Why do royal bridesmaids wear white?
There's nothing quite like a royal wedding, from the towering tiered cake to bespoke designer bridal gowns, star-studded guestlists and more, the royals rarely cut corners when it comes to their nuptials.
SEE: 10 priciest royal weddings of all time – up to £75.5million
Royal weddings follow unusual traditions, too. Typically, it's considered impolite for wedding guests to wear white in a bid to not upstage the bride, but this isn't the case for royal bridesmaids. Throughout history, royal bridesmaids have always been dressed in white. From Princess Diana's bridesmaids to Princess Kate's sister Pippa Middleton, there's no such thing as a colourful bridal party.
WATCH: The most expensive royal weddings of all time
Choosing the colour of your bridesmaids' dresses is an agonising decision for many modern brides, but until around the 1940s, it was a given that your bridal party would be dressed in white. So why do the royals still continue this etiquette?
Though not an official royal rule, it's believed that royal bridesmaids are dressed in white due to a historical belief that white deterred evil spirits.
LOOK: 12 hilarious royal wedding moments caught on camera
Pippa Middleton stunned in white as bridesmaid for her sister
A bride would dress her bridesmaids wearing white in order to confuse any such spirits, safely disguising the bride among the bridal party.
Colour expert Gabi Winters from Chromology also told HELLO!: "Culturally speaking white is a symbol of purity, cleanliness, immaculacy and perfection, which is why it's the natural colour choice for bridal dresses, doctors' coats and seafarers."
RELATED: The Queen's 11 royal wedding rules for Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more brides
While this superstitious practice might seem outdated, another reason the Queen, the Duchess of Sussex, Princess Eugenie and more had their bridesmaids dressed in white could be because of Queen Victoria's influence.
Much of royal tradition is steeped in Queen Victoria's reign, particularly when it comes to fashion. The late monarch solely wore black for the rest of her reign after the death of her husband Prince Albert, which is reflected in the etiquette of royal mourning protocol.
Princess Diana's bridesmaids wore ruffled lace gowns in white
Queen Victoria's trailblazing wedding saw the monarch as one of few royal brides who had worn white for her nuptials. She wrote in her journal after the ceremony: "I wore a white satin gown with a very deep flounce of Honiton lace, imitation of old. I wore my Turkish diamond necklace and earrings, and Albert’s beautiful sapphire brooch."
Little did the former queen know that the white satin gown she wore at age 21 would spark the trend of bridal dressing for centuries to come.
Like this story? Sign up to The Royal Life newsletter to get your weekly dose of royal lifestyle inspiration, from the must-see fashion moments to sneak peeks into royal homes and wellness news.
