Royal Wedding Dresses: Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall

It was one of the most talked about royal weddings in decades. When  Camilla Parker-Bowles and Charles, Prince of Wales on April 9^th 2005 in Windsor, millions were watching. And they saw a royal bride with not one but two different wedding outfits for her big day. As the couple mark their fifteenth wedding anniversary, Royal Central looks back at the wedding gowns of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

Camilla’s double wedding wardrobe was as much necessity as choice. She and Prince Charles had two ceremonies that day in very different settings. First, the couple were legally married in a civil ceremony which took place at Windsor’s Guildhall. Later they arrived at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, as man and wife, for a service of blessing for their marriage.

For her first wedding ceremony that day, Camilla Parker-Bowles wore cream dress with matching coat. The dress was created from silk chiffon and featured embellishment at the hem in the form of applique disks. The long sleeved basket weave coat was made of silk. Like her second wedding outfit that day it was designed by Anna Valentine and Antonia Robinson. Camilla, famous now for her love of hats, turned to milliner Philip Treacy who created a wide brimmed straw hat with feather detailing for this most talked about of royal brides.

The second bridal outfit, worn by the now Duchess of Cornwall, was chosen to stand out in the setting of St. George’s Chapel. Camilla wore a pale blue full length chiffon gown covered by a long sleeved coat dress which swept out into a small, integrated train at the end.

The coat dress was also pale blue and covered in golden embroidery and embellishments. It was complemented by another Philip Treacy creation, this time the famous spray of gold feathers which the bride wore without a veil and in the place of a tiara.  Camilla carried a small posy of spring flowers for her second wedding ceremony that day.

Fifteen years on, both outfits remain royal wedding classics.