Meghan Markle was never going to be a traditional bride, and the dress she wore to her wedding proves it.
HIGHLIGHTS
Meghan Markle broke royal tradition by wearing a white wedding dress despite being previously married, which annoyed Queen Elizabeth.
The Queen expected Meghan to wear a different color to show that she isn’t traditionally considered as “pure” due to her previous marriage.
While Meghan broke tradition with her dress, the Queen allowed her to spend Christmas with the Royal Family before she and Prince Harry were married, suggesting some flexibility with traditions.
Royal weddings have long been something of a spectacular occasion. These events are often televised for the whole world to see, with there being lots of TV crews commentating on the event, showing glimpses of who has been invited, what they’re wearing, and most importantly, the demonstration of love between the couple getting married.
However, there are also some very strict traditions that all royal couples are expected to follow when it comes to their wedding day. When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry got married, Meghan broke with royal tradition for one aspect of the wedding that reportedly left Queen Elizabeth feeling royally annoyed.
How Did Meghan Markle And Prince Harry’s Wedding Break From Royal Tradition?
Meghan and Harry’s wedding broke from the tradition from the start, as Meghan was previously married and since divorced prior to meeting Prince Harry, which, despite the marriage between King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla, is practically unheard of in royal circles.
It isn’t strictly royal tradition, but one thing that tends to happen when it comes to weddings is the bride wearing white to show her purity.
Those who have been married previously were expected to not wear white as a show of this, and it was this tradition that was broken at Meghan and Harry’s wedding that got people talking.
What Didn’t Queen Elizabeth Like About Meghan Markle’s Wedding Dress?
It might be a tradition for the bride to wear white at her wedding, but if she has previously been married or has children prior to being married, she is expected to wear a different color to show that she is not traditionally considered as being ‘pure’.
This is certainly what the Queen expected Meghan to do. The Queen reportedly believed that if one had been married before, just like Meghan had, for any wedding they have after that, they shouldn’t be allowed to wear white and should wear another color instead, to signify their previous marriage.
Even Queen Consort Camilla decided to stick to this decision when she got married to the then Prince Charles. This was Camilla’s second wedding and the color she decided to go for on her wedding dress was cream, and then she wore a pale blue dress afterward for the blessing.
However, much to the Queen’s dismay, Meghan decided to go against this tradition and decided to wear a pure white dress. Given that the Queen was always someone who wanted to follow the rules and tradition and Meghan had quite clearly gone against it, it was rumored that this indiscretion caused issues at the Castle.
Many were quick to point out that this was likely a generational thing. After all, the Queen and Meghan were from two completely different generations. The Queen came from one where keeping tradition was always seen to be really important; whereas Meghan’s generation prefers to change tradition and do things their own way.
However, this wasn’t the first time Meghan had broken royal tradition. For example, traditionally at Christmas, it doesn’t matter how long a person has been with one of the royals, unless they are married to them, they are not allowed to spend Christmas with a royal.
But Meghan appeared to be the one exception to this rule. Back in 2017 when Meghan and Harry were still engaged, the Queen decided to make a rare break in tradition and allowed Meghan to spend Christmas with the rest of the Royal Family.
It was during this time that Meghan gifted the Queen a singing hamster for Christmas. This might seem a little odd to give someone, particularly when that someone is the Queen of England, but the royals apparently gift each other funny gifts at Christmas to try and ease the pressure of buying something a bit more expensive each year.
So, while Meghan may have broken a tradition regarding her wedding, given the Queen broke another tradition by allowing Meghan to spend Christmas with the family prior to her and Harry being married, it seems that the Queen must have been somewhat okay with Meghan breaking with tradition to wear the dress that she wanted in front of the entire world.
What Was Special About Meghan Markle’s Wedding Dress?
Meghan wore a Givenchy dress that was designed by Clare Waight Keller and the making of the dress took over 3900 hours to make, and 50 people were working on it.
One of the more special meanings behind Meghan’s dress was kept hidden from the rest of the world. She decided to have some of the fabric from the dress that she wore on her first date with Prince Harry sewn into her wedding dress.
Given that the dress she wore on her first date was blue, this showed that Meghan was still in keeping with tradition, as it’s tradition for the bride to have something new, something old, something borrowed, and something blue at her wedding, and this bit of fabric was her something blue.
