Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Spring Summer 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    • Digital Issues
    • Women Who Win
    1. Style

    Meghan Markle had two extra flowers sewn into her wedding veil

    Penny Goldstone's avatar
    By Penny Goldstone
    Published 10 June 2020 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    (Image credit: Getty Images)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    When Meghan Markle wed Prince Harry two years ago, she wanted to add a special tribute to the UK in her wedding dress and accessories.

    Not only did she pick a British female designer, Clare Waight Keller (who at the time worked for French couture house Givenchy), to design her gown, but she asked her to help make it extra special.

    This resulted in her intricate wedding veil, which was embroidered with 53 flora and fauna, one each to represent all of the Commonwealth countries.

    The veil itself was made from silk tulle, with flowers embroidered in silk and organza. These included the lotus flower for Malawi, the blue water Lily for Sri Lanka, the Maltese Centaury and the Thistle of Scotland to name just a few.

    The designer recently revealed, 'Through hours of conversation, meetings together, and research, slowly all the pieces of that story came together. Purity and simplicity were the guiding principles, a narrative of nature through the 53 florals of the Commonwealth to bring the world into the journey of the ceremony and subtlety bringing the lines of Givenchy and the history of the Maison to capture the classical timeless beauty I knew she wanted to achieve.'

    You may like
    • The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in Colombia Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Had a Secret UK Home in the First Year of Their Marriage
    • Meghan Markle in 'With Love, Meghan' Meghan Markle’s Sweet Glimpse Into Sussex Family Life Is Going Viral
    • Dua Lipa attends the wedding Of Simon Porte Jacquemus And Marco Maestri Did Dua Lipa Use Astrology to Plan Her Wedding? Here's Why the Internet Thinks So

    The Givenchy team also added crops of wheat, to symbolise love and charity.

    Meanwhile, Meghan asked to have two extra flowers added to her veil, to illustrate two other specific moments of her life. These were the wintersweet, which grows in the grounds of Kensington Palace in front of Nottingham Cottage, where she and Prince Harry first lived when they got engaged.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    The second was the California Poppy, which is of course the State flower from the Duchess of Sussex's place of birth, California.

    Penny Goldstone
    Penny Goldstone
    Social Links Navigation
    Contributing Fashion Editor

    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.

    Read more
    The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in Colombia
    Royal News Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Had a Secret UK Home in the First Year of Their Marriage
    Meghan Markle in 'With Love, Meghan'
    Celebrity News Meghan Markle’s Sweet Glimpse Into Sussex Family Life Is Going Viral
     
     
    Dua Lipa attends the wedding Of Simon Porte Jacquemus And Marco Maestri
    Relationships Did Dua Lipa Use Astrology to Plan Her Wedding? Here's Why the Internet Thinks So
    The Prince and Princess of Wales visit the Isles of Mull and Iona
    Royal News Royal Experts Predict a Major Milestone From Princess Kate This Autumn
     
     
    Latest in Style
    Kinda Chic Trend
    Shopping Is "Kinda Chic" Kinda Cringe? Everyone's Favourite Fashion Word Just Went Completely Out of Fashion
    Kaia Gerber
    Shopping Everything Kaia Gerber Wears Is a Masterclass in Minimalism—These Are the Pieces and Brands She Always Goes Back to
     
     
    Reformation Sale
    Fashion The Reformation Summer Sale Is Full of Autumn Buys—So I Spent Two Hours Finding the Best Ones
    Havaianas Copenhagen Fashion Week 2026
    Fashion Everyone’s Obsessed With Havaianas—Here’s How They Went From Basic Flip-Flops to a Cult Fashion Purchase
     
     
    Latest in News
    Kinda Chic Trend
    Shopping Is "Kinda Chic" Kinda Cringe? Everyone's Favourite Fashion Word Just Went Completely Out of Fashion
    Beauty Digest
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: The Foundation Using Exosome Technology, the Treatment That Transformed My Skin Texture—Plus, the Ever-Earlier Advent Calendar Race
     
     
    Kaia Gerber
    Shopping Everything Kaia Gerber Wears Is a Masterclass in Minimalism—These Are the Pieces and Brands She Always Goes Back to
    Copenhagen Fashion Week street style
    Shopping Kitten-Heel Sandals, Lace Dresses and the Season's New Favourite Shade of Blue— These are the Copenhagen Fashion Week Street Style Trends to Note
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.