Meghan Markle’s secret wedding tribute to Princess Diana we never knew about

The late Princess Diana was always on the Duchess of Sussex’s mind as she spent months organizing every aspect of her royal wedding to Prince Harry.

Givenchy designer Clare Waight Keller created Meghan Markle’s classic wedding dress, which featured a bateau neckline and cropped sleeves. With Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau tiara, she added a 16-foot-long veil that was embroidered with the national flowers of the 53 Commonwealth nations.

She was actually supposed to wear a completely different headpiece – a family heirloom belonging to her late mother-in-law, according to Harry’s book Spare, which was published in January.

“A tiara was the next topic of discussion. Meg was asked if she wanted to wear my mother’s by my aunts. We both felt moved. Meg then worked tirelessly with her dress designer to match the veil’s scalloped edge to the tiara’s, according to Harry.

But Granny got in touch just before the wedding. She allowed us access to her tiara collection. She even invited us to try them on at Buckingham Palace, he continued.

The Duke of Sussex explained that during a try-on session in the Queen’s private dressing room, Meghan tried on emerald and aquamarine tiaras before deciding on the traditional diamond hairpiece.

But one of the five stood out. Each person agreed. It was stunning and seemed tailor-made for Meg. Granny said it would be put right in a safe and she was looking forward to seeing it on Meg’s head on the Big Day,” Harry continued, adding that they felt “loved and grateful” after their pre-wedding bonding experience.

The scalloped veil Meghan wore for her wedding, carried by page boys Brian and John Mulroney, sons of Meghan’s friend and stylist Jessica Mulroney, still paid homage to the People’s Princess even though Meghan switched out her accessory.

Givenchy later disclosed that the floral veil, which included a number of additional sentimental elements, took 3,900 hours to make. Wheat crops were positioned at the front to represent love and charity, and a wintersweet flower and a California poppy were added to symbolize Meghan’s birthplace and the plant that grew in Harry and Meghan’s Kensington Palace private garden, respectively.

Harry asserted that they were unable to do so after stumbling to coordinate with Meghan’s dressmaker Angela Kelly, despite the Queen’s advice that Meghan and her hairdresser practice securing the tiara and veil in place ahead of the wedding, describing the procedure as “tricky”.

Though she had only seen her finished wedding dress hours before her ceremony, Meghan’s look came together at the last minute, and she looked stunning as she stepped out at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in May 2018.

She remarked, “I didn’t really see it until the morning of, so this is my first time seeing the veil like this,” as she looked at her dress in an exhibition display at Windsor Castle.

The couple later celebrated their nuptials at Frogmore House, where Meghan changed into a halterneck Stella McCartney gown and added Princess Diana’s aquamarine engagement ring as an accessory.