We are back with our coverage of the wedding of lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston, but first, a quick note about Kate’s Calendar. Hello! magazine reports the Duchess will be attending Order of the Garter June 17th.
The magazine also reports the event will be attended by Queen Letizia of Spain and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, who are “flying in to support their husbands, King Felipe VI, and King Willem-Alexander, as the Queen formally invests them with the Order’s insignia in the Throne room of the Castle.” Hopefully, this will prove to be the case; it would be quite a gathering for Order of the Garter. You can read the entire story here. On a related note, Cepe Smith posed an intriguing question on Twitter, wondering if the other royals might stay overnight and attend the Royal Ascot opening the next day.
Now to coverage of the wedding, prompted by the many emails and messages asking that I do a post on the event. It has turned out to be a somewhat lengthy (cough-cough) post. lady Gabriella Windsor is the 38-year-old daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. Prince Michael is a first cousin to HM. Below, you see the bride in the center of this photo; Prince and Princess Michael are on the left. Gabriella’s older brother, Lord Frederick Windsor and his wife, lady Frederick Windsor (better known to many as actress Sophie Winkleman) are on the right. The occasion was Trooping the Colour 2017.
The bride is a senior director for a branding firm, and the groom works in the financial field. She received her undergrad degree from brown university in Providence, Rhode Island; her Masters is from Oxford. Below, Ms. Windsor attending the memorial service for designer Catherine Walker in January 2011.
Some may recall previous posts including the Windsor siblings (below left and center) and Sophie Winkleman (below right), seen at the June 2016 service honoring HM’s 90th birthday.
The groom has been friends with Pippa Middleton for several years. more from a town & country story: “Kingston is clearly comfortable in royal circles. In the past, he’s been linked to Natalie Hicks-Lobbecke, one of Prince William’s ex-girlfriends, and for a period in 2011, he and Pippa Middleton were reportedly an item.” here you see them at Cheltenham in 2013.
A full complement of royals attended the wedding. Below, (l to r): Sir Tim Laurence, Prince Edward, an unknown gentleman, Princess Anne, another unknown gentleman, Sophie Winkleman, and Prince Harry.
Another view.
Below, Sir Tim Laurence, Prince Edward, and Princess Anne.
Below, from left to right: lady rose Gilman (one of the Duke of Gloucester’s daughters), lady Marina Windsor (a grandchild of the Queen’s cousin, the Duke of Kent), the Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Gloucester.
Also attending: Sarah, Duchess of York and her daughter Princess Beatrice, accompanied by boyfriend, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
The Middleton family was also at the wedding. From left to right: Michael and Carole Middleton, James and Pippa Matthews, and James Middleton.
Here you can better see James and his girlfriend Alizee Thevenet.
Below, you see the bride and groom back in may of 2017 when they attended Pippa Middleton’s wedding.
The bride was also at Kate and William’s 2011 wedding. below you see her with King Constantine II of Greece at the pre-wedding dinner.
The last guests to arrive. It was a lovely surprise to see Prince Philip with HM.
HM being greeted by the Dean of Windsor, the right Reverend David Conner.
Now we switch from guests to the wedding party.
The bridesmaids and page boys as they arrived.
A helping hand for one as the children headed up the chapel steps.
It must be somewhat like herding cats.
Below, the bride arrives at St. George’s Chapel with her father, Prince Michael.
They took a few moments to pose for photos.
And had the train re-arranged.
The bride wore a tulle and lace gown by Luisa Beccaria. (We’ll have more on that in a bit.)
A beaming bride and groom as they exit St. George’s Chapel after the service.
The newlyweds.
Followed by family and friends.
I loved this photo because there is so much going on.
The mother and brother of the bride.
There were some darling pictures with the bridesmaids, including little Maud Windsor, one of Lord Frederick Windsor and Sophie Winkleman’s daughters. (Fun fact: Maud started at Thomas’s Battersea the same time Prince George did.)
This one is also sweet. I *think* Isabella Windsor, Maud’s younger sister, is in the center.
The daily Mail reports other bridesmaids included Leonora Weisman, Aurelia del Drago, Eliza Goldsmith, and Emily Conolly.
Guests gathered outside St. George’s Chapel after the ceremony.
The couple waves as they move to the reception at Frogmore House.
Now for a closer look at the wedding gown.
As mentioned, it was by Italian designer Luisa Beccaria, seen below left. On the right, the company’s creative director and designer Lucilla Bonaccorsi, who also happens to be Ms. Beccaria’s daughter. This image is from the label’s February runway show at Milan fashion Week.
From Vogue’s coverage:
Beccaria began designing the dress in earnest right after the holidays. “It was a lot of work—and to obtain the correct color was really complicated,” she explains. “We had to put so many different layers of blush and cream organdy tulle so that it looked like just a little touch of blush. We also added a bit of blush to the veil.”
A sketch.
From the Luisa Beccaria site:
The neckline is generous, a transparent tulle, finished with intricate embroidery. The sheer lace sleeves are long, with three-dimensional embroidery that continues to the hand almost as a glove.
This offers a view of the back and a closer look at the lower portion of the front.
Back to Vogue’s story:
…while the design process was long and very involved from the start, lady Ella had a clear idea about exactly how she wanted to look. ”She fell in love with a certain lace,“ Beccaria says. “I had it special embroidered in her own color and then we combined a couple of dresses that she saw here.”
Luisa Beccaria notes, “The dress is entirely in Valencienne écru lace layered with ribbons of flowers and buds.”
More from The Express:
Gabriella said: “I’ve been in love with her dresses for a long time and I’m so lucky to have my dream dress designed by her.
“She and her team are exceptional and I’m thrilled with the stunning result of the artistry.”
Now for our look at the jewelry.
The bride was wearing the Kent City of London Fringe Tiara, so called because it was a wedding gift from the City of London to Gabriella’s grandmother, Princess Marina, when she was married in 1934. Princess Marina was the daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and a former Grand Duchess of Russia, Elena Vladimirovna. more from the Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor:
Marina’s daughter Princess Alexandra carried on the family wedding tiara tradition, wearing the City of London Fringe for her 1963 wedding, but the tiara was not left to her; after Marina’s death in 1968, the diadem passed to her youngest child, Prince Michael.
It was also worn by the bride’s mother for the gala celebrating her marriage to Prince Michael.
This offers another perspective, with thanks to the Royal Order of Splendor for the photo.
You can learn more about the tiara at the Order of Splendor site here. I don’t know anything about the diamond drop earrings other than I like them!
This gives you a better view of the bride’s hairstyle for the day.
UPDATE JUNE 1: With thanks to Susan for sharing info in her comment, the bouquet included a new breed of rose, the “Ella Rose,” created by David Austin. The bouquet also included “…myrtle, which has formed part of many Royal wedding bouquets in a tradition started by Queen Victoria. other flowers incorporated included Juliet roses, Lily of the Valley and white and apricot sweet peas.” The information in quotes comes via the official Royal family website.
The bridesmaids and page boys were also in Luisa Beccaria.
The bridesmaids’ tulle and organza dresses echoed design elements of the wedding gown. As mentioned above, bridesmaids included Isabella Windsor, Maud Windsor, as well as Leonora Weisman, Aurelia del Drago, Eliza Goldsmith, and Emily Conolly.
The page boys wore suits that featured a top with rounded collar, knickerbockers, and an embroidered sash. The Pageboys were Master Frederick Murray, Master Rafferty Murray and Master Karim Khawaja here you can see some of the design details on the bridesmaids’ dresses.
The children wore shoes by Papouelli, a brand Prince George and Princess Charlotte have both worn
Hello! reports there wasn’t just one dress, but four in total. In addition to the gown seen here, there was another for the evening celebration, as well as a dress when the newlyweds departed the evening’s festivities and then a fourth for brunch the next day.
And now for a glance at what some of the guests wore, starting with HM. The Queen wore an A-line coat with a lilac and pink silk dress; both pieces were by royal favorite Stewart Parvin. Her matching hat was a Rachel Trevor-Morgan design. She also wore the Queen Mother’s palm leaf Brooch. (See inset below right.)
It is a brooch the Queen mother commissioned Cartier to create in 1938. There is much more info on the piece in this post at The Court Jeweller.
Sophie Winkleman was in the ‘Bliss’ A-Line Coatdress and matching ‘Bliss’ hat by Catherine Walker.
Princess Beatrice wore the Self-Portrait Cross-Front fine Lace Midi dress with a hat by Jess Collett.
Lady Amelia Windsor was in a frock by Turkish designer Gül Hürgel, the Floral Print Linen Midi Dress, accessorized with a Philip Treacy hat.
Lady Helen Taylor (daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent) wore the Lattice Check Crepe De Chine wrap Dress by Amanda Wakeley.
For lady rose Gilman, it was the LK Bennett Montague Silk Tea Dress.
Pippa Matthews was in the Kate Spade Devore Dress.
As many immediately thought when seeing Carole Middleton, she was wearing Catherine Walker. It looks like her coat had elements from the Rosa style seen on the right. Knowing that Catherine Walker made Sophie Winkleman’s hat makes me wonder if perhaps Carole Middleton’s chapeau is also their design…?
UPDATE: With thanks to many commenters on Twitter, Facebook and here, this is the same outfit worn to Charlotte’s christening. The savvy folks at Royal Hats tell us the hat is by Jane Corbett.
Alizee Thevenet, who accompanied James Middleton, wore the V-Neck wrap Dress (now sold out) in polyester chiffon from H&M.
A couple of quick notes:
Enormous thanks to the UFO No more team, as well as PolkaPopp, The Court Jeweller, The Royal Order of Splendor, Royal Hats, and The Cambridge Court for their outstanding IDs and information on items worn by guests.
If you helped in identifying something and were not mentioned, or know of something I missed, please don’t be shy about letting me know!
I don’t know why Kate did not attend the wedding; William had another commitment at some point during the day, and I would like to refrain from speculation on the topic in comments.
If I get the time, I will add a few more photos and info on what others wore to the wedding.
We’ll leave you with a photo of the couple as they cut the wedding cake, shared by the bride’s cousin, Flora Alexander Ogilvy.
View this post on Instagram
My wildly beautiful cousin Ella married her beloved Tom today and it was a heavenly wedding. O tell Me The truth about Love by W.H Auden came close to capturing the immeasurable joy of the last few hours. dress designed by fairytale @luisabeccaria_luworld #roses @lucillabonaccorsi @luisabeccaria_official
A post shared by Flora Alexandra Ogilvy (@florarteviste) on may 18, 2019 at 11:12am PDT
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