Leak of wedding dress details ‘caused tears’ for Kate Middleton ahead of ceremony

The dress was designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen

Ellie Abraham
Wednesday 28 April 2021 07:02 BST
Comments
Leak of wedding dress details ‘caused tears’ for Kate Middleton ahead of ceremony

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Prince William and Kate Middleton got married on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey having met whilst studying at St Andrews University and will mark their 10-year anniversary later this week.

But while the wedding was a true spectacle worthy of a fairy tale, behind the scenes the bride-to-be was reportedly in “tears” as details of her wedding dress were released to the press ahead of the big day.

Months of plans and preparation went into the wedding, which was watched by more than two billion people around the world.

Kate wore a gown designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen and details were kept carefully under wraps ahead of the wedding.

But, Burton’s name made it to the press at the time, as an article in The Sunday Times reported: “A fashion source said that the dress will be a combination of Middleton’s own design ideas and Burton’s deep knowledge and understanding of high fashion.”

Now, Royal commentator Katie Nicholl has claimed on Channel 5 documentary Secrets of the Royal Dressmakers, that Kate had been upset that the news got out.

Nicholl said: “Behind the scenes, I think that caused tears at the Palace because Kate had done everything she could to keep the wedding dress a secret.”

Burton also did what she could to keep press attention away by denying any involvement in making the dress until it was officially revealed on the wedding day when Kate emerged at Westminster Abbey.

The English designer attended the wedding and was seen adjusting the bride’s dress just before she walked down the aisle with her father Michael Middleton.

Kate’s veil was crafted at the Royal School of Needlework. Her ivory dress featured a 2.7m train, a satin bodice and hand-cut Chantilly lace sleeves.

A traditional form of lace - Carrickmacross - was used in the making of the gown to represent “something old”, derived from the saying that is said to bring brides good luck on their wedding day.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in