces was starkly obvious. Even Sophie who had previously been friendly toward Meghan in public, gave M&H the cold shoulder, while Edward was contrastingly very warm and friendly toward M&H.
Personally, I think W&K were quite pissed about M&H once again ‘stealing the spotlight’ in their return to Britain, magically and effortlessly. This, when surely they weren’t expected to, and definitely they weren’t supposed to. LOL!
In terms of the common wealth service, I agree that some drama went down a few days before to kick them out of the procession. William and Kate are so used to getting their way and harry and Meghan bearing the brunt of it, that they are probable not used to being put in their place. I think they thought it would be better if all four of them were seated maybe as a way to not show favouritism and show some equality. We all know the Cambridge’s hate equality and we’re looking forward to walking that procession with their smug faces whilst Meghan and Harry were sat down. As for Meghan curtseying to kate??? No, they are technically equals as they are both wives of princes. It’s like harry doesn’t curtsey to William even though he’s higher In line because as they are both princes they are still on the same level. Non of Charles siblings have ever curtseyed to him.
Kate and William I think ruined it with their grimaces. I never saw Meghan curtseying to Kate and/or William. Harry knew the rules so if this was bad then he should have tipped her off. Kate never went out of her way to help Meghan and just enabled what William did with his obvious PR stunts to try to show up his brother.
I always found it intresting that in Harry/Meghan engagment video, Meghan never said Kate was helpful. It was Harry who said….and Catherine…Meghan just agreed and moved on with the interview.
I’m not the only one who read the headline and immediately thought “more than we can say for William” am I?
Happy anniversary, Cain and Unable!
She looked really lovely. And she looks virtually the same now, she has aged really well.
I did love the gown, thought she’d’ve looked a million times “better” with professional makeup though. I remember an interview saying that Bobbie Brown artists were doing Pip and Carole, and even did Kate, but she scrubbed it off and redid hers, saying she “wanted William to be able to recognize her”. I thought her makeup was way too heavy/dark…not her “regular look” as she said she was going for.
Also, while the tiara in itself is lovely, I REALLY hated that thick netting she chose for her veil. It was way to heavy for that delicate tiara.
As for the 2nd dress… I loved the Angora bolero (probably taken off when dancing to show a strapless bustier dress). I remember seeing that diamanté belt, thinking her waist was SO tiny! Also, you could literally see her hipbones jutting in that dress (as she had lost so much weight from dieting and nerves before the wedding).
Still…they both did look happy…Kate more so than William though lol. Wasn’t a lip reader hired for the carriage ride, and they said Kate turned to William and asked, “Are you happy?”… That was kinda weird!
I recall hearing that story and wondering if she had done a makeup test a few weeks before like most brides do. To me it is rare for someone do to better makeup than a professional and Kate has never been great at makeup, especially the raccoon eyeliner look she held onto for years.
I agree with the second guess. It really showed how skinny she is. I really didn’t like that dress at all. I did like her wedding dress.
I loved that angora bolero too! I thought I was the only one!
She looked really lovely. And she looks virtually the same now, she has aged really well.
She has visibly aged since then so has William.
It’s been 9 years and she has had 3 children. She has aged well. Will on the other hand…
Kate looks 45….she didn’t age well. She has Middleton genes, like her father she looks older than her age. Now Carole has aged well and so has the Queen. Princess Anne has aged like her father and William has also inherited Phillips genes….great looks in their youth that disappeared with age. Harry is similiar to Charles horrible looks as a youth but aging so beautifully (maybe genes from the Queen)
The Queen must have inherited aging genes from her father (had he not killed himself so young from smoking). Because the Queen Mother looked like she was already 60 when she was only in her late 30s.
I love her second outfit! So simple yet beautiful.
The second outfit looks like a prom dress.
Agree. It’s so basic.
I loved her wedding gown then and now. I think it’s beautiful and timeless.
Agree, the dress has aged well. Simple dresses do that. It was a good choice, flattering and well tailored.
It is beautiful. Dianna’s looked awful on TV, but I know dressmaker who saw it up close in an exhibition and said it was lovely.
I thought Diana looked very sweet. And the gown was in the style of its time. Like the Queen Mum’s wedding gown was typical for a twenties bride. My favorite gown was the blush pink that the Duchess of Gloucester wore at her thirties wedding. I liked Diana’s “going away” outfit a whole lot better than what Kate wore. Up close, DIana’s gown was gorgeous.
Diana dress has aged really bad, and she was like drowing in it.
Kate has opted for a Grace Kelly style and it was a good choice: the dress is ageless.
I can’t help myself: HOW THIN she was????
But most of all: I think she was wearing too much makup, but Pippa was more orange.
I don’t think Kate’s dress is ageless. It has sort of a sixties “vibe” combined with it being a variation of Kelly’s .
Diana joked later in her life about the volume of her wedding dress. She poked fun at herself. . .
Diana due to stress had symptoms of bulimia after she moved to Buckingham Palace after she got engaged. The dress had to be taken in several times.
You’re angry about a fruit cake? lol
Don’t go to a Sri-Lanakan wedding…the wedding cake is officially a fruit cake (and it’s fantastic)!!
Isn’t that also a British tradition too? I remember learning that during H&M’s wedding because they didn’t do it since Harry doesn’t like fruit cake or something.
I share everyone’s sentiments on the dress – I thought and still think it’s a very beautiful dress that has aged well.
Yes. IMO if a wedding dress generally follows the lines of the body, you can’t go wrong. In the 80s everything got too poofy and big (both hair and clothing) so those wedding dresses
are cringey to look back on.
I didn’t mind the wedding dress, but I hated her hairstyle and that veil. I didn’t like Pippa’s hairstyle at the wedding, either, but her dress was nice. The second dress on Kate was a disaster, though. The bust is terrible, so lumpy and pointy – unforgiveable for a designer to do that to any woman. The angora sweater was kind of a neat idea.
These two have shown us who they are and I will never cut them any slack.
I agree about the hair and the veil. There was too much hair for the way the veil was worn. Plus the tiara was in the smaller side to it made that effect look worse.
I don’t think the sweater could have worked on a dress that style. There was already too much and the sweater makes it busier.
The less said about the makeup the better. She’s calmed down on the eyeliner but it took years.
I hated the second dress too. It did not fit properly in the bust and looked awful. I also think the material of the second dress looked cheaped and/or photographed cheap.
The wedding dress is comparable to Grace Kelly’s wedding dress and it was a return to something more simple. That second dress is awful though. It’s tacky, especially that sweater. It was bad originally and remains bad now. It was a prom type dress and not sophisticated at all, which is odd because at 29 Kate was well into adulthood.
It compares very unfavorably to Grace Kelly’s gown which was sheer elegance. IMO.
It’s my slightly nice comment for the day. At least it wasn’t awful like Diana’s puffy mess. I agree Grace Kelly did it first and better. And no boob cones.
When I first saw the dress I was disappointed I thought it would be unique but I immediately thought not a good copy of Grace Kelly’s gown. Diana’s gown was in with the style of the times. I saw it on exhibit and it is better when seen up close.
Well, Kate is known to copy, copy and copy.
I disagree, Grace Kelly’s dress looks very dated now and overrated imo. Her stunning beauty is timeless however.
I just took another look at Grace Kelly’s dress. To me, the two gowns are similar only in the way that any two gowns using lace, bridal fabric, and a big skirt are similar. Grace had a tiny, exquisite row of buttons and lace up to her chin. (How did Kate miss adding a row of buttons?) Kelly’s waist was more of a cumberbund and the shape of her skirt had a puff to the top of it while Kate’s was more A-lined. Just from looking at the photos, Kelly’s fabrics looked like they knocked it out of the park luxury-wise.
My girlfriend got married in the late 80s in a gown that looked just like Kate’s. She purchased it at a suburban bridal store and that’s all I could see when Kate got out. Just thought with all that money and her pick of creative designers Kate would have come up with a more interesting gown. But then, she’s never been interesting and that was my first clue.
If you take a look at Princess Margaret’s wedding dress, you’ll see the same basic shape as Kate’s, from the bell skirt that has all the “flower” folds , the V neck, etc.
Kate looks like they got married last year. She has barely aged, even after 3 childern.
Will looks like they got married 25 years ago.
Kate has aged, there are photos of her looking stressed and the wedding was almost 9 years ago. She did not stay the same. Unfortunately, she has the same hairstyle and wears those headbands which make her look older.
I think it’s fair to say she barely aged. She looks great.
Objectively Kate has aged and her use of botox would confirm that she doesn’t look like she did nine years ago without intervention. Everyone ages and pretending Kate has not is ridiculous.
Of course she’s aged, everyone does, but she’s aged well.
Lol. I don’t know why comments are claiming that Kate “hasn’t aged a day” when that is so patently false. Stop looking at the photoshopped images that are routinely put out and it’s obvious she’s aged just as poorly as William.
lol or you could accept that people have different opinions? No one is saying Kate has literally not aged, they are trying to say she as aged well (in their opinion).
I don’t know why people saying she has aged well or barely bothers people. It’s been 11 years of course she’s aged we all have. But she looks great still and if people think she hasn’t aged poorly or very much why would that bother anyone.
Lucia she doesnt age well. Almost all her photos are with heavy photoshoped. Even her mom looks better than Kate. Sorry she doesnt age well. If you dont believe in this site there are many photo of Kate from 2020 without photoshopped. She and pippa doesnt age well . But carole looks very good. Like Kate Pippa was heavily photoshopped.
https://mobile.twitter.com/marhobby2007/status/1207063046000185347
https://www.celebitchy.com/654830/dm_is_duchess_kate_is_singlehandedly_carrying_the_royal_family_lol/
In the first photo she was photoshopped and in the second one in the farm she is not that’s her original face.
There is no wrong with aging but denying them is worst.
When you live on botox at 38 you haven’t aged well. There is nothing wrong with aging, but it is factually incorrect to claim someone has aged well when they rely heavily on cosmetic enhancements, especially before the age of 40. Aging well means not having to put a lot of effort into your looks. Not using every procedure under the sun. That is the opposite of aging well.
These pictures stir something in me because I was so excited for this wedding, I took the day off and got up early to watch it. It was so worth it at the time–it was only later that their behavior just ruined them for me.
And you’re absolutely right-this marriage will be as long as William wants it to be. Period.
I think they’ll stay married.
Her makeup was so bad, your wedding day is really not the day to do your own makeup if you can help it. I remember watching it live because I had that day off and I’d come down with some sort of bug that had me laid out on the couch for 2 days (I only ever get sick on days I already have off fml), it gave me something to watch for a solid few hours. I also remember thinking that the service was super boring even for a church wedding, and not liking the way that her veil sat with her tiara.
I thought it was weird that she did her own makeup. Like it was an attempt to show how “normal” she was but I don’t think having a makeup artist for your wedding means you’re super fancy or anything. I had my makeup professionally done and I definitely did not have a wedding televised to billions, lol. I didn’t hate her makeup, I just think that a professional could have made it look so much better.
The eyeliner was terrible. So was that awful blush. . .
People who think they’ll get divorced are delusional imo. Kate put in too much work to leave. And Will is not about to divorce her cause who else would put up with his shit? He settled cause he couldn’t find someone else for the job in the first place.
Kate would not want to leave she waited a long time for the proposal and even put on a show at clubs to win him back. I think if she didn’t she would have had the disapproval of her own family. I think he settled because the ladies he wanted to date said no. The only way they would break up is if William found someone else he would be willing to leave his wife for.
I agree. This is just like a traditional royal marriage. He couldn’t find anyone who wanted the job of queen. Kate really wants to be queen. She’ll put up with everything just to be queen eventually. William will put up with her because she makes him look like a family man, as long as he doesn’t get caught trimming the rose bushes.
It was not only the royal life that drove away all the potential women that William tried to court, but also his behavior. I say this because professionally accomplished women like Letizia, Malthilde, Maxima have accepted to married into of the monarchies. While William showed us over time, that he was an arrogant, petulant, mean, lazy person subject to farious tantrums which led him to throw people under the bus in his place to appear to had good apparence. You’re addeding to this a wandering eyes and a dysfunctional family. It’s perfertly normal that Willam had never find anyone who wants to endure his shit.
Agreed. William and Kate have far more to lose by divorcing compared to staying together. They’ll just have or continue to have separate lives like some (if not most) of the family members as well as the British Aristocracy
Gosh her waistline…
Her dress was a ripoff of Grace Kelly’s wedding dress. I still hate the pointy bust and wish she took more risk than just sticking to lace.
I agree with you Kaiser that this union will last until William finds a more willing substitute! Keenkate has no power and she’s certainly is no way near Diana’s popularity
Diana took a risk at the dress was a disaster.
I hated Diana’s wedding dress too. However, I really liked Sarah Ferguson’s wedding dress in that Sarah really looked her best on her wedding day.
I don’t think it was a disaster. I think it was not a risk, this is the type of gown worn in the eighties. I liked it better than what Kate wore. At the time of the wedding, the dress was popular in style. I saw it up close at an exhibit and I thought it was a really nice design. Diana also did not have the “high hair” of the eighties, it was a simple cut nicely styled.
“this is the type of gown worn in the eighties”
Maybe AFTER her wedding. It certainly wasn’t a fashionable type of dress before (as any 1981 bridal catalogue or old wedding photos will show). As a young teenager at the time, I was shocked by it, and actually embarrassed for Diana. According to reliable sources, Diana herself insisted on having (her idea of) a “princessy” dress, with all the bells and whistles.
Dynasty was on at that point. I remember the puffed sleeves and high hair worn by Linda Evans and Joan Collins. This was the fashion of the time Dallas was on and I remember Linda Gray’s puffy sleeves on the show. I was not startled because this was the fashions on the TV shows. I liked the gown she wore. I had a totally different reaction. Though the designers did not figure on it getting wrinkled but it was smoothed out before she walked down the aisle. Also, I think most were concerned for her father who was determined to walk down the aisle after he had had a serious stroke. It was touching to watch father and daughter walk down the aisle and Diana supporting him and he supporting her.
I also loved Sarah Ferguson’s wedding look. She was at her prettiest that day and her gown was beautiful. Plus they both looked truly happy to be marrying each other.
One of my favorite royal-adjacent wedding looks was Victoria Lockwood’s medieval tapestry/fur getup for her marriage to Diana’s brother Charles. Although that union was doomed too.
Ironically though Fergie had a nice wedding gown she embraced the Big Hair and huge shoulders after the wedding.
Kate looked beautiful especially when she had the veil on. But did think Pippa’s simple look (not her ass) stole the show. Well played Middletons.
Pippa’s dress was GORGEOUS. Simple, exquisitely tailored to her, and I loved the draped neckline. I usually hate cap sleeves, but she has perfectly toned arms so it worked.
I have always liked Kate’s wedding gown. I do think the bodice was a little too “pointy” but the design was beautiful on her and the lace was gorgeous. I thought the lace shoes were a bit of overkill but whatever. The gown looked stunning for the walk up the aisle, which was its main purpose. I really liked her hair as well but I do think she went a little heavy with the eyeliner, but again, whatever, overall she looked really good IMO.
I did not like her evening reception gown. Again with the pointy bodice, and I hated that fur jacket she wore. The belt was okay. Those elements date the gown though when it could have been a lovely simple gown with a pretty necklace or something. And her hair did not look great. It was kind of weird to me that she so completely nailed the daytime look and the reception look was not great.
I saw a clip a few weeks/months ago on twitter that I have never seen before of the four of them leaving BP for Clarence house and it was super awkward. William walked in front with Charles and got in the car and just completely left Kate on her own. Contrast that with Harry clutching Meghan’s hand and helping her into the car and its a stark contrast.
I’m in camp “I doubt there will be a divorce but if there is, it will be William’s choice.” Kate knew what she signed up for and honestly, I don’t think she’s that unhappy in general. I just think she and William live separate lives at this point.
Also no sensible woman will put up with open marraige. Queen did it with Philip, kate is willing to do it. Lol they will not divorce , where will william find a wife who will stay marry to him when he openly cheated on you and wont love you. Keen Kate is there for tiara and title queen consort. But I dont think this is healthy marriage and what kind of message that send to their children. William saw how Charles treat diana and he is doing the same for kate. This is toxic dynamic, I dont agree when her stan paint that she loves him and willing to put that . Lol no self respect and loving woman cant stand that her hubby loves someone else and being physical with someone else. Being physical means you broke the intimacy between married couple . There is no love there. It’s a mutual agreement for their kids and their benefits. I also when keen Kate stan says she is like diana, lol diana cant stand Charles love someone else. That’s why she left him, all those affair she has to make Charles jealous. I remember one of the journalists said like few weeks or months before diana death, he asked what you will do when Charles beg you take him back. Diana said I will take him back. That’s love and she left Charles and camilla after her divorce to get her own thing. Meghan is like that. Queen and Kate are same they please their hubby at all cost. I can understand queen though because of era how she was brought. But I will not pass Kate for not standing up for herself. This is 21 century we dont have put with men . Our mental health is important. Mental health wise also I dont think she is in good place with hubby cheating it will drain the enegry and health. But I’m not sorry for her the way she participated in smear campaign of Sussex when harry stand up for her in that family. Whenever she is in public crowd , harry will crack a joke to ease her but she showed her ass to harry and Sussex. Karma is a bitch .
Diana was done with Charles ca. 1989. She did not want him back towards the end of her life, she was done with him and I doubt she told anybody this. She tried but knew it was a lost cause after she confronted Camilla (she told Camilla she wanted her husband). DIana did not trust Charles in her last years, she had KP checked out for recording devices and signs of her phone being tapped. She was savvy enough not to be a masochist and take him back or even want to. In 1991 the QUeen wanted a “second honeymoon” cruise to keep up appearances so she sent Charles Diana and the children out on a yacht. Wharfe who was there mentioned Diana was mostly avoiding Charles and Charles was on the phone with Camilla. Diana was in love with Khan and I don’t think she stopped loving him. I think Diana
was done with Charles when he told her he wanted no more children and did not want a reconciliation. Her confrontation with Camilla was the icing on the cake. Kate depends totally on William and I think if he dropped her her family would side with him not her. She will have to put up and shut up William did not hesitate to humiliate her when he broke up with her over the phone.
I just googled the clip of them going to their reception. WOW….such a difference compared to Harry and Meghan off heading to theirs. Like you said, Will literally walks ahead of Kate, chatting with his dad and then heads straight to the car. Only remembers to look back to see where Kate is (chatting to someone) before getting in. It’s like they are friends heading for a night out rather than a newly married couple in love…awkward. If that’s how they were on their wedding day, you can’t convince me that they are still a loved-up “pigeon couple” nearly 10 years later.
I have no love for either of them but they’d already had what, a decade under their belts together by the time they got married? Bit different to Harry and Meghan who were still fairly new.
Wills and Kate have been a couple for around 20 years by now, they’re probably pretty comfortable with their arrangement whatever it is. I don’t think anything will happen unless he finds someone he likes better who won’t settle for being the side piece.
This excuse of them being together for a while as to why william generally ignores Kate doesn’t track. William just doesn’t care to pay attention to Kate or be courteous to her. Men who care about their spouse don’t just stop doing it after a certain while. Look at Charles and Camilla, hell even when he was with Diana before things went poorly. Charles will pay attention to his spouse even with so called protocol. Other husbands do the same.
William is just a self centred rude man and he’s gotten away with it for years because Kate doesn’t push back. It’s really obvious when he ignores her when she’s visibly pregnant. Most men would generally watch out for their heavily pregnant wife as they get off planes, etc, but William could not be bothered to check. This goes beyond not wanting to hold hands in public or PDA. It’s common courtesy, something William does not ever show to his wife.
This was a good wedding. The dress still holds up. And yes they have both aged: that crap just happens with 3 kids!
Four hundred grand plus for a gown that had nothing interesting about it except making me wonder if they pranked Kate with those cone boobs. Now Pippa’s gown was lovely and looked expensive, despite all the crass commenting at the time about her rear end.
I was spoiled by Diana’s wedding, Yes, her gown is not in style now but in the context of the time period it was delightful. The Emmanuels drew and constructed a gown that screamed fairy tale princess and, except for all the wrinkles disembarking from the carriage, it delivered. Plus, Diana was so fresh and beautiful and just oozed charm walking up that aisle.
$400k for a dress? That is grotesque. Also too much hair.
It’s more than most people save in their lifetimes and in a lot of places could by a house. It is grotesque. Excessive wealth is disgusting.
Her wedding gown was amazing. The reception dress with the fuzzy bolero was trash.
I remember a closeup of her hand when her dad began to walk with her down the aisle, and she was shaking like a leaf.
The wedding dress was definitely a rip off of Grace Kelly’s (designed by Edith Head, I believe) and someone needs to explain to me how you can put $430k in a garment. The lace above the boob cones wasn’t symmetrical which annoyed me until I read that it was made at the Royal College of Embroidery. I hope they got some of Carole’s money for the effort.
The evening dress, also with boob cones, looked like it was based on a 1950s Simplicity or McCall’s dress pattern.
Not at fan of Kate but I loved her wedding dress. My favorite Royal Wedding dress will always be Princess Grace. Within the British Royal Family; Margaret and Anne’s were my favorites
I never liked the bust and general upper half of the dress. Beyond the pointy look others mentioned, I’ve always thought the particular cut of the bust + the lace was unflattering. It broadens her shoulders. I think the bust needed to be another half-inch to an inch higher to fix that. As for the party dress…it looked like an outfit for a Barbie doll. Just childish and tacky.
I always thought the “party dress” looked as if it came from her parents’ Party Pieces mail order catalog.
The Mr. and I got married April 29th, 1978 so 42 years coming up for us. Kate and William will stay together and Kate was really tiny back then too.
June 24, 1978 for us. Can’t believe it.
Unpopular opinion Princess Diana’s wedding dress was hideous.
It was too much. She was tall, young and beautiful so she somewhat carried it off, but it was that 80s poufy overkill that looks dated.
She kept her hair in a simple cut nicely done. Not the poufy hair.
Yes, she didn’t have poufy hair thank goodness.
It was fashionable for it’s time I suppose but it’s aged terrible – along with most of the 80s fashion
I don’t think it’s an “unpopular” opinion at all.
I was a young teenager at the time, and I was appalled when I saw that dress. I still am.
Apparently, Diana herself insisted on having “everything” – puffy, lacy, blingy, you name it – so they humoured her. It was most definitely NOT a fashionable dress at the time.
Diana I think gave some leeway to those designers. I read she based some of the style on a gown worn by one of her ancestors in a portrait. I was not appalled, it was appropriate for the wedding of the eighties. I recall favorable reaction to the gown, though there was a problem of it getting smoothed out after she left the carriage. Diana really did not design it the fashion designers did. I liked the dress which may be an unpopular opinion.
I hated Diana’s dress. It was so ugly.
Ugly is not a word I would use for Diana’s dress. It was beautiful. And Diana was barely out of her teens so I am cutting her some slack. Kate should have known better, hers was boring IMO.
that is not unpopular- i think it is fair to say that Diana’s dress is up there as one of the worst dresses ever designed. It has zero redeeming qualities.
Diana’s dress was so very 80s and just overwhelming. It had some ok elements and definitely a throwback to Queen Victoria. Katie’s dress was really pretty and has Grace Kelley vibes. Didn’t like I personally don’t like lace but thought it suited her. The after party dress and the fuzzy sweater though were look too prom like and that belt is tacky. I liked Meghan’s dress as well. I know a lot if people thought it was too plain but loved the look and fabric, and suited her. I thought the fit was fine as well. Loved her after party Stella McCartney dress. Agree with Kaiser that the Cambridges are fine marriage wise and aren’t going anywhere. Still think they are shirking and shady but the British public get what they get from them and it is what it is.
Diana’s dress was Anne of Green Gables dream dress with big puffy sleeves.
Haha. It really was the full puffy sleeves wasn’t it.
Oh god, that dress was so creased and wrinkled before she even walked down the aisle. The designers should have known she’d have to ride in the carriage. They expressed “horror” at how the dress was wrinkled as she stepped out. They were freaking fashion designers and they didn’t know the taffeta would wrinkle after she was stuffed into that buggy with her drunk dad?
As one of the few people I know who had sleeves on their wedding dress one of the things I always appreciated about Kate’s dress (and royal wedding dresses in general) was that she had sleeves! I’m not a fan of lace though, so I’m biased against it for that. Eugenie had my favourite recent wedding dress.
I agree that they’re not going to divorce though. Kate will never ever leave William and I don’t think William would give up the stability that the marriage gives him. Even if an affair was made public properly or William had a lovechild or they ended up living completely separate lives, they wouldn’t split.
Agree. I think they are already living a separate lives. There are many rumors that William has love child with jecca. Not sure.
Kate will never leave him ever, but it won’t be her choice if they ever split. I think a divorce is a possibility. Kate is so threatened by any woman that comes into their orbit, because she knows all it takes is one of them to steal his heart and she’s done. If she was 100% sure he was NEVER going to divorce her, she would probably be more secure in herself but her actions say otherwise, she knows she’s on shaky ground. I think they definitely live separate lives and are more ships that pass in the night, they most likely have relationships with other people, but that kind of lifestyle can only go on for so long. I wouldn’t be surprised if he discussed with rose the about her feeling regarding taking on the job. I just have this feeling that William definitely thinks about how he would go about it should he decide to pull the plug. He just doesn’t have the balls to do it.
I love the bottom half of Kate’s dress. The thick silk/satin material looks so luxurious, especially in the picture with the kids where it is arranged onto her floor around her.
I think the top half of the dress is “meh.”
I did think Pippa looked incredibly beautiful at the wedding.
Her eyeliner gave me such horrific night terrors lmao
I will never forgive this wedding for making Pippa happen. Ever.
After the wedding the “rumors” of a Harry/Pippa romance abounded. I doubt there was any romance.
Carole worked very hard to keep that rumour going.
Harry even issued a statement denying it ( which is rare for him) I think it proves that he isn’t crazy about the Middleton’s. They weren’t even invited to his evening reception.
Her wedding dress was gorgeous still is. FIt her perfect and was classic and timeless. She really nailed it.
I remember her wedding day a group of friends and I went to an English pub downtown that was having a celebration it was like 3 am we had to get there then I had to work a full day. But it was so fun.
I also love the tiara the Queen lent her.
I remember thinking “meh” when we finally saw the dress, veil and hair. The details on the dress didn’t read on TV, the makeup was awful and the cone boobs were the worst. Grace Kelly’s dress wasn’t what I thought of, but Margaret’s.
I didn’t like the dress either. It looked like a wedding dress from the 1970s. However, I did like Pippa’s dress. After the wedding there was more interest in what Pippa wore than Kate’s dated wedding dress. It’s a shame that the bridesmaid overshadowed the bride on her day.
The boob darts were awful on both dresses. I wasn’t a fan of either dress but she looked happy and comfortable in them so I guess that’s all that really matters…
I’d like to see photos from 9 years ago of all you terrible people saying with contempt that she’s aged. Yeah, time has passed, we have all aged. You are being so hateful over something we have no control over. You’re being hateful toward TIME, you psychos. Are you maybe really mad at what time has done to YOUR face? Calm the eff down, Jesus.
Unless Kate went to the Fountain of Youth, she would look older. Fact of life.
I think you are the one to calm down. Everyone hear is having the discussion.
Stop telling Jesus to calm the eff down.
@Lizzie, I mentally pictured God or Saint Peter or whoever saying, “Damn, Jesus, chill the f out” and laughed out loud!
I’m a couple years older than Kate, no I don’t have those deep forehead wrinkles and jowls yet. A lot of 38 years old look like 33 years old theres really not that stark difference unless you smoke.
Just to give you an idea, Tina Dalahey that did that interview is 4 years older than Kate, she doesn’t have jowls and deep forehead lines yet, so she hasn’t aged well but that’s okay some people don’t, it’s all just vanity anyway.
The tailoring of her wedding dress was absolutely impeccable and I love that she chose McQueen. It was a gorgeous ceremony 💖👑
Query: Is it really “tailoring” with so much padding?
Former bridal consultant here, I think Kate’s dress looked great on her. While I would’ve made those bust darts softer, it still looks great after all that time. While I wish she had her make up professionally done, it’s a small point really. It’s beautiful-all of it.
As for Diana’s dress, it was made out of silk taffeta, a fabric I hate because it wrinkles so very badly, but hey, it was the 80’s.
In no way did the Middletons actually pay $434,000 for Kate’s wedding dress.
Dont worry Middleton have uncle Gary shady money.
I remember this wedding very clearly. I got married the following day on April 30 and I remember watching the wedding with my bridesmaids while sipping champagne in a hotel were we lodged. I wish Kate and William many more married years of love and friendship.
Almost a decade already!? Her wedding dress does not look dated and could still be worn by brides today.
I thought it was a poor imitation of Grace Kelly’s dress. The awkward neckline ruined it for me.
The neckline was worse with her hair down.
Yes and grace kelly make up make everything look good and classic. It is one of the iconic dress of all time.
I woke up at 3 am to watch, and remember loving the whole dang thing. I liked her actual wedding dress better than her reception one. But I loved watching their wedding so much.
They’ve disappointed me so much since then, really since Meghan came on the scene. Can’t stand them anymore. Team Sussex.
Me too. I was really crazy over their wedding. Even upto archie birth I like them. But they show their ass in constant leak , flight stunt etc.. team sussex all the way.
Yep me too, I absolutely loved the wedding and was so excited and loved them as a couple. I literally wanted to have a street party like in the olden days. I was really looking forward to seeing what she would bring to the royal family and in those years between the wedding and before Meghan, I always wandered why she never really popped, if that makes sense, I kept waiting for her to be amazing.
But since Meghan came William and Kate really showed who they are. It’s such a disappointment cos it didn’t need to be that way. They will always be a couple of petty, jealousy, scheming losers in my eyes now.
One of the things that really makes me respect Meghan is that even through all of this she has still never leaked anything about W+K or had any sources trash them.
Count me among you all. I woke up at 4 to watch the wedding and I was SO FREAKING EXCITED. I loved what she wore (in general, not just for the wedding), I was so excited over their Canada tour, I visited What Kate Wore about 20 times a day, etc.
Then there was a point when I realized she had been married for years and had done nothing worthwhile with her time, and I couldn’t figure out the excessive fawning. Its how I found this site, LOL.
I never paid too much attention to the royals esp after Diana’s death. I remember having to go over to my friend’s house with my daughter to watch the wedding as we were about to move and only had a small telly, just as in 1981 having to go to my Mum’s friend’s house as our telly broke down! Funny as these incidents happened when both daughter and me were 11!
Anyway, I remember being so happy for William, I thought he had found happiness and how sad it was that he’s mother wasn’t there to see it, I had no idea about his and Kate’s relationship history. I thought she looked beautiful and the wedding was very English and fitting. I really wished them well.
However, my ex who is U, had a few friends that seemed to dislike Kate passionately which I didn’t understand as I thought she did nothing wrong, but they called her all sorts of names social climber, gold digger, etc. It wasn’t until later that I read how Carol Middleton made it all happen and then when Meghan came on the scene I really took an interest as she was v different to other royal brides, but looking at the comments on the daily mail sickened me and how everyone started saying how meghan ‘made them appreciate Kate’, so I found this site and oh how it has been insightful, I have learned so much about our royal family here despite being a Brit, I’ve had no idea about William and Kate’s relationship background or other royal gossip.
I knew there was never going to be a friendship between Meg and Kate as the look on her face when asked about Harry and Meghan’s engagement said it all! Since then she has not let me down and has given me more and more reason to dislike her and her petulant husband! Waste of time watching that wedding!!!
He looks so unimpressed in that carriage loooool
Enjoy Willieleaks!
It is no wonder that Kate had to ask William, in the carriage, if he was “happy.” Lol
I remember watching the wedding and just thinking how detached William looked. The wedding had all the pomp and ceremony required of a royal wedding, but for a couple who were billed as modern, it didn’t have much intimacy. I think Kate’s dress and William’s uniform hold up well and the photos look great. Didn’t like the make up or how the tiara looked with the veil. Thought the make up was too harsh. Looks good at a distance, but close up makes Kate’s face look to hard. Watching the carriage ride afterwards made me sad. They had just gotten married and William is sitting there with his hands clenched together. I do think they love each other, just are not in love with each other and this has been a business arrangement from the get go. They both went into this knowing the monarchy will not tolerate another Charles and Diana. I think they both got what they wanted. William can come and go as he pleases and Kate has her status, children and the country pile she always wanted.
I am all for making it work in the face of cheating—but so publicly and humiliatingly I just cannot stand for. She appears greedy in my eyes to keep with a certain lifestyle rather than have some self worth.
I so clearly remember watching their wedding. It was my last year of high school and I took off and spent the day watching the entire day instead of writing a paper I really needed to finish, lol.
I enjoyed Meg and Harry’s more down-to-earth wedding far more, but yes. This was lovely, and Kate’s dress is still beautiful to me.
I was working for the US office of a British law firm when W&K got married; we had a viewing party for select clients so the ceremony was on several screens throughout the office. I thought Kate looked nice, although I would have chosen a softer chest and different veil. I didn’t realize then that she was showing her preferred style: expensive clothes that looked moderately priced (or even cheap) and individual elements that are fine separately but didn’t quite fit together. The exhibit is creepy!
Now, every time I see pictures of the wedding, I can’t help thinking of this clip from Family Guy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85CnpESsBmc
“expensive clothes that look cheap”. Exactly. Her whole look was very David’s Bridal. Fine for everyday folks but yeah.
She dieted down to nothing for her wedding, bone thin. And has remained bone thin. Maybe that’s what the stans are thinking when they say she hasn’t aged. I thought her hair, makeup, and gown were fine and have held up well. But er reception look was very dated back in 2011 and looks even worse now. That dress and the fur shrug looked like something Britney Spears would have worn to the Oscars in 2001 or something.
I also remember this date so well…because it was also my wedding day! When I was nervous before walking down the aisle (I hate being center of attention), my pep talk to myself was, “If that B can get married in front of millions of people around the world, you can do it in front of like 70 people in a church.”
Funny thing about the “Ghost Bride”, macabre theme – it’s 100% in line with Alexander McQueen himself. Doubt that was intentional, but as a fashion fan of him, I never thought of it that way until today’s post. He’d have wanted to go darker, I bet!
Oh no, how time flies! I thought it was like 5-6 years ago maximum. I wasn’t the biggest fan I wanted something OOMPH but I believe it’s a timeless look, classy. I noticed her make up improved a bit for the balcony photo ups, less orange and overall better. She was touched up. Overall for people in their position it was very appropriate and nice. She was visibly nervous and he comforted her in church. What a nightmare to have the biggest wedding of the century.
We always have royal wedding parties in my family so we were up early to watch this one. The big debate about Kate’s style that day was between my sister and myself, who argued the whole time about the length of Kate’s train. Over the years I’ve come to agree with my sister. The train was too short for the occasion and the Abbey. Watching live I said she may have left it so short as a show of modesty, but my sister griped that it was a false modesty coming from a future Queen. The dress was otherwise very pretty to me but not remarkable (and would have benefited, in retrospect, from a stately train).
My favorite memories from the TV live feed were wondering if people could see over the trees and loving the selection of music for the bride’s processional, the choral “I Was Glad.” Now THAT was grand.
I say the same thing I said 9 years ago.
It’s classic (it looks like every other dress in a bridal shop), well tailored (honestly if SB hadn’t put out a well tailored dress under McQueen name, even for a royal, I think Lee wold have come back from the grave), boring AF and EXACTLY what I thought she would wear.
I enjoyed the extra bank holiday and many of us Londoners left the city and went on vacation. I went to Norway and had a blast at a lake. That’s all I remember of that time.
I thought Kate’s dress was dull, dull, dull. But I also think it was supposed to be. I think everything about that wedding, dress included, was planned on purpose to show that middle class Middletons knew whats what, and weren’t going to let the side down by having anything outlandish which might embarras the RF or cause anyone to sneer. So it was all purposely as boring and conventional and personality-less as can be. The only thing that was a bit different was Pippa’s dress, which I thought was too tight, but had a lovely style, and suited her. I thought of Grace Kelly’s dress too, which stands to reason, as it had a similar job to do, present a Hollywood actress and turn her into a pure, princess bride, which Edith Head did to perfection, and still managed to be original and elegant. As for comparisons with Diana’s dress- I don’t think its so much about the dress as what it says about the woman. Diana’s dress was a mad extravaganza of ruffles, lace and bows, but as she rode in that carriage, walked up those stairs with that train flowing behind her, and peeped from under her veil that glimmered and shone, the way she was dressed said this was a once in a lifetime dress, for a once in a lifetime princess. Absolutely everything a fairytale princess should have been. Mysterious, beautiful, untouchable. Of course, then real life has to be lived afterwards, and Diana was a real person, not a fairytale character. But she tapped into all sorts of deep archetypes in the national psyche that day. The dress was just a dress.
Correction:not Edith Head, Helen Rose. Edith Head dressed her in To Catch a Thief and Rear Window.
As much as I find royalty kind of ridiculous and kind of unsupportable I love a royal wedding. I can live with my inconsistency.
Kate is in love with William – that is clear. I’ve never really got the feeling it is completely reciprocated. William married with his head and not his heart. I think the big attraction to Kate is her stable family background – with Kate he can create the sort of loving and stable family life he lacked as a child. He loves her but he’s not in love with her.
I remember the wedding was on a Friday night here in Australia which was perfect. So many women I worked with at the time stated they were staying in to watch it.
I remember William especially seemed to have a smirk on his face a lot, like he thought it was all a bit silly (the pomp and ceremony). And the music was a bit of a dirge as well. Apparently Prince Charles helped them select it and I thought “bloody hell, keep Prince Charles away from the CDs at parties!”. Obviously now I would say keep Prince Charles away from Spotify at parties.
As for the dress it was said that Kate had a hand in designing it. Like most brides do but because she’s royal it is stated as if it is evidence of special qualities. She most likely said she liked the skirt of one dress and the top of another and it was put together. The skirt of the dress is beautiful but the top lets it down. I just don’t like florally lace.
Agreed—it was no love match for William, just a she will fall in line and will do. This is why he HATED Meghan and the love match for Harry—he deeply wishes he could have found a Meghan who accepted him and rocked his world.
@andrea except William doesn’t seem like the type to really want to be with anyone. Kate is no great wonderful person but let’s not incorrectly fault her for not being “special” enough. That’s unfairly pitting her against Meghan in the worst way: implying that they’re only here to please men and that Kate is failing at that directive. It’s very “not like other girls” which is steeped in internalized misogyny. Maybe he thinks he settled but if he had been given the choice I don’t think he would have married at all. He’s a cheating lazy jerk and he married someone who lets him cheat and be lazy.
The reasons he objected to Harry marrying Meghan are multiple: she’s black. She’s American. She has a mind of her own. She encouraged Harry to challenge the status quo which meant Harry wasn’t going to put up with his brother treating him like the third wheel who made him and his wife look like they’re actually productive. Did I mention she’s black?
I didn’t read that as blaming Kate but stating that William was jealous of his brother finding a love match when he didn’t. Which I do think plays into a lot of the issues between the brothers. William also doesn’t seem to like women who have independent thoughts and if Kate does, she keeps them to herself.
I do think Kate should have been more welcoming to her sister in law though and her behaviour at the commonwealth service was inexcusable and can’t be blamed on William since he managed to be polite.
I always liked her gown. I still do. But it didn’t look like something that cost $434,000.
I can’t believe I stayed up all night to watch this wedding (east coast U.S.) I remember being asked if I stayed up/got up way too early for Harry and Meghan’s wedding. Hell naw. I will never do that to myself again. Sleep is precious.
– Totally agree comment no.47!
– Also, Kaiser, I’ve read it’s royal tradition the bride’s family pays for the dress.
– What about a special necklace with the dress? Anyone agree? No one mentioned it…
– And finally, I wonder, I think Kate just wants to be married to William as he’s royalty, but doesn’t necessarily want the ‘Queen Consort’ title per se. Like, what’s so good about that? I don’t get it, especially since ‘King’ will likely just be a superficial type of thing by then anyway with reduced powers. Am I missing something? Especially since she only does minimum royal work now anyway. Does anyone really care about the whole ‘QC’ thing? Once the Queen passes, I think the words ‘King’ and ‘Queen will automatically have less meaning.
ps the commentators on here are very articulate, well written with a great vocab and knowledge! Should be paid royal reporters.
Will their children go to boarding school?
This wedding look definitely aged well. I always thought she looked lovely.
Her reception gown though. Strong 1997 prom vibes. Yikes. 😂
Also, RE: fruitcake. That’s a traditional royal wedding thing for the BRF. Gross? Yes. But they all did it. Charles did it TWICE 😂 Meghan and Harry are the only ones who didn’t have a fruitcake or some close approximation/variation.