Royal Wedding Pageboy Styles Through the Years
Royal wedding pageboys and bridesmaids often wear outfits that break traditional white dress codes.
The children of the wedding party in royal ceremonies frequently dress in white while incorporating very special fabrics and notes of color.
Wedding planners frequently look to royal ceremonies for style inspiration.
Velvet and Ruffs in Amsterdam
Guillermo and Máxima of the Netherlands married on February 2, 2002, at the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. Their bridal party included three girls and four pageboys wearing burgundy velvet suits with ruff collars, alongside matching headbands for the girls.
Alongside four adult bridesmaids, the bride was accompanied by princess Paulina de Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein, countess Leonie de Waldburg-Zeil-Hohenems, Jonkheer Paulo Alting von Geusau, Baron Johann-Casper von dem Bussche-Haddenhausen, Alexandre Friling, and Floris ter Haar.
Monegasque Countryside Tradition
Alberto de Mónaco and Charlene Wittstock married on July 1, 2011, at the Prince’s Palace of Monaco. Instead of aristocratic children, the couple chose young bridesmaids from different regions of the principality who wore traditional Monegasque folk dresses with red-striped skirts and lace-trimmed sleeves. Their rustic-looking attire also featured a corseted bodice, an apron, lace-up flats, and boaters with ribbons.
Classic Satin in London
Guillermo de Reino Unido and Kate Middleton married on April 29, 2011, at Westminster Abbey in London. The pageboys wore outfits inspired by the uniforms of English guards, while designer Nicki Macfarlane created ivory silk-satin gazar dresses with hand-finished English lace for the four young bridesmaids.
The designer explained on her website that the four little girls wore wide, box-pleated dresses reaching to the calf, made of ivory silk-satin gazar, layered over petticoats, silk organza and silk gauze
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Sailor Suits in Stockholm
Victoria de Suecia and Daniel Westling married on June 19, 2010, at Stockholm Cathedral. Their ten-child procession featured boys in sailor suits and girls in simple long white dresses with matching silk headbands. Vera Blom, princess Catharina Amalia, Giulia Sommerlath, princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, Vivien Sommerlath, Madeleine von Dincklage, Leopold Sommerlath, Ian De Geer, and prince Christian of Denmark accompanied the couple.
Goya-Inspired Gold in Madrid
el rey Felipe and la reina Letizia married on May 22, 2004, at the Almudena Cathedral in Madrid. Designer Lorenzo Caprile created 18th-century yellow-gold outfits for seven pageboys and bridesmaids, drawing direct inspiration from paintings by Francisco de Goya such as the family of the Duke of Osuna.
Royal Weddings in Denmark, Norway and Greece
Federico and Mary of Denmark married on May 14, 2004, at the Church of Our Lady, Copenhagen Cathedral, where the children’s outfits did not feature white. Haakon of Norway and Mette-Marit married on August 25, 2001, at Oslo Cathedral, where Marius Borg Høiby, the controversial son of the princess, served as the principal pageboy alongside bridesmaid flower girls Betina and Emilie Swanstrøm, Kamilla and Anniken Bjørnøy, and Tuva Høiby.
Philippos of Greece and Nina Flohr married on October 23, 2021, at the Cathedral of the Annunciation of St. Mary, Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, where two boys and two girls, all children of friends of the couple, formed the wedding party without fear of yellow.
What the Bridal Party Wore at the Wedding
What did the bridal party wear at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle?
Prince Harry de Reino Unido and Meghan Markle married on May 19, 2018, at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. The boys wore miniature replicas of the Blue and Royals uniform, while the girls wore ivory silk dresses designed by Claire Waight Keller, who gave indications to her team at Givenchy, in Paris.
Which designer created the outfits for the wedding of King Felipe and Queen Letizia?
Designer Lorenzo Caprile created the yellow-gold historical costumes for the seven young attendants. He stated that he based the 18th-century designs on works by artist Francisco de Goya.
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