Since there has been a lot of speculation on Meghan Markle’s royal wedding dress, I thought I’d show you the oldest royal wedding dress that still exists and, appropriately enough, it dates back to the Regency era. It is the wedding gown of Princess Charlotte of Wales, who was the only child of the Prince Regent (later George IV) and Caroline of Brunswick. She was born on August 7, 1796 and married Leopold of Saxe-Coburg at Carlton House in London on May 2, 1816.
Her wedding dress was made up of a white and silver petticoat that was worn under a net dress that was embroidered with silver lame. The neck and the sleeves of the gown were trimmed with Brussels lace while her train was the same silver and white material as her underdress. The gown was made by Mrs. Triaud of Bolton Street and reported to have cost £10,000. For her wedding, Charlotte wore a headdress of rosebuds and leaves made out of diamonds and a pair of large drop earrings.
An interested fact about Charlotte and Leopold’s wedding is that this was the first royal wedding that had commemorative souvenirs that were widely available for people to purchase. Sadly, Charlotte’s life did not end happily. On November 6, 1817, the Princess died in childbirth at the age of twenty-one.
This is my favorite royal wedding gown. When I was writing An Unsuitable Duchess, I based my heroine’s wedding gown on Princess Charlotte’s.
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AN UNSUITABLE DUCHESS
For American Katrina Vandenberg, the rules of London society are stifling. So, when a rare moment of solitude at a particularly tedious ball is interrupted, she’s disappointed…until she lays eyes on a very handsome stranger!
Julian Carlisle, Duke of Lyonsdale, is destined for a dull marriage of convenience, and Katrina couldn’t be further from the aristocratic British bride he needs. Following his heart should be easy, except he’s one of the first English noblemen to fall for an American. Is he willing to risk his political career and family’s standing to make this highly unsuitable woman his perfect duchess after all?
Reference used:
Arch, Nigel and Marschner, Joanna, Royal Wedding Dresses. 2011.
Laurie Benson's Cozy Drawing Room 
The dress is beautiful!! Must’ve been super heavy though.
-Brian M
Brevenchy.wordpress.com
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I agree, Brian. It’s one of my favorite Regency era gowns. I’d love to be able to hold it to see how heavy it was.
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That’s a gorgeous gown! And after having watched Victoria on PBS, I now know who these people are. 🙂
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It does make it a bit better when you know who the players are. 🙂
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Princess Charlotte of Wales’ wedding dress of 1816 looks far more sympathetic to our 2018 eyes than did, for example, Princess Diana or Grace Kelly’s poofy numbers. It was very very expensive, but utterly elegant! How tragic that she died in childbirth when barely out of her own teens.
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