Zara Tindall looked angelic in rule-bending bridesmaid dress we all forgot

Zara Tindall has worn countless elegant dresses in her time, but royal fans might have forgotten that she was, in fact, a bridesmaid at a royal wedding all the way back in 1994.

Princess Anne's daughter, now 45, was just 13 when she formed part of Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones' bridal party as she wed Daniel Chatto. 

In choosing her bridesmaids' dresses, Princess Margaret's daughter, now 61, tore up the rulebook. While it is traditional for the bride to be the only lady in white on the wedding day, Lady Sarah allowed her bridesmaids, who also included Lady Francis Armstrong-Jones and Tara Noble Singh, to wear white. 

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In fact, the dress Zara wore was almost identical to Sarah's bridal gown, with long sleeves, a corset-style top, a lace-up back and full skirt. The royal teenager wore her hair in a loose updo adorned with pink flowers.

What did Lady Sarah Chatto wear on her wedding day?

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Meanwhile, Zara's cousin looked beautiful in a Jasper Conran dress featuring a Queen Anne neckline and floor-grazing skirt. The most striking element of her look was her headpiece. 

Along with a full-length silk tulle veil, Sarah wore the Snowdon Floral Tiara. According to Royal Watcher, her bridal gown designer suggested that floral brooches from Princess Margaret's collection be converted into a tiara with a base made by Wartski. 

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In the 1960s and 1970s, Princess Margaret wore the pieces in various iterations in her hair and pinned to her clothes, including to her daughter's christening in 1964.

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Sarah later wore the sparkly flowers in brooch form, for example, to the late Queen and Prince Philip's Golden Wedding Anniversary Gala at Royal Festival Hall in 1997. She also paired the tiara with her mother's Greville Pearl Earrings.

Zara Tindall's bridesmaids

Meanwhile, for Zara's wedding to Mike Tindall in 2011, her bridesmaids also defied the norm by wearing white. Her bridal party included her half-sister, Stephanie Phillips, and friends Nell Maude, Jaz Jocelyn, and Hope Balshaw, who wore A-line dresses with satin grey sashes.

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Her maid-of-honour, close friend Dolly Maude, wore a grown-up version with a slash neckline and a subtly puffed skirt.

White bridesmaid dresses were actually commonplace until around the 1940s, but many royals have continued to follow this etiquette, including Queen Elizabeth II, the Duchess of Sussex and Princess Eugenie.

Not only is the colour a symbol of "purity" and "perfection", according to Colour expert Gabi Winters from Chromology, but it was also believed to confuse evil spirits, safely disguising the bride among the bridal party.