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Prince & Princess of Wales

The extensive process to keep the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress a secret

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Wedding

With the world abuzz and breathless waiting for news of Meghan Markle’s wedding dress, we can certainly recall the days before the wedding of two other favourite royals – the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Most notably, Kate’s wedding dress. Who designed it? What would it look like?

The dress was kept literally under lock and key. One of the dressmakers, Mandy Ewing, has revealed the dress, veil and shoes were locked away behind closed doors with codes that were intermittently changed and no cleaning crews were permitted.

Ewing told Hello!:” “We knew who it was for, but it was very secret — we had net curtains up and cleaners were not allowed into the room and the code on the door was changed.

“The dress was all in the news, but nobody knew who was doing it. When you’re working you just focus on it and try not think about what’s in the news. But it was an exciting event and everybody loved working on it — it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Kate’s iconic dress was designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen. Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, visited the Royal School of Needlework and tried her hand at embroidering. She joked she’d leave it to the experts.

Sarah Burton, the creative director of Alexander McQueen, gave an interview in 2014 to Teen Magazine where she spoke about the responsibility of creating Kate’s dress: “Some people think … that I’m afraid to speak up about the happy experience I had creating the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress, but I can tell you that is nonsense. I have never been a shrinking violet or a person who is ruled by fear,” she said. “I loved making the dress … and we put our hearts into it. I respect the intimate nature of that lovely project and I respect the friendships that were forged during it … An instinctive, intelligent, imaginative young woman’s wish for a beautiful wedding dress — or any kind of dress — is the most natural thing in the world. And I was honoured to pick up the challenge and always will be.”

Since her wedding, Kate has returned to Burton’s designs for tours and events. Burton doesn’t like the spotlight, but she couldn’t hide on the big day: “I had no idea it would be as big as it was,” she recalled. “Only the night before, seeing all the photographers outside the abbey, did I think, ‘Oh, my God. This is massive.’ “

Could we see another royal wedding in the works? Rumours abound, yet nothing has been confirmed or denied.

As always, Royal Central will be in the centre of the madness, working hard to keep you informed of the latest updates and news.

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