Queen was concerned about 'divorcee' Meghan Markle wearing pure white on her wedding to Prince Harry
LONDON, UK: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 2018 wedding at Windsor Castle was a talked-about affair for quite some time for its extravagance and pleasantness. However, not everything was smooth sailing from the first moment. Journalist and royal expert Katie Nicholl's bombshell book claims that although the wedding was a huge success, the Queen had some concerns about Meghan's Clare Waight Keller-designed Givenchy gown because it was pure white.
The book, 'The New Royals', offers a nuanced look at Queen Elizabeth II's reign through accounts from palace courtiers and aides, documentarians and family members. The book will be released on October 4.
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As per a source, "The Queen was surprised that Meghan wore pure white on her wedding day. Perhaps it's a generational thing, but she believes if you've been married before, you wear off-white on your wedding day, which is what the Duchess of Cornwall did."
A white wedding gown has historically been used to symbolize a woman's "purity" on her wedding day as well as the bride's virginity. Meghan was a divorcee and the Queen may have assumed she would wear something in off-white.
The Duchess of Sussex was previously married to producer Trevor Engelson. The two got married on on September 10, 2011, at the Jamaica Inn in Ocho Rios. The wedding festivities went on for four days and there are plenty of pictures showing drinking games on the beach in the days leading up to the big day. The couple divorced in August 2013, just two years after their wedding, citing "irreconcilable differences."
The Queen made an effort to get to know the new duchess because she was eager to support anyone getting married into her family. She knew that Thomas Markle, Meghan's father, had caused issues, particularly by selling staged photos of himself to the media. The Queen, who rarely intervened, made a point of speaking to the couple about the situation because she was worried that Harry had not yet met Thomas and that Meghan had not yet spoken to her father. According to a family friend, "The Queen felt that Harry should have met Thomas before the wedding and that Meghan should settle things with her father. She believed that the situation could have been handled more effectively."
A privilege that had not previously been extended to William, Harry, or Kate, was extended to the new Duchess of Sussex when she was invited to ride on the Royal Train with the Queen. The tour was successful, but Meghan received criticism for her extravagant wardrobe, which included Givenchy, Roland Mouret and Emilia Wickstead, while she was on a separate trip to Dublin. She had received advice to recycle her wardrobe like the Queen and to take a page from Kate's book and mix designer labels with clothes from the high street.
The Queen was actually so eager to welcome Meghan that she put Meghan on a "fast track" to the throne by giving her the patronages of the National Theatre and the Association of Commonwealth Universities, which she had herself held for 45 and 33 years, respectively. It was essentially a very loud endorsement.
She further elevated the Duchess by appointing her as vice-president of the Queen's Commonwealth Trust in March 2019, where she would collaborate with Harry, who was already serving as its president.