Royals

FIRST PHOTOS: Princess Beatrice wore a gorgeous vintage gown belonging to Queen Elizabeth for her private wedding

The Norman Hartnell gown has a history in the royal family.
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Despite having a sparse guest list, Princess Beatrice’s wedding was never going to be an underwhelming affair.

The British royal, who surprised fans the world over on Friday by marrying her fiance Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in secret at Windsor Castle, has one upped the spontaneous feat by sharing two gorgeous photos from the day’s festivities – and her dress is worth taking serious note of.

The 31-year-old royal married Edoardo, who is known as Edo, in a low key ceremony attended by less than 20 guests on Friday, July 17 after the pair were forced to cancel their original wedding date set for May 29 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Buckingham Palace confirmed The Queen, Prince Philip, and Beatrice’s mother Sarah Ferguson and father Prince Andrew, as well as her sister Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank were all in attendance on the day.

Edo’s four-year-old son Wolfie held the role as best man, and going by the pictures, the quiet affair couldn’t have been any more special.

The Palace have released two images from the pair’s wedding day.

(Benjamin Wheeler / PA)

Princess Beatrice’s wedding dress

In the image above, Beatrice and her new husband were photographed leaving the church following the service in a doorway filled with bright florals.

Of course, one of the first things we couldn’t help but notice was Beatrice’s dress, which was a vintage Norman Hartnell design, on loan from her grandmother The Queen who wore it herself back in 1967 for the State Opening of Parliament.

The dress is made from Peau De Soie taffeta in shades of ivory and is also trimmed with ivory Duchess satin.

Featuring organza sleeves, it is encrusted with diamantés with a geometric checkered bodice.

The stunning design was remodelled and fitted by one of the Queen’s favourite designers, Miss Angela Kelly as well as Mr Stewart Parvin especially for Beatrice’s wedding day.

Beatrice wore a gorgeous Norman Hartnell dress on loan from The Queen.

(Benjamin Wheeler / PA)

Steeped in royal history, Queen wore the design back in 1967 for the State Opening of Parliament.

(Getty)

Princess Beatrice’s wedding tiara

As per royal wedding tradition, Beatrice also wore a special tiara – the Queen Mary diamond fringe tiara, which was also loaned to her by Queen Elizabeth II.

The very special headpiece was previously worn by The Queen on her own wedding day in 1947.

In case you were wondering about its history, the tiara dates back to 1919, when it was made for Queen Mary by Garrard and Co. from a diamond necklace given by Queen Victoria for her own wedding.

So in short, yes, it’s rather special!

If you thought you recognised Beatrice’s tiara, you’d be right – the Queen wore it on her own wedding day back in 1947.

(Getty)

In a second photo, Princess Beatrice and her new husband Edoardo were photographed with the Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh after the ceremony.

Along with loaning her own tiara and dress, the Queen was clearly pleased to be part of her granddaughter’s celebrations.

Later in the day, the Queen Knighted hailed quarantine hero Captain Tom Moore (whose multi-million dollar fundraiser for the NHS by walking laps of his own gardern went viral).

At the special ceremony, she told Tom about the royal wedding she’d attended that morning – just casually…

“My granddaughter got married this morning, both Philip and I managed to get there – very nice,” she told Tom in a very rare personal comment.

Also, can we note how beautiful the Queen looked beside Beatrice in her powder seafoam-hued ensemble?

In a second image, the Queen and Prince Philip are seen with the newlyweds.

(Benjamin Wheeler / PA)

Princess Beatrice’s bouquet

It would be difficult not to notice the beautiful bouquet Princess Beatrice was seen holding in the wedding photos.

As per Buckingham Palace, the bouquet included jasmine, pale pink and cream sweet peas, royal porcelain ivory spray roses, pink o’hara garden roses, pink wax flower and baby pink astible.

Of course, you can’t have a royal bouquet without some sprigs of myrtle, which were also confirmed to be included in the lush bunch of florals.

It was made by Patrice Van Helden, co owner of RVH Floral Design, and the Palace stated that it was later specially placed on the tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey.

Beatrice’s bouquet featured jasmine, pale pink and cream sweet peas, royal porcelain ivory spray roses, pink o’hara garden roses, pink wax flower and baby pink astible.

(Benjamin Wheeler / PA)

Princess Beatrice’s wedding service details

Princess Beatrice’s wedding ceremony was officiated by The Reverend Canon Paul Wright, Sub-Dean of the Chapel Royal and The Reverend Canon Martin Poll, Domestic Chaplain to Her Majesty The Queen – a fitting choice given it was held at one of the Queen’s long-time residences at Windsor Castle.

In a statement, the Palace confirmed all social distancing measures were adhered to during the ceremony, meaning the officiants and guests were spaced apart within the current UK guidelines.

The service also included two of both Beatrice and Edo’s favourite poems, which were read by their mothers – that includes Sarah Ferguson for anyone wondering.

The poems included Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare, and I carry you in my heart by E.E. Cummings.

St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians Chapter 13, verses 1-13 was also read.

In an interesting note from the Palace, no hymns were sung given current government guidelines per the COVID-19 pandemic.

However music was played during the ceremony – including the national anthem.

Strict government guidelines meant no hymns were sung during the pair’s wedding ceremony.

(Buckingham Palace)

In spite of the restrictions, it sounds as though Beatrice and Edo had a beautiful ceremony to mark the beginning of their married life together.

Stripping it all back, one would surely agree that at the end of the day, the ceremony was everything it should be – celebrating the love between two people with their nearest and dearest.

This unprecedented time amidst the pandemic has, at least, shown us exactly how much these moments of genuine love and connection truly bond us.

Congratulations to the newlyweds!

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