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Inside the top-secret operation that kept Meghan Markle's wedding dress under wraps.

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When Meghan Markle stepped out of the Rolls-Royce at St George’s Chapel in Windsor on Saturday, more than two billion people were watching, most waiting to see one thing: her dress.

But according to The Sun, only a tiny handful of people actually knew what was coming.

The British newspaper reports that just five individuals knew details of the silk Givenchy gown before the highly anticipated ceremony, all of whom took part in a carefully planned operation to keep the design under wraps.

Among them, the 36-year-old’s stylist friend Jessica Mulroney, Givenchy’s British artistic director, Clare Waight Keller, and two Givenchy assistants. And, of course, Meghan herself.

Kensington Palace has since released sketches of the dress and the veil. In a statement on Twitter, the palace said Meghan and Waight Keller “worked closely together” on the design, aiming to “epitomise a timeless minimal elegance referencing the codes of the iconic House of Givenchy”.

The subterfuge began back in January when the former Suits actor began making plans for the dress.

In order to avoid detection by the public or paparazzi, consultations and fittings were reportedly conducted at Waight Keller’s Chelsea home instead of at Givenchy itself. The now Duchess of Sussex would reportedly arrive wearing a nondescript baseball cap or beanie.

The Haute Couture gown, which is believed to cost in the region of $360,000, consists of bespoke double bonded silk with six seams.

Givenchy is also responsible for the silk tulle veil, which featured the national flowers of all 53 Commonwealth nations and took hundreds of hours to make.

The Mamamia Out Loud team huddle together for a raw, unedited, and slightly inappropriate Royal Wedding debrief.

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Top Comments

Guest 6 years ago

$360,000? That dress was unerwhelming to say the least. It also had really ugly visible seams. Sheesh. More money than sense.