The royal brides’ gowns are among the big revelations during royal weddings. The design and designers are kept secret until the day the bridal gown is revealed.
However, keeping the item a secret is not an easy job to do because royal fans want to know the details ahead of the big day. According to royal expert Roberta Fiorito in the Royally Obsessed podcast, Alexander McQueen had to create a false story to cover up Middleton’s wedding dress.
“To maintain secrecy about the dress, I love this fun fact, the Royal School of Needlework was told the dress would be used as a costume in a TV show. And that cost was no object,” Fiorito said.
“So they told the students that in order to keep it secret.”
However, according to Mandy Ewing, who was one of the embroiders on the Royal School of Needlework, they already knew the owner of the dress.
“We knew who it was for, but it was very secret – we had net curtains up and cleaners were not allowed into the room and the code on the door was changed,” Ewing said.
“The dress was all in the news, but nobody knew who was doing it. When you’re working you just focus on it and try not think about what’s in the news. But it was an exciting event and everybody loved working on it – it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
In the run-up to Prince William and Middleton’s royal wedding, Camilla Parker Bowles visited the Royal School of Needlework. Many asked about Middleton’s wedding dress. However, the Duchess of Cornwall didn’t give any hint about the gown and joked that she would “leave it to the experts.”
Meghan Markle’s wedding gown was treated with the same secrecy. She walked down the aisle wearing a Givenchy gown.