Princess Diana, Kate Middleton and beyond: Royal wedding dresses through the years

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Thursday, May 10, 2018
PHOTOS: Royal wedding dresses through the years
From the puffy sleeves of Princess Diana's dress to Kate Middleton's elegant satin and lace gown, here's a look at what several brides wore during their royal weddings.

When Meghan Markle walks down the aisle to marry Prince Harry on May 19, she's bound to look fabulous.

While royal wedding fans wait to see her look, take a stroll down royal wedding memory lane with these iconic brides.

Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (later known as the "Queen Mother")

Married: King George VI

Date: April 26, 1923

About the dress: Madame Elizabeth Handley-Seymour designed the dress, which Vogue described as "silver lamé embroidered with seed pearls suggesting a medieval Italian robe."

Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II)

Married: Prince Philip

Date: November 20, 1947

About the dress: The current queen wore a long tulle veil and a satin embroidered dress designed by Norman Hartnell. Hartnell cited the Botticelli Renaissance painting "Primavera" as his inspiration, according to Vogue.

Princess Margaret

Married: Antony Armstrong Jones

Date: May 6, 1960

About the dress: Though she had the same designer as her sister Elizabeth II, Margaret's dress was made of "acres of masterfully worked white organza with no embellishment at all," according to Vogue.

Anne, the Princess Royal

Married: Captain Mark Phillips

Date: Nov. 14, 1973

About the dress: For her wedding, the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II turned to designer Maureen Baker. The dress had hanging sleeves and embroidery of pearl trelliswork.

Lady Diana Spencer (later Diana, Princess of Wales)

Married: Prince Charles

Date: July 29, 1981

About the dress: The "People's Princess" wore a Victorian wedding dress with layers of silk taffeta, puffy sleeves and a 25-foot train, designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel. Vogue wrote that at the time the look "fulfilled the public fantasy of a fairy-tale princess."

Sarah Ferguson

Married: Prince Andrew

Date: July 23, 1986

About the dress: True to the decade, her ivory silk gown, designed by Lindka Cierach, featured padded shoulders. She also had a scooped neck and beading adorning the bodice.

Kate Middleton (now Kate, Duchess of Cambridge)

Married: Prince William

Date: April 29, 2011

About the dress: Her satin and lace gown, designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, is estimated to have cost more then $400,000. Marie Claire wrote that the look was so popular that it has been "copied by too many fashion brands to count."

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