Diana’s wedding dress designer predicts what Meghan Markle will wear

Diana’s wedding dress designer predicts what Meghan Markle will wear

The designer behind Diana's iconic wedding gown has revealed what she predicts Meghan Markle will wear to marry Prince Harry next month.

Elizabeth Emanuel, who together with her then husband David created the dress - complete with 25ft train that Harry's mother wore to marry Prince Charles in 1981, is hoping the royal bride will choose something to 'show off her wonderful legs'.

The designer - who predicted the bride will choose a classic dress, but throw in something that 'makes a fashion sttement' - appeared on This Morning to discuss the hotly-anticipated May nuptials, and revealed a sketch of what she would have designed had she been tasked with making Meghan's gown.  

Her dress had an off-the-shoulder neckline, nipped in waist, and a raised hem at the front to expose a flash of leg.   

'I hope she is going to do something a little bit different,' Elizabeth said on the show. 

'In my collection right now, we are not doing full-length anymore, and wouldn't it be great - because she has got such wonderful legs - to do something a little bit shorter that has still got that classical silhouette. 

'You just know that everyone is going to copy whatever she does,' she added. 

While everyone knew that the Emanuels were designing Diana's dress when she married Prince Charles in 1981, Meghan's designer is a closely guarded secret.

The Emanuels were in their twenties when they got the commission of a lifetime when he and Elizabeth, his partner at the time, were asked to create Diana's dress for her 1981 wedding to Prince Charles.

The tradition has been something really classical in recent years, at the time we did Princess Diana's dress it was the time of froth and romance and we were just out of college and we thought great lets go for it,' Elizabeth said of Diana's iconic gown. 

But the designer is hopeful for something new from Meghan.

'I think it's time for a change, I really, really hope that she will do something a little bit different while keeping in with tradition as well.

'I am sure that she will pick something that has got a bit of a fashion statement in there as well as classic.' 

It is thought that Meghan will follow the Duchess of Cambridge and have two dresses on her big day in May, according to sources.

Prince Harry's fiancée, 36, is expected to have a 'traditional and elegant' wedding gown and a second more glamorous number.

According to a source, there has been 'talk of some lace and sleeves' when it comes to the dress she wears for the ceremony at St George's Chapel in Windsor.

The insider also suggested the same designer will be responsible for both wedding dresses - explaining that the person has been 'sworn to secrecy.' 

The Duchess of Cambridge wore two wedding dresses on her big day in 2011, which were both designed by Alexander McQueen's Sarah Burton. 

A source told Vanity Fair: '[Meghan] will have two dresses, one for the ceremony and another dress for the evening. 

'The plan is for her to change after the ceremony so that she can party the night away in something glamorous and less restrictive. The wedding dress itself will be traditional and elegant.' 

The insider added: 'There is talk of some lace and sleeves and Meghan has been working very closely with the designer who has been sworn to secrecy.'

It comes as speculation mounts that Meghan has picked Burberry as the designer, with the former Suits actress being a long-standing fan of the British brand.  

Sources have told the Mail about several meetings held recently by senior executives to co-ordinate to what has been described as a ‘major PR strategy’ around a ‘high profile’ dress.

‘These meetings have been shrouded in secrecy but it is understood that they concern the PR strategy for a seriously high profile dress,’ a source said.

‘No-one knows for sure whether Burberry has secured the commission for definite as this is all being done very much on a need-to-know basis.

But there can be no more high profile dress this year than Meghan’s.‘

Fashion designer Henry Holland has also put his bet on Burberry's outgoing president Christopher Bailey on designing Meghan's dress.

Speaking to the Wedding Guest Extraordinaire podcast, Holland said: 'I personally really hope it's somebody British.

'I would be quite excited if it was Christopher Bailey's final bow for Burberry. I think that would be a nice thing for him to do, she's worn for them for a long time