Royal Family Wedding Dresses, Ranked From Least To Most Unique

Royal brides usually have access to the biggest budgets and the best connections for making their weddings the stuff of fairytales. But whether they're born royal or marrying into it, these women are also often bound by unspoken guidelines and rules. Stunning, opulent royal wedding dresses are a dime a dozen, but the ones that really make you stop and gawk are those that drift away from centuries-old traditions and break the mold.

If we had to rank royal wedding dresses by style alone, the pool of contenders would be infinite. Who could look past Kate Middleton's exquisite Alexander McQueen gown, with lace detail that was modeled after Grace Kelly's iconic bridal look? We're also huge fans of the muted boat-neck Givenchy number worn by Meghan Markle, who fittingly rocked a no-makeup makeup look for her wedding. But when it comes to being truly one of a kind, there are a few other royal gowns that have held their own throughout history. Especially when it comes to the rigid world of royal weddings, we can't help but admire brides who tread their own path amongst all the noise and break not only tradition, but records, too. Whether it's Princess Beatrice's unique way of acquiring her wedding dress during a gloomy time in history, or Camilla Parker Bowles choosing a shade for her 'fit that no royal bride had chosen before, these royals are inspirational rarities, at least as far as fashion is concerned. 

Cara Delevingne ended up coming across as inappropriate when she ignored royal wedding tradition as a guest, but the brides themselves can get away with it as long as there's intention behind their choices. They might not be celebs who stunned in Vera Wang wedding dresses, but these royals did have looks that were matchless. 

These days, divorcées can wear white when they marry a second time, and no one bats an eye. But Camilla Parker Bowles is from a different time, and a social class governed by endless rules and etiquette, so we understand why she ditched the wedding dress tradition for her nuptials to then-Prince Charles on April 9, 2005. The royal couple actually tied the knot in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, for which Camilla wore a minimalist cream dress and matching coat, with a hat by Philip Treacy in lieu of a veil or tiara. However, a marital blessing followed at Windsor Castle's St. George's Chapel, and Camilla changed into a unique blue-gray gown with a floor-length coat embroidered with gold. The marital look, by Anna Valentine and Antonia Robinson, was finished with a one-of-a-kind feathered headpiece from Philip Treacy.

"Camilla looked fabulous in both outfits. She has great style and nobody wears a hat like Camilla!" one Instagram commenter wrote. Another added, "One of my favorite wedding dresses. That coat is still everything." Royal commenter Danielle Stacey of the Royal Wardrobe chimed in, telling Hello!'s Royal Club, "I think Camilla's bridalwear choice was also mindful of the narrative around them as a couple at the time. She was blamed for the breakdown of Charles and [Diana's] marriage, and her relationship with Charles in the 1990s and early 2000s was widely [scrutinized]. If she had worn a more conventional, white wedding dress at the time, it may have been seen as a tactless move." Later becoming the king and queen consort of England, Charles and Camilla were the first royal couple to get hitched in a civil ceremony, and Camilla was the only senior royal bride to go for the blue shade.

The Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 didn't discriminate when it came for people's wedding plans. Like other couples around the world who were getting married at the time, Princess Beatrice of York and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi went for a toned-down ceremony on July 17, 2020. The lavish gala that they were supposed to throw for hundreds of guests at Buckingham Palace was reduced to a secret ceremony in Windsor's Royal Chapel of All Saints at the Royal Lodge, with fewer than 30 guests in attendance. Beatrice's dress was equally quiet and fuss-free, so much so that the princess didn't even buy it new or have it custom designed; it was recycled from her Granny, Queen Elizabeth II. 

The ivory Norman Hartnell gown, which one Instagram user called "the best Royal wedding dress of all of them," was first worn by the queen in the '60s and served as the bride's "something borrowed." It featured taffeta, organza, and duchesse satin, while the fitted bodice was embellished with diamantés. Angela Kelly of the queen's dressing team, and couture fashion designer Stewart Parvin reworked the vintage dress to fit Beatrice, slightly updating the skirt and sleeves. However, every change they made can be reversed. In true royal fashion, Beatrice finished off the look with Queen Mary's Tiara, which Elizabeth wore on her own wedding day in 1947, along with a pair of Valentino shoes.

Royal fans love the distinct style of the dress, as well as the story behind it, with one writing on Instagram, "I love it it's so out of the norm and it looks so pretty." Another fan wrote, "Honestly my favorite royal wedding dress. PURELY! because it was the queen's dress. And they did something special vs buying a new dress."

No list of royal wedding dresses would be complete without the David and Elizabeth Emanuel creation that Princess Diana wore on July 29, 1981 — except perhaps a list of the most forgettable gowns. With this ivory dress, which featured silk, taffeta, and antique lace passed down from Queen Mary, it wasn't so much an aesthetic victory as it was a history-making one. "I saw this dress in person," one Redditor recalled. "I would have been about 12 at the time. I knew I was looking at something very important, and not my taste at all." 

The dress was a maximalist's fantasy, adorned with thousands of sequins and pearls, flounces on the neckline, huge puffed sleeves, and a cathedral-length veil and 25-foot train which broke royal wedding records. It cost about $12,000 at the time, and today would cost nearly $40,000. For good luck, which in hindsight didn't work so well, the people's princess had an 18-karat gold horseshoe sewn in her petticoat and wore her family's Spencer tiara. 

Even by '80s standards, many sartorial critics found this dress to be over the top, but it singlehandedly transformed bridal fashion at the time with its distinct volume. "Diana's dress set the trend for the rest of the decade," a Redditor commented. "The leg of mutton like sleeves, the princess waist, and all the volume. If you search '80s wedding dresses' you'll see so many that have this dress in their DNA, all through the decade." Another concurred, "She definitely set a standard and captured the attention of the world." Few other dresses have been able to influence trends to that extent, and when you consider the records that were broken, it's safe to say we probably won't see another gown with this much power. 

On November 20, 1947, 21-year-old Princess Elizabeth married Philip Mountbatten, formerly Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. Two years after the end of World War II, Elizabeth, who would later become the longest-serving monarch in British royal history, bought her dress with rations coupons. The young princess was given 200 extra coupons to buy her dress, but many young women around the United Kingdom sent their own clothing coupons to her. Although she sent the gifted coupons back, she managed to have a gown custom made by Norman Hartnell, which cost around $42,000 at the time. More than $1.5 million in today's currency, the dress is one of the most expensive in royal wedding history.

Though it has yellowed over time, it was made with ivory duchesse satin and crystal and transparent appliqué tulle, and embroidered with American seed pearls and silver thread. The dress has a 13-foot train of silk tulle and took 350 workers less than three months to craft. In a move that would make most modern brides gasp in horror, Elizabeth didn't try it on until her wedding day. Unlike Princess Diana's ill-fated golden horseshoe, that did seem like a lucky move, since Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were happily married for 73 years.

"Wow, that must have been quite daring for the time!" one Reddit user noted about the gown. "Honestly is an extraordinary bridal dress for the '40s era," another added. Often mistaken for stars, the gown's motif featured spring flowers, speaking to the hope that followed such a devastating war. It was inspired by Sandro Botticelli's "Primavera," making it a dress with both a unique design and an unparalleled story.

To come up with a list of the most unique dresses in royal wedding history, we looked not just at the design of each dress, but the details surrounding them. Distinct silhouettes and aesthetic features matter, but so does the way they were acquired and the meaning they held. Gowns that broke records, carved out new paths, and were part of stories bigger than themselves will always be inimitable.