Apparently the Queen has to approve this before each royal wedding

(Image credit: getty)

Can you imagine if Kate Middleton hadn't worn that now iconic Alexander McQueen gown? Or if Meghan Markle didn't walk down the aisle in her ivory Givenchy dress? Well those wedding dresses could've been very different indeed, well in theory at least.

You see according to tradition, the Queen has to approve royal wedding dresses before the big day, so if she wasn't keen on them, or deemed them inappropriate, she could've (again in theory) vetoed them, though that has never happened - that we know of at least.

This means Duchess Kate would've shared the designs of her gown with Her Majesty, or perhaps even taken her with her to one of her fittings, and same goes for Princess Eugenie and Duchess Meghan.

(Image credit: getty)

At the time of Meghan and Harry's wedding, it was rumoured that the Queen wasn't a fan of the former actress wearing white, as she has been married before, however she obviously approved the design.

Queen Elizabeth II herself was ahead of her time with her bridal gown, designed by Norman Hartnell, as she shunned the traditional white in favour of a blush colour.

It's not known if she had hers approved by her father, the then King Georve VI, but what we do know is that it only got the go ahead three months before the big day, which isn't very long at all to design such an important dress.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Contributing Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK. She writes about catwalk trends and the latest high street and Instagram sartorial must-haves. She also helms the Women Who Win franchise.

She has worked in fashion for over 10 years, contributing to publications such as Cosmopolitan, Red, Good Housekeeping, and Stylist.