The Best Royal Wedding Dresses In The Modern Era, Ranked

It seems as though many of us have an obsession with royal weddings. Perhaps it's because we watched too many movies when we were younger and dreamt of being princesses ourselves. We love to hear about whirlwind romances and see the royals' gorgeous engagement rings. But one of the best part of a royal wedding is seeing the princess' entrance. It really does have a magical, fairytale-like vibe to it. And their wedding gowns are often the talk of the town for days, sometimes even months, after the event, much like these 10 stunning celebrity wedding dresses.

So, what makes a good royal wedding dress? For us, it's a dress that blends tradition with modern designs. Perhaps it pays homage to an elder royal or reuses materials from an antique wedding dress. A good royal wedding dress also influences the public when selecting their own wedding gowns. From the British royal family to Monaco's princesses, here are the best royal wedding dresses in the modern era, ranked. For clarity, we are defining the modern era as the late modern/contemporary periods, from 1800 onwards.

In 1981, Princess Diana wed then-Prince Charles in what was then the wedding of the year. Princess Diana's wedding dress stole the show, with a 25-foot train which outdid then-Princess Elizabeth's (now Queen Elizabeth II) 15-foot train. Other than the train, the dress had some other details that made it stand out. The material itself was ivory silk, but with a special detail: it was embellished with antique silk owned by Queen Mary. The dress also featured hand-embroidered sequins and pearls. The silhouette of the dress gives off total romantic, fairytale vibes with a full skirt and puffed sleeves.

The dress was so influential that, within hours of the wedding, replicas began to be manufactured and requests to imitate the iconic dress came pouring in. To this day, the Emanuel brand still receives such requests. This dress is widely considered one of the most iconic wedding dresses of the century.

Princess Charlene and Prince Albert II of Monaco got married in 2011. Although theirs is a royal marriage that made headlines for all the wrong reasons, our focus is on Princess Charlene's stunning wedding dress. The dress, designed by fashion house Armani, pushed the boundaries for a royal. It showed off Princess Charlene's shoulders, but it remained elegant with its silhouette. Princess Charlene took inspiration from Grace Kelly's iconic wedding gown, paying homage to Monaco's history of royal weddings.

One interesting detail about this dress and why it makes it into our top five is that, according to Hello! publication, it took three seamstresses 2,500 hours to make! The dress features 40,000 crystals and 20,000 mother-of-pearl teardrops. That's a lot of detail! Another detail is that it consisted of two trains. Speaking to Vogue, Georgio Armani's niece, Roberta Armani, said: "My uncle wanted to make sure the dress was timeless and sophisticated." And that it was. The dress was influential in bridal fashion, with many brides desiring that timeless, elegant look.

Before Meghan Markle, there was Grace Kelly, an American actress turned royalty. In 1956, Kelly married Prince Ranier III of Monaco, after meeting at a film festival the year prior. Her wedding dress is so iconic that it is one of the most referenced wedding gowns in history. Designed by Helen Rose, the dress features a high neck, long sleeves, a voluminous skirt, and a 10-and-a-half-foot train. It is also made from 125-year-old Brussels lace and thousands of hand-sewn pearls.

Kelly's dress has had a notable influence on today's brides. Kate Middleton, Paris Hilton, and Jasmine Tooks all took a page out of her book when choosing their own wedding dresses. If you look carefully, you'll notice that Middleton's long lace sleeves and high neckline are both similar to Kelly's dress. Hilton's dress also features similar elements. According to This Blue Bird, the dress itself has also influenced bridal fashion, as the silhouette "dominated the second half of the twentieth century."

Princess Beatrice married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in a small, private ceremony in 2020. Although it was during a pandemic, Princess Beatrice didn't let that stop her. What was refreshing about this wedding is that it was intimate, and even the dress choice had a special meaning behind it. It doubled as Princess Beatrice's "something borrowed," as she borrowed the dress from the queen for her wedding. Queen Elizabeth II had worn the dress to the "Lawrence of Arabia" premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square in 1962.

The dress features a diamante design down the front and is made from ivory Peau De Soie taffeta. Princess Beatrice did add her own touches to the dress. The queen's dresser, Angela Kelly, tailored the dress to fit Princess Beatrice and included puff sleeves. This dress gained points for being sustainable, sentimental, and downright beautiful. It was on display at Windsor Castle from September to November 2020 for the public to admire.

When Kate Middleton married Prince William in 2011, the world stopped to watch. While it was a beautiful wedding filled with high-profile guests, we all couldn't keep our eyes off Middleton. Her wedding dress really stole the show. It earns the top spot for being elegant and paying homage to past royals, but also for being trendsetting and stylish. 

Middleton's wedding dress, designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, drew inspiration from Grace Kelly's iconic dress. It featured a high neck, long sleeves, and a lot of lace. According to the BBC, all the materials for the dress were sourced from British businesses in an effort to support local businesses. The dress holds some special details, such as a lace applique along the skirt and bodice, which features the national flowers of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The gown's train was nearly nine feet long. This dress inspired brides around the world, sparking a resurgence of long-sleeved lace gowns.

There were many looks for us to consider when creating this ranking, since there are many royal wedding dresses to choose from. It was difficult to narrow it down since most royal wedding dresses are so beautiful, seeing as royals have disposable incomes to spend on the perfect dress. Once all the images were gathered, we used a methodology to ensure that the ranking was justified. The methodology focused on a few key aspects of the wedding dresses. 

We believe that a good wedding dress blends both traditional and modern designs. There is something timeless about royalty, so a good wedding dress should reflect that, but also keep up with the times. Of course, we paid attention to the overall look and the intricacy of the gown, as well. A good royal wedding dress also influences the public in terms of their own fashion choices. Gowns that inspired replicas or created demands for certain features ranked higher on our list.