Kate Middleton's Royal Wedding Dress Prerogative

Out of all of the inescapable royal wedding coverage, Kate Middleton's royal wedding dress is the subject of endless speculation. Who will design it? What style will she wear? And on and on it goes..

Royal Wedding dresses are the subject of intense speculation and this rabid desire for information is nothing new. In the absence of any real news, media outlets try to desperately get the scoop on what this dress will look like with the chosen designers resorting to subterfuge to avoid leaks.

Case in point, the designers of Diana, Princess of Wales' wedding dress resorted to hiring a safe and a security guard to protect the dress while it was being made. They would try to throw the press off the scent by putting fabric swatches of different colors in their garbage. Samantha Shaw, who designed Sophie Rhys Jones' wedding dress, quietly disappeared to a secret address to complete the project, Norman Hartnell, who designed Princess Elizabeth's dress in 1947, white-washed the windows of his workroom.

Much has been made of why Kate has not announced the name of her designer. But looking at the experiences of previous royal wedding gown designers, it's difficult to blame Kate for wanting to avoid putting a designer through the ordeal. But Kate has many designers who would love the commission. Rumor has it that Kate has already chosen a designer or at least has a short list to choose from. One of them is reportedly Bruce Oldfield, a favorite of Diana, Princess of Wales. However with his multiple media appearances it's unlikely he's been commissioned to design Kate's dress.

But previous royal brides, such as Princess Anne, Diana, Fergie and Sophie have chosen relatively little-known designers. Maureen Baker was the chief designer for Susan Small, made Princess Anne's 1973 wedding dress. The Emmauel's had graduated from the Royal College of Design four years before Lady Diana Spencer approached them. Lesotho born Lindka Cierach's first commission was a wedding dress for a Bahrain princess, but she received global acclaim as Sarah Ferguson's designer. Low profile society designer Samantha Shaw made Sophie Rhys Jones' 1999 dress.

It would not be surprising if Kate followed the trend and chose a little known designer for her own dress. Unlike Bruce Oldfield, they may shun publicity to focus on the quality of the dress and maintain the discretion that Kate is entitled to on her wedding day.

Fingers crossed she gets it.

© Marilyn Braun 2011

Royal Focus: Kate Middleton's Royal Engagement Ring

When Prince William and Kate Middleton announced their engagement to the world on November 16th, they revealed the much speculated engagement ring. This ring, once belonging to Diana, Princess of Wales, caused some controversy, one of the few times in royal history that a piece of jewellery has done so.

I have written about this ring before in my post called Royal Engagement Rings. The ring, an oval 18-carat, sapphire surrounded by 14 diamonds, is interestingly enough, it was not unique. Featured in the catalogues of Garrards Jewellers, the royal family's official jeweller, it cost $65,000 at the time. Choosing a sapphire for a royal engagement ring is not unusual, The Princess Royal's and the late Queen Mother's original engagement ring were both sapphires.  Regarding the ring, Diana herself recalled: 'A briefcase comes along on the pretext that Andrew is getting a signet ring for his 21st birthday and along comes these sapphires - I mean 'nuggets! - I suppose I chose it, we all chipped in. The Queen paid for it.'

The choice has provoked discussion amongst royal watchers as to whether it is appropriate for Kate to wear the ring.  Some feel that just because Diana wore the ring, it should not be seen as a bad omen or curse. Others feel that the couple should have made a fresh start. The ring, beautiful though it is, is so strongly associated with Diana, that for the rest of Kate's life she will have the constant reminder of Diana whether she likes it or not. Comparisons are inevitable, the ring more than guarantees that.

When asked why he had chosen to give his fiancee his mother's ring, William replied: 'it was my way of making sure that my mother didn’t miss out on today, all the excitement and the fact that we are going to be spending the rest of our lives together.' Thus making the choice a moot point for the rest of us.

© Marilyn Braun 2010