It's noon, and the sun shines brightly over Windsor Castle on this mild spring day in May. American actress Meghan Markle is about to film the most beautiful scene of her life: the celebration of her fairytale wedding to a real British prince, Harry Windsor, renamed Duke of Sussex by his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. In St. George's Chapel, from which waft the enchanting fragrance of dozens of Diptyque Tuberose candles placed here and there by the bride herself, 600 guests eagerly await the woman about to unite her destiny with the younger son of Charles and Diana, a perennial favorite of the British public.
Contrary to what Prince Harry would later describe in the Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan, the public didn't come to "judge" in bad faith how "Diana's son" chose to organize his day or with whom he decided to spend his life. On the contrary, the kingdom had been buzzing with excitement for weeks, overjoyed to celebrate a second royal wedding, seven years after Prince William's. A biracial actress was joining the royal family: fresh blood and a touch of modernity that appealed to Her Majesty's subjects and delighted the 150,000 people who had traveled to Windsor Castle.
A timeless wedding dress by Givenchy
At the entrance to the church, accompanied by the traditional pages and bridesmaids, including Prince George and his sister Charlotte, Meghan Markle unveiled her splendid wedding dress by Givenchy, designed by the house's British artistic director, Clare Waight Keller. A simple, boat-neck dress in white silk cady, paired with a 5-meter veil held in place by a diamond tiara loaned by Queen Elizabeth II.
The dress defied all expectations: it wasn't a British fashion house that won the prize, but a French brand. And not just any brand, but Givenchy, the one that collaborated for years with the legendary Audrey Hepburn, herself an actress... As Clare Waight Keller explained at the time, the codes of Hubert de Givenchy's house were respected for this sublime creation: a boat neck, an ivory silk skirt devoid of lace or superfluous embroidery, and a silk organza petticoat. “It is truly an honor and an extraordinary privilege to have had the opportunity to work with Meghan Markle for such a special moment. We wanted to create a timeless dress that emphasizes the legendary codes established by Givenchy throughout its history, while offering modern lines and a simple cut,” she explained.
A sumptuous 5-meter-long veil attached to Meghan Markle’s tiara.
The veil is the most extravagant feature: embroidered with flowers representing the 53 Commonwealth countries, as well as poppies, the flower symbolizing California where Meghan was born, it required thousands of hours of work from the house’s embroiderers. The Duchess of Sussex made a special request to Clare Waight Keller: Meghan Markle had a piece of the blue dress she wore on her first date with Prince Harry sewn inside her veil. The delicate accessory will be carefully lifted by the groom after his fiancĂ©e walks up the aisle on the arm of her father-in-law, Prince Charles, who is visibly moved to be escorting to the altar the woman with whom he immediately connected, thus stepping in at the last minute for Thomas Markle, the bride's embarrassing father, who remained in California, recovering from an illness.
Estimated at 345,000 euros, the dress was entirely paid for by Meghan Markle, and made a lasting impression because of the controversy raised by the Queen of England: Elizabeth II was surprised by the whiteness of the dress, given that Meghan Markle had already been divorced once before... A detail that did not prevent the bride from being cheered by the crowd as she left the castle to head off to a wild party with friends, and to change into another dress, more practical for partying: a Stella McCartney model in immaculate white, with American armholes, revealing the tapered shoulders of the new Duchess of Sussex.
A fairytale that turned sour after Megxit
That perfect sunny day in May is now, for most Britons, nothing more than a fond memory of a time when the Fab Four—William, Kate, Harry, and Meghan—heralded a rejuvenation of the monarchy and a royal alliance that would bring joy and modernity to the royal family. It all crumbled barely two years later, after the Sussexes' Megxit, but the couple formed by Harry and Meghan is holding strong, and their marriage remains, for now, as solid as their love was on that May 19, 2018.
