Royal weddings have always been a public spectacle, but more anticipated than the ceremony is what the bride will wear to walk down the aisle. Princesses and Queens have notably set trends thanks to their extravagant wedding gowns — Queen Victoria started the tradition of brides wearing white, while Princess Diana’s dress popularized puff sleeves in the 1980s.
Below, WWD recaps 45 of the most regal wedding dresses in history.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 1840
Image Credit: Getty Images 1840: Queen Victoria and Prince Albert after their marriage ceremony at St. James’ Palace in London.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 1891
Image Credit: Getty Images 1891: King George V with his bride, Princess Mary of Teck.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 1923
Image Credit: Getty Images 1923: The wedding of the Duke of York, later George VI, and Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 1937
Image Credit: Getty Images 1937: The Duke of Windsor and Mrs. Wallis Simpson on their wedding day.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 1947
Image Credit: CENTRAL PRESS/AFP via Getty Imag 1947: Princess Elizabeth of England and Prince Philip on their wedding day.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 1949
Image Credit: Bettmann Archive 1949: Prince Ali Khan and Rita Hayworth after their wedding ceremony near Cannes, France.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 1951
Image Credit: Mondadori via Getty Images 1951: Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Persia, with his second wife Soraya Esfandiari on the day of their wedding.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 1956
Image Credit: Getty Images 1956: The wedding of Prince Rainier III of Monaco to Grace Kelly.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 1959
Image Credit: Bettmann Archive 1959: Following their wedding ceremony, Japanese Crown Prince Akihito and his bride, Michiko Shoda, pose together before beginning a drive through the streets of Tokyo.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 1960
Image Credit: Getty Images 1960: Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones leaving Westminster Abbey on their wedding day.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 1960
Image Credit: Photonews via Getty Images 1960: King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola of Belgium during their wedding.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 1964
Image Credit: Getty Images 1964: King Constantine II of the Hellenes and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes during their wedding day in Athens.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 1973
Image Credit: PA Images via Getty Images 1973: Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips leaving Westminster Abbey in London after their wedding ceremony.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 1976
Image Credit: Corbis via Getty Images 1976: King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia wave to onlookers after their wedding.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 1978
Image Credit: Getty Images 1978: Princess Caroline of Monaco with her new husband Philippe Junot after their wedding.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 1978
Image Credit: Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images 1978: Queen Noor of Jordan and King Hussein of Jordan at their wedding.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 1981
Image Credit: Getty Images 1981: The wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 1992
Image Credit: Tim Graham Photo Library via Get 1992: The wedding of Tim Taylor and Lady Helen Windsor.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 1993
Image Credit: AFP via Getty Images 1993: Prince Abdullah and his bride Rania Yassine after their wedding ceremony at the Royal Palace in Amman, Jordan.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 1993
Image Credit: AFP via Getty Images 1993: Crown Prince Naruhito and his wife, Crown Princess Masako after their wedding ceremony at the Tokyo Imperial Palace.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 1995
Image Credit: Tim Graham Photo Library via Get 1995: The wedding Of Crown Prince Pavlos Of Greece and Princess Marie-Chantal.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2001
Image Credit: UK Press via Getty Images 2001: The wedding of Prince Haakon Of Norway and Mette-Marit in Oslo.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2002
Image Credit: Getty Images 2002: Princess Martha Louise and Ari Behn wave at the crowd after they were married in Trondheim, Norway.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2002
Image Credit: UK Press via Getty Images 2002: The wedding of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2004
Image Credit: Getty Images 2004: Danish Crown Prince Frederik and his bride Crown Princess Mary leave Copenhagen Cathedral after their wedding ceremony in Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2004
Image Credit: Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images 2004: The wedding of the Crown Prince of Brunei and Dayangku Sarah.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2004
Image Credit: UK Press via Getty Images 2004: The wedding Of Prince Johan Friso of Holland and Mabel Wisse Smit.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2004
Image Credit: AFP via Getty Images 2004: Spanish Crown Prince Felipe of Spain and his wife Princess Letizia Ortiz pose inside the Royal Palace in Madrid.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2005
Image Credit: Tim Graham Photo Library via Get 2005: The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, and The Duchess Of Cornwall, Camilla Parker-Bowles after their wedding.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2010
Image Credit: Getty Images 2010: Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Prince Daniel attend their wedding banquet in Stockholm, Sweden.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2011
Image Credit: PA Images via Getty Images 2011: Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge after their wedding ceremony.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2011
Image Credit: Getty Images 2011: Princess Charlene of Monaco and Prince Albert of Monaco after their wedding.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2011
Image Credit: WireImage 2011: Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall after their wedding in Edinburgh, Scotland.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2011
Image Credit: The India Today Group via Getty 2011: Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema after their wedding.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2012
Image Credit: Corbis via Getty Images 2012: Princess Stephanie of Luxembourg following her wedding to Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2012
Image Credit: AFP via Getty Images 2012: Princess Hajah Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah and her groom Pengiran Haji Muhammad Ruzaini arrive for their wedding banquet.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2013
Image Credit: Getty Images 2013: Prince Rahim Aga Khan and Kendra Salwa Spears pose together during their wedding ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2013
Image Credit: picture alliance via Getty Image 2013: Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Chris O’Neill on their wedding day.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2013
Image Credit: Getty Images 2013: Princess Claire of Luxembourg and Prince Félix of Luxembourg depart from their wedding ceremony.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2013
Image Credit: WireImage 2013: Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and Princess Sofia of Sweden after their wedding in Stockholm, Sweden.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2016
Image Credit: Europa Press via Getty Images 2016: Lady Charlotte Wellesley and Alejandro Santo Domingo attend their wedding in Granada, Spain.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2017
Image Credit: AFP via Getty Images 2017: Ekaterina Malysheva and Prince Ernst August of Hanover after their wedding ceremony in Hanover, Germany.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2018
Image Credit: Getty Images 2018: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex leave St. George’s Chapel after their wedding ceremony in Windsor, England.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2018
Image Credit: Getty Images 2018: Jack Brooksbank and Princess Eugenie leave St George’s Chapel after their wedding ceremony in Windsor, England.
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Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years: 2023
Image Credit: Xinhua News Agency via Getty Ima 2023: The wedding of Crown Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa Al Hussein.