While new brides tend to favour the full-on romantic white gown, choosing a suitable style for second nuptials can be more of a challenge. As Camilla prepares to unveil the outfit for her April 9 wedding to Prince Charles, hellomagazine.com takes a look at her likely fashion statement and those of other second-time around brides
CAMILLA PARKER BOWLES
A massive meringue may have been Camilla's dream dress when she floated down the aisle of Westminster Abbey to marry Andrew Parker Bowles in July, 1973, but what does a divorcee choose for her second wedding?
With unpredictable spring weather in April, Camilla is planning to wear a dress with a matching coat to the Guildhall civil ceremony in Windsor, HELLO! has learned. But she has also ordered a more formal, full-length outfit for the post-ceremony blessing at St George’s Chapel in the precincts of Windsor Castle and reception afterwards for 700 in the state apartments. Fashion industry insiders whisper that she will wear gold, rather than the pastel pinks and blues she usually favours.
Camilla’s special outfits have been created by the Kensington-based couturiers, Anna Valentine and Antonia Robinson, who work under the joint name Robinson Valentine and who have been giving their famous client secret fittings at Clarence House.
Laura B, the top London designer who dresses Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Catrina Skepper, and many other celebrities, says: “The whole look should be one of understated elegance. A sleek dress with a matching coat in a floaty fabric like organza would be suitable. But knowing Robinson Valentine specialise in long skirts, I imagine they may have made an ankle or floor length skirt topped off with a fitted jacket with a peplum."
Designer Neil Cunningham, whose famous brides include Ffion Hague, Darcey Bussell, Jools Oliver and Katie Derham, doesn’t have a problem designing for an older bride. “Camilla obviously can’t wear a full-blown bridal gown nor just a dressy suit, but I would definitely try to avoid the hybrid jacket and long skirt look that Mrs Thatcher favoured for grand nights out,” he says. “I would suggest a semi-structured gown with a scooped neckline, featuring soft floaty edges – maybe a rose pink organza or a large rose print even!”
Jenny Packham, who specialises in both catwalk and bridal fashion, recommends that Camilla covers her upper arms, suggesting either a dress with long sleeves or, alternatively, a bolero jacket. “A deep neckline is perfect when accessorising with amazing jewellery and this could be adopted with either the suit or dress option,” she adds.
Irish milliner Philip Treacy, who has been commissioned to create Camilla’s wedding hat, is understood to have produced one of his trademark feathered head-pieces for the big day. Philip, who has been creating hats for Camilla for several years, is said to have opted for a small hat, perched at a natty angle.
PRINCESS ANNE
The high-necked, princess-line gown she wore to her first wedding now looks rather prim, but Princess Anne married Army officer Captain Mark Phillips in November 1973 when it was rather chilly. Her second trip down the aisle at Crathie Kirk, near Balmoral, in December 1992, also called for a long-sleeved, woollen suit, as all the guests wore overcoats.
Her cream outfit's simple lines may have been rather unexciting, but it had a classic simplicity. She wore a black velvet beret trimmed with cream flowers to echo the colour of her suit and carried a posy of heather, a tribute to her Scottish surroundings. The groom looked smart in his naval uniform.
The Queen’s only daughter is renowned for ignoring passing trends, although she wore a miniskirt in the 1960s when she favoured the designer Susan Small. Since then she has become famous for wearing outfits that are up to 25 years old. It’s a sure bet that somewhere, carefully preserved at the back of a wardrobe, she still has her 12-year-old second wedding suit.
PRINCESS CAROLINE
For Caroline’s first wedding to the boulevardier Philippe Junot in 1978 the Monegasque royal went traditional with a romantic white dress in silk organza scattered with white appliqué blossoms. Most of the detail was on the loose, lace-edged sleeves. Sadly, the marriage ended after 28 months.
But when in 1999 she married Prince Ernst of Hanover, the man her mother Princess Grace had hoped she would choose the first time around, Caroline was a widow. Her second husband the Italian businessman Stefano Casiraghi had been killed in a speedboat accident in 1990. She was pregnant with her and Ernst's first child - a daughter called Alexandra - when she tied the knot, which explains why she chose a loose-fitting blue-grey suit, which neatly concealed her condition.
Caroline has always been dressed by Karl Largerfeld, who is a close friend, and it was to him she turned for advice when choosing something suitable for a third wedding.
The stark simplicity of her suit was relieved by eye-catching buttons, which cleverly draw attention away from her expanding waistline.
PRINCESS MICHAEL OF KENT
As a Catholic marrying a Protestant prince, Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz, was unable to wed the Queen’s cousin Prince Michael of Kent in England. In fact, Michael had to relinquish his position in the line of succession when he made her his bride. So, when they tied the knot in a civil ceremony in the neo-Gothic town hall of Vienna in 1978, the bride wanted to look wonderful in a low-key way.
Princess Michael, who was divorced from her first husband Tom Troubridge, chose a cream coatdress. The timeless simplicity of her heavy silk outfit will never date. And by wearing her long, fair hair coiled into a soft chignon, Marie Christine managed to look regal in a non-fussy way.
She had hoped to have a church ceremony at Vienna’s Catholic Schottenkirche, but the Pope forbade this, as Prince Michael had declared that any children of the marriage would be brought up as protestants. To compensate for this lack of religious blessing, the couple had a wedding ball in Vienna, for which the bride was at last able to wear a gorgeous, long gown.
VICTORIA SPENCER
When Victoria Spencer walked down the aisle of Great Brington parish church, just half a mile from Althorp on a cold, rainy day in 1989, she surprised everyone by wearing a very unusual wedding gown. The dress designed by Tomasz Starzewski was made of 15 metres of lace, ten metres of silk, and had taken 70 hours to create. Victoria had asked him to create for her “something beautiful, like a painting”.
The heavy lace gown was trimmed around the hips with fur, which many people thought highly original if slightly odd. Victoria had met Tomasz when she was modelling in New York and, although he did not normally design wedding dresses, he agreed to do one especially for her.
With young Prince Harry as one of her attendants, she and her groom wanted to create a wedding tableau inspired by the romantic mid-Eighteenth century, which was historically relevant to the Spencer family. In keeping with this period Victoria wore her wedding dress to go away in, as the custom for changing into a different honeymoon dress did not start until the beginning of the 19th century.
For her second wedding earlier this year, she again opted for a romantic look. It was a warm, mid-summer day in Capetown – where she now lives – so her white dress adorned with lace on the bodice and hips by London-based South African designer Gertan de Merwe did not look out of place.
