We've seen plenty of regal bridesmaids in pink and more than one royal mother of the bride who's gone all rosy for a royal wedding, but for the big dress itself, it's a bit of a rarity. However, if Meghan Markle does decide to ditch white [1] and pick pink when she marries Prince Harry in Windsor on May 19 [2], she'll be joining an elite club of royal style icons who chose the shade for their wedding dresses.
While most royal brides have opted for white for their religious ceremonies, they've shown off their love for colour during their civil ceremonies, usually a few days before the big party. Take a look!
Grace Kelly, April 1956
Grace Kelly's wedding dress [4] might be just about the most famous royal gown ever, but the Oscar winner had a second bridal outfit that was just as gorgeous — and very pink. While we all remember her stunning outfit from her religious wedding in 1956, Grace actually married Prince Rainier III of Monaco in a civil ceremony the day before in a pale rose lace suit.
Grace's first wedding dress was every bit as picture perfect as her first. Made of taffeta, it featured a midlength skirt and fitted jacket with rounded neckline, all covered in Alencon lace. There was also a Juliet cap and matching gloves. This outfit, like the more famous wedding gown, was the work of MGM designer Helen Rose.
Fun fact: Grace's granddaughter-in-law Beatrice Borromeo also chose pink for her civil wedding in Monaco [5]. When she married Princess Caroline's younger son Pierre Casiraghi in 2015, she wore a full-length rose gown by Maison Valentino. The work of creative designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, it was made of pale pink and gold lace chiffon. The bride added flowers to her hair to complete her look. Beatrice wore white Armani at her religious wedding [6] a week later.
Laurentien Brinkhorst, May 2001
She was the star of one of the first big royal weddings of the 21st century, and this bride did things all her own way. When Laurentien Brinkhorst wed Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands in a civil ceremony in 2001 in The Hague, she wore pink for her big day.
The coat was by Edouard Vermeulen of Natan and matched with a huge lilac hat and a pretty impressive posy of pink and green blooms. Laurentien turned to the same designer for her more traditional full white bridal gown worn at the religious ceremony days later.
Lady Alice Montagu-Douglas-Scott, November 1935
When Lady Alice married Henry, Duke of Gloucester (son of King George V and uncle to the queen), in 1935, she decided to wear pink. It was an unusual choice and was made for an unusual reason: Alice, who was 34 at the time of her wedding, felt she was too old to wear white.
Alice chose a pale pink dress with a cluster of flowers at the neckline and no tiara. Instead, this royal bride opted for a headdress made specially for her big day. The outfit was the creation of an upcoming designer called Norman Hartnell, who so impressed the groom's family that they made him a favorite, and he ended up designing some of the most famous royal dresses of all, including the queen's wedding and coronation gowns.