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Royal weddings have held major influence over global popular culture and fashion in modern history. From Princess Diana in 1981, to Kate Middleton in 2011, to Meghan Markle in 2018, royal brides have found themselves at the center of a massive media circus. Given that much attention, it’s no wonder that the women of the British royal family choose to wear intricately designed gowns. While the dress codes for guests at some of the biggest modern royal weddings can be a bit strict, the expectations for a royal bride are infinitely higher. Many royal women favor designers at major fashion houses like Alexander McQueen and Givenchy, whom they commission to create a fabulous custom gown for their nuptials. Kate’s wedding dress was courtesy of McQueen, and took a team of over 50 people to craft in secret. Queen Elizabeth II’s gown needed 350 seamstresses.
Even though modern royal family wedding dresses vary in terms of timelessness, the one constant is their flashy price tags. Many of them cost over a quarter of a million dollars, and involved countless hours of labor to create. We’re taking a closer look at six of the most iconic royal wedding dresses to rank them from the least to most expensive. While all of these gowns are beautiful and fit each respective bride perfectly, some cost much more than others.
Princess Beatrice borrowed one of Queen Elizabeth II’s gowns for her wedding
While we can never forget some of Princess Beatrice’s most outdated looks, she did vintage fashion right on her wedding day. Beatrice married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi during the COVID-19 lockdown, so her ceremony was extremely low-key. To fit the down-to-earth vibes, Beatrice borrowed a gown from Queen Elizabeth II; the dress, which was designed in the 1960s by Norman Hartnell, was updated for Beatrice’s nuptials with organza puff sleeves. Since Beatrice didn’t pay for the gorgeous dress, we’re placing this gown at the bottom of the list.
Princess Eugenie’s custom wedding dress cost $260,000, and had a heartfelt meaning
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Princess Eugenie has worn some beautiful wedding guest dresses, but her own wedding gown takes the cake. For her 2018 wedding, Eugenie stunned in an ornate dress estimated to cost about $260,000 (via Daily Mail). In addition to its long embroidered train, Eugenie’s gown also included an exposed back — intentionally revealing her scoliosis scar. “I think you can change the way beauty is, and you can show people your scars and I think it’s really special to stand up for that,” she said (via BBC News).
Meghan Markle paid $265,000 for her stunning Givenchy gown
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Even though Meghan Markle’s wedding dress was deemed inappropriate by royals for an antiquated reason, it is still one of the best royal wedding gowns of all time. Meghan’s understated boat-neck wedding dress was designed by Givenchy’s then-creative director Clare Waight Keller, with the Duchess of Sussex reportedly paying an estimated $265,000 for it herself, according to The Knot. Meghan’s 2018 wedding day ensemble also included a 16.5-foot silk tulle veil embroidered with flowers representing each of the British Commonwealth countries. Meghan’s dress may have been pricey, but it was well worth it.
Princess Diana’s wedding gown would have cost about $440,000 today
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Is it any surprise that the eternally iconic Princess Diana wore a fabulous wedding dress? Diana, who was only 20 years old at the time of her 1981 wedding to then-Prince (now King) Charles III, commissioned designers Elizabeth and David Emanuel to create her gown. The dress became one of the most unique royal family wedding dresses of all time, and was made from silk taffeta, 10,000 mother-of-pearl sequins, and featured an elaborate 25-foot train. Diana’s over-the-top gown cost an estimated $115,000, which, today, is equivalent to about $440,000.
Kate Middleton’s iconic wedding dress would have cost a whopping $500,000 in 2026
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Another of the most iconic (and expensive) royal wedding dresses belongs to Kate Middleton. Kate picked Alexander McQueen artistic director Sarah Burton to design her gown for her 2011 wedding to Prince William. Kate’s gorgeous lace gown and its nearly 9-foot-long train were incredibly delicate, and the artisans working on the dress reportedly had to wash their hands every 30 minutes while working on it to avoid damaging the fabric. It’s no surprise that the gown was expensive, estimated to have cost $332,000 in 2011, or over $500,000 in 2026.
Queen Elizabeth II had the most expensive wedding dress of the royal family
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Even though Queen Elizabeth II’s wedding dress only cost around $42,000 to make in 1947, it is the most expensive royal wedding gown in history. How? Well, when adjusted for inflation, Queen Elizabeth’s stunning gown would cost a staggering $1.6 million today (via InStyle). For her wedding to Prince Philip, the late Queen’s beautiful silk and satin gown was assembled by 350 seamstresses and embellished with 10,000 imported seed pearls. The gown, which was designed by longtime royal dressmaker Norman Hartnell, also featured an ornate train embroidered with flowers.
How did we rank the British royal family’s wedding dresses by price?
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In order to rank the royal family’s wedding gowns by price to the best of our ability, we used a few resources. To find the initial cost of the royal women’s wedding dresses, we found reliable reports that estimated what the dresses likely cost (though, keep in mind that these are just approximations made by royal experts). For weddings that took place over a decade ago (earlier than 2016), we adjusted the dress’ cost to account for inflation using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator and other tools.