Who designed Princess Beatrice’s vintage wedding dress, lent by Queen Elizabeth II?

Norman Hartnell designed Princess Beatrice’s vintage wedding dress, which was lent by Queen Elizabeth II.

The dress was originally made for Queen Elizabeth II in 1962 and was adapted for Beatrice’s 2020 wedding. It used ivory Peau de Soie taffeta and incorporated organza, satin, and vintage details. The garment’s reuse linked Beatrice’s ceremony directly to her grandmother’s wardrobe and to an important British couture name.

Hartnell was a major royal dressmaker. He designed Queen Elizabeth II’s 1947 wedding dress and many other important outfits for the Queen, making the reused garment especially meaningful.

Beatrice married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in a small ceremony at the Royal Chapel of All Saints, Windsor, on 17 July 2020. The wedding was scaled back because of the COVID-19 pandemic, while the historic dress gave the event a strong connection to royal fashion history.