Why Princess Eugenie didn’t wear a veil on her wedding day


When Princess Eugenie married her long-term love Jack Brooksbank, she broke royal tradition by not wearing a veil, a bit like her mother Sarah Ferguson, who didn't wear a tiara when she married Prince Andrew.
She opted for a gorgeous Peter Pilotto wedding gown, and the design of the dress featured a neckline which folds around the shoulders and a flowing full-length train.
According to royal.uk, 'the fabric of the dress, also designed by Mr Pilotto and Mr de Vos, includes a number of symbols that are meaningful to Princess Eugenie, such as the White Rose of York, interwoven with ivy'.
Quite unusually for a royal bride, she didn't wear a veil - Kate Middleton's was a rather conservative 6ft veil compared to Princess Diana's 459ft cathedral veil, whereas Meghan's was 16.5ft long.
This is thought to be because she didn't want to hide the scar on her back, which is a reminder of the surgery she had at the age of 12 to correct her scoliosis.
In fact, she specifically asked the designers for a low back to the dress so she could show off her scar, and by wearing a veil, this detail would've been hidden away.
In a recording she did to accompany the display of her dress in Windsor Castle, she explained, 'for me it’s a way of communicating with people who are going through either similar situations with scoliosis or having a scar of their own they are trying to deal with'.
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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.
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