British royal women show how to express their opinion without saying a word

“They welcome you for your appearance and say goodbye for your intelligence.” This saying, famous in some countries, applies especially to royals. After all, all aspects of their lives, including the clothes they wear, are thoroughly analyzed. And sometimes that’s the only possibility they have to express themselves publicly, as they can’t say everything they think. For this reason, the queens and princesses of the British royal house resort to other forms of public expression, and their dresses become great tools when it comes to subtly expressing their points of view. But these messages need to be decoded.

O awesome.club examined the luxurious clothes of queens and princesses and was surprised by the subliminal messages he found in them.

Diana’s most famous dress is not the one she wore to the wedding, but the one that marked her official divorce. In 1992, her marriage to Prince Charles ended, but they continued to fulfill their royal duties. Until, in 1994, Charles publicly confessed his infidelity, revealing his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles. After that statement, the Princess of Wales went to the Vanity Fair magazine party and pulled an ace out of her sleeve to show her character.

At that event, Diana would wear a classic and elegant dress by the Valentino brand. But instead, she chose a short, bare-shouldered, cleavage black dress by Greek designer Christina Stambolian. With this attitude, the princess violated the rules of royal dress. Also, she wore high heels, something she didn’t usually do at events with Charles as she was taller than him. This bold look was quickly dubbed the “revenge dress”.

The accessories were also not chosen by chance: the blue sapphire pearl necklace, commissioned by Lady Di, was made from a brooch presented by Prince Charles at his wedding. Thus, Diana showed her strong character, overcame public shame and managed to look wonderful. So much so that Anna Harvey, her former stylist, said the same night that if the princess wanted to look stunning, she did it.

Wedding is one of the most iconic events in most people’s lives. And royal weddings draw the attention of entire countries, who are watching the life of the monarchy and evaluating every step they take. In 1947, then-Princess Elizabeth married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. These were difficult years in the post-war period. The economy was just starting to recover, and there was a ration coupon system in the UK. It is not difficult to guess, therefore, that the possibilities of organizing a luxury party were limited. So British subjects rallied to help. Brides from all over the country sent their coupons to the princess as a gift. With the help of these coupons, the material for the wedding dress was purchased.

The stylist was Norman Hartnell and the source of inspiration, a painting by Sandro Botticelli, “Spring”, which depicts a young woman wearing a silk dress that flows over her body. Inspired, the stylist set about creating a masterpiece. The fabric was ordered from a Scottish company, after rumors that it had been made from “silkworms from enemy countries, either Italy or Japan”. But Norman convinced everyone that the silkworms were from socialist China.

The wedding dress was entirely embroidered with garlands of white color (symbolizing virginity), jasmine (happiness, purity, sincerity), the white rose of York (innocence), and thorns, which represented fertility. The garment had another curious detail: a sweetheart neckline. The tiara that adorned Elizabeth’s head had belonged to her mother, and it broke in half in the hands of the bride an hour before the celebration. Fortunately, it was possible to find a jeweler who was able to fix it urgently.

Despite all the difficulties, the future Queen of England looked dignified and spectacular, and her appearance instilled hope in people who needed it so much. It is worth remembering that at the time of her marriage Elizabeth was only 21 years old, and she has already managed to make the entire nation fall in love with her.

The same Norman Hartnell mentioned above was the stylist of the royal court between 1938 and 1952, and created two remarkable dresses in the Queen’s history: her wedding dress and her coronation dress. On February 6, 1952, Elizabeth ascended the throne and was proclaimed Queen of Great Britain at age 25. Her coronation took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey, when the queen was 27 years old. The dress was made of cream silk, with intricate embroidery that included the symbols of Great Britain and the Commonwealth of Nations. That last touch, requested by the queen herself, was one of the most important. See what these symbols were, and what they represented:

Tudor Rose — England Leek — Wales Thistle Flower — Scotland Clover — Ireland Maple Leaf — Canada Golden Acacia — Australia Fern — New Zealand Protea — South Africa Lotus — India and Ceylon Wheat Ears — Pakistan

The dress also had one more little secret, which was included by the stylist to bring good luck to the queen: in the place where Elizabeth’s left hand touches the dress, a four-leaf clover was embroidered. Elizabeth II looked beautiful and majestic in this coronation gown. And in 1977, Norman Hartnell became the first fashion designer to be knighted (sir).

In 2005, Charles and Camilla’s wedding took place, for which the bride chose two looks: one for the civil ceremony, the other for the church. This second one consisted of a light blue chiffon dress, and a coat embroidered with golden threads. This choice was due more to an attempt by the couple to make the ceremony go unnoticed than to their age. The two also tried to avoid criticism from the public, who idolized Diana and did not hide the fact that they didn’t like the newlyweds.

Many Brits like Kate Middleton, admire her for her excellent sense of style and even compare her to Diana, whom they loved so much. But all her public appearances generate some discussion. She is known for her favorite trick, the “fashion repeat”, appearing in the same look at different events.

Her nephew’s christening was no exception, and the Duchess of Cambridge appeared in a striking, short “vintage” gown, which caused disapproval among monarchy fans for violating royal dress code. However, as Meghan Markle also often ignores them, perhaps this was a kind of response from Kate to her sister-in-law, as she is not the only one breaking the rules. By the way, Kate had the same look on Prince Philip’s birthday in 2011. An interesting accessory was the pearl earring Middleton wore, the same one Princess Diana wore at Prince Harry’s christening. This caused a lot of controversy on social media, and many people claimed that Harry’s wife should wear these earrings, not Kate.

In 2017, on the anniversary of Princess Diana’s death, Kate Middleton visited the memorial garden at Kensington Palace. For the occasion, she chose an elegant green Prada dress with a poppy print. In England, red poppies symbolize memory and hope. Thus, the Duchess was able to express her respect for her husband’s mother.

To appreciate this choice of Meghan’s, one has to go back a little, to the time of the wedding. British designer Emilia Wickstead, cult of the English aristocracy, told the Daily Mail that the dress worn at the wedding, a £200,000 Givenchy, copied a dress from her £7,000 collection. The stylist also criticized the look used, saying that a simple dress could have been used. Designers from major fashion houses then invaded social media, saying that Emilia had already copied other famous couturiers. All this made Emilia change her mind, and go on to say that Meghan Markle had married in a beautiful outfit, which did not look like any of her collections.

After all this scandal, many people thought that the Duchess of Sussex would never wear any dress from this brand again, but that didn’t happen. Meghan showed that she doesn’t hold hard feelings, and went in a black Emilia Wickstead dress to an event in Sydney, which had been organized to celebrate Australia and New Zealand’s national holiday.

In October of last year, the sixth granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, Eugenia of York, walked down the aisle. She chose a dress with an open back, revealing a large scar she has had since childhood thanks to surgery. So she encouraged people with scars not to limit their freedom to choose clothes, nor to censor themselves with unnecessary taboos, showing that scars are there to tell stories. The princess also said that this is a way for her to communicate with people who are going through similar situations.

What about you, do you give importance to the color of your clothes and the prints on it? What ways to express yourself without words do you use?