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Princess Beatrice's wedding dress tradition harks back to former royal bride

Princess Beatrice was loaned a gown by the Queen

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Bridie Wilkins
Senior Health & Fitness Writer
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It is a tradition for brides to wear "something old, something new, something, borrowed or something blue" on their wedding day, but while many royals have opted to choose accessories, Princess Beatrice decided to take it one step further with her dress.

MORE: Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi look so in love in official wedding photos

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The royal bride wore a vintage gown designed by Norman Hartnell which was loaned to her from the Queen, a statement from Buckingham Palace confirmed. It marked a moving choice from Beatrice, since the designer made the Queen's own wedding dress and coronation dress, and also created Princess Margaret's wedding gown.

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Princess Beatrice's wedding dress was loaned from the Queen. Photo: Benjamin Wheeler

What you may not know, though, is that she is not the first royal bride to have repurposed a wedding gown of their ancestor.

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The Queen wore the Norman Hartnell gown to a state dinner in Rome in 1961

Queen Victoria, who married Prince Albert on this day, 10 February, in 1840, "commissioned Honiton lace for her wedding ensemble" according to an Instagram post by the Royal Collection Trust. "The lace flounce became one of her most treasured possessions," it adds.

Queen Victoria went on to loan it to her youngest daughter, also named Princess Beatrice, to wear as part of her wedding gown in 1885.

View post on Instagram
 

She also wore the lace to the weddings of her eldest daughter, Victoria, in 1858, and her youngest son, Leopold, in 1882.

Just over ten years later in 1893, she revived the feature once again for the nuptials of her grandson George (the future George V) to Mary of Teck in 1893, and for her Diamond Jubilee official photograph in 1897.

The current Princess Beatrice's dress was made from Peau De Soie taffeta in shades of ivory, trimmed with matching Duchess satin and organza sleeves. It was finished with diamante encrusting and a geometric checkered bodice. Buckingham Palace's statement also revealed that the gown was remodelled and fitted for Beatrice by the Queen's dresser Angela Kelly and loyal dressmaker Stewart Parvin.

 
 

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