When you're a royal bride — with a princely wardrobe budget to match — why settle for just one wedding gown? From Kate Middleton to Princess Eugenie, these ladies took two — and in some cases, several — dresses for a spin on their big day.
Many of them had second dresses designed to change into for their reception. After all, it's an occasion that calls for kicking up the heels and dancing — and who wants to deal with a heavy, cumbersome dress? (Seriously, lots of those royal gowns had trains that were more than 12 feet long!)
Other royal brides had two separate weddings — one civil and the other religious — giving them an excuse to splurge on two gowns. And then there's one bride on this list who went all out, putting on a veritable fashion show for her wedding guests with — count them — five dress changes. Guess she just couldn't quite make up her mind.
And if you're a Princess Diana fan reading this, you might be surprised to learn that the late royal had a second wedding dress, too — only the world sadly never got a glimpse of it. Scroll on to find out why.
Kate Middleton
While nothing will ever top Kate Middleton's breathtaking Alexander McQueen lace-sleeved wedding gown, the second dress she slipped into for her reception at Buckingham Palace was also a sight to behold. She looked like a literal snow princess in the ivory satin design (also a McQueen), which featured glittery diamanté detailing around the waist and was topped with a white angora shrug. We only wish we could have seen her twirling on the dance floor in it.
Meghan Markle
Meghan Markle stuck to the royal style manual with her classic but chic wedding gown, custom designed for her by Givenchy. The dress' open bateau neckline and three-quarter sleeves perfectly suited her simple, minimalist style — as well as the historic St. Georges Chapel setting. But when it was time to party at her reception, she went for a sexier silhouette with a fitted halter-neck gown that showed off her sculpted shoulders. When she and Prince Harry whisked off to Frogmore House in their vintage blue Jaguar convertible, they were the picture of old Hollywood glamour.
Princess Eugenie
When Princess Eugenie tied the knot with Jack Brooksbank in 2018, she sailed down the aisle in a crisp white Peter Pilotto gown with a striking portrait neckline. But for her evening reception, Eugenie ditched the bridal white and changed into a blush pink look. The ethereal plisé silk dress — designed by Zac Posen with a nod to Grace Kelly in the 1955 Hitchcock film To Catch a Thief — made Eugenie look like she was floating across the floor.
Princess Charlene
Former Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock wed Prince Albert of Monaco in 2011 wearing a gorgeous Giorgio Armani confection that took a staggering 2,500 hours to make. (Maybe it had something to do with the 130 meters of silk, 40,000 Swarovski crystals, 20,000 mother of pearl teardrops, and 30,000 golden stones that went into the design!) So it's not surprising that when it came time to cut loose and party at the reception, the newly minted princess wanted something a bit more comfortable. She wore this simple ruffled column dress featuring a sleeveless sheer bodice that let her show off arms toned by years of training in the pool.
Princess Diana
With its dramatically puffed sleeves, ruffled neckline, and massive 25-foot-long train, Princess Diana's dress was quite a spectacle. Decades later, it remains one of the most famous wedding gowns of all time. But it wasn't the only dress that Diana wore that day in 1981. After her and Prince Charles' pomp-filled ceremony at St. Paul's Cathedral (watched by 750 million people around the world), Diana donned this peach suit and matching hat before boarding a train for her honeymoon. She probably felt like she'd shed 100 pounds after getting out of her behemoth of a bridal gown.
Diana's Secret Dress
In 2011, 30 years after Diana and Charles wed, the designers behind the princess' dreamy dress — Elizabeth and David Emanuel — revealed a surprising secret that even Diana herself didn't know. They evidently created a second gown for her as a backup, should sketches of the original dress get leaked to the public before the big day. "At the time, we wanted to make absolutely sure that the dress was a surprise," David told People. "We didn't try it on Diana. We never even discussed it. We wanted to make sure that we had something there; it was for our own peace of mind, really."
From the sounds of it, the stand-in dress — which was never completed — wasn't nearly as lavish and impressive (really, who has time to hand-sew 10,000 pearls — twice). So it's a good thing the fashion gods were smiling on Diana and that her gown was kept under wraps, or royal fans would have missed out on a truly iconic fashion moment.
Princess Madeleine
Princess Madeleine of Sweden's gown was a true fairy tale affair. Designed by Valentino, it featured a voluminous Chantilly lace overskirt, dramatic ruffled hem, and 13-foot train. For a grand palace wedding befitting the daughter of a king and queen, the show-stopping dress hit all the right notes — but it had to have been incredibly heavy and cumbersome to wear. So for her reception, Madeleine swapped it out for this glittery vintage ballgown (touchingly, a hand-me-down from her mom, Queen Silvia) that she could twirl the night away in.
Princess Sofia
When former model and reality star Sofia Hellqvist wed Prince Carl Philip of Sweden in 2015, she worked with designer Ida Sjöstedt to dream up her chic empire-waist gown, which had floral lace sleeves (reminiscent of Kate Middleton's dress). The two also teamed up to design this second look for the reception that was simpler and more streamlined while still having the same romantic vibe of Sofia's ceremony gown, thanks to the delicate lace overlay.
Lady Gabriella Windsor
Kate Middleton definitely sparked a trend with her wedding dress. Like Princess Sofia, Lady Gabriella Windsor — the daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent — also chose a classic, Kate-inspired gown with sheer lace sleeves to marry Thomas Kingston at Windsor Castle in 2019. But for her glamorous reception, attended by her royal cousins and numerous celebrities, Gabriella took a more high-fashion approach, wearing a lacy sleeveless dress with a plunging neckline and trailing shoulder details. So pretty!
Charlotte Casiraghi
Princess Caroline of Monaco's daughter, Charlotte Casiraghi, broke quite a few bridal fashion rules when she married film producer Dimitri Rassam in 2019. For starters, she didn't wear white — and she chose a revealing minidress silhouette. But she did get into the bridal spirit for her reception at the Monte-Carlo Beach Hotel, changing into a super chic white strapless dress by Chanel. Her look included a sweet tribute to her grandmother, Grace Kelly: a three-strand Cartier necklace that the late Hollywood actress received as a gift for her own royal wedding in 1956. That's quite a something borrowed!
Lady Kitty Spencer
Lady Kitty Spencer didn't just settle for one wedding dress — she had five. Lady Kitty, who is the niece of Princess Diana and the daughter of Earl Spencer, put on quite a fashion show over the course of her wedding weekend in July 2021. Her array of looks — all custom made for her by Dolce & Gabbana — included a Victorian-style puffed-shoulder ceremony gown, a vibrant floral print tulle dress for her rehearsal dinner, and a Belle-inspired ball gown made from floral hand-painted silk that she debuted during her reception. We can't even imagine how big her dress budget must have been!
Beatrice Borromeo
When Beatrice Boromeo said I do to Monaco's Pierre Casiraghi in 2015, she had two weddings — a civil ceremony in Monaco and a religious ceremony (followed by a party) at Italy's Rocca di Angera castle. So she got to take three dresses for a spin. She opted for a pale pink Valentino gown for the civil ceremony, and then a classic white dress for her church nuptials in Italy. For her reception, she slipped into a white silk tulle design by Giorgio Armani Privé, featuring a pleated train adorned with two wing-shaped diamond brooches. Add in the medieval castle surroundings, and she was a fairy tale princess come to life.
Marie Chevallier
Like Beatrice Borromeo, Marie Chevallier had two ceremonies when she married Louis Ducruet, the son of Princess Stephanie of Monaco, in 2019. The first was a civil wedding at City Hall in Monaco, and the bride wore what at first glance looked like a dress but was actually a culotte jumpsuit. For the more formal religious ceremony the next day at Monaco Cathedral, Marie turned up the drama in a princess-style gown with a massive train. For her reception, she changed into something she could kick up her feet and dance in: a lace minidress with a frothy tulle overskirt.
Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly went from Hollywood royalty to actual royalty when she wed Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956, and the glamorous long-sleeved wedding dress she wore was instantly iconic. But few fashion fans know that Grace wore a second dress for a quiet civil ceremony the day before the couple's lavish palace wedding. Befitting the time period, she wore a pink lace and taffeta two-piece ensemble featuring a jacket with a fitted bodice and a bell-shaped midi skirt. Delicate kid gloves and a Juliet cap completed her charming look.
Princess Claire
Like many of the other European royals, Claire Lademacher tied the knot with her beau, Prince Felix of Luxembourg, in a civil ceremony days before a religious wedding. She kept things super simple for the civil nuptials, held at Villa Rothschild Kempinski in Germany, wearing a silk ivory above-the-knee dress with a modern peplum design. And then for the main event, she got her princess bride moment in an elaborate Chantilly lace gown by Elie Saab, topped with a silk tulle veil and glittering diamond tiara.
