On 14 November 1973, Princess Anne, the only daughter of Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh walked down the aisle at Westminster Abbey in London to wed Mark Phillips, a British Army cavalry officer, and a skilled equestrian and horseman. Not only would this mark the first time one of The Queen’s children got married, but it would mark the first time she was the mother of the bride.
The Queen wore an outfit designed by Norman Hartnell with blue and purple lace draped on the back. The Queen’s hat was very much typical of Her Majesty at the time. Designed by Simone Mirman, the brimless hat was also donned with blue and purple lace and was worn with a matching royal blue princess-line dress and matching coat.
The dress features examples of Hartnell’s precision tailoring and cutting which can be seen in the inset diamond-shaped panels on the dress and coat. It can also be seen on the coat’s diamond-shaped buttons. Hartnell had already designed many of Her Majesty’s most famous outfits including her own wedding gown when she married Prince Philip at the same venue in 1947.
The venue and designer of The Queen’s outfit was not the only connection to the 1947 wedding. The Princess Royal secured her veil with The Queen Mary Fringe Tiara. The tiara was Her Majesty’s “something borrowed” and it actually snapped before she left Buckingham Palace for The Abbey. The court jeweller was standing by in case of emergency and was able to fix the tiara in time. The next time the tiara would be seen in a royal wedding is when Princess Beatrice wed Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in 2020.
As for Her Majesty, the next time one of her children walked down the aisle is 29 July 1981 when her son, Prince Charles wed Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral.
