Queen Elizabeth and Kate Middleton Both Broke This Royal Custom on Their Wedding Day

While Prince William and Kate Middleton adhered to a number of royal wedding traditions before, during, and after their nuptials on April 29, 2011, including issuing a formal engagement announcement, incorporating seasonal flowers, and having a midday ceremony followed by a luncheon, there was one custom that they decided to break. Typically, at such an occasion, only children are allowed to be in the wedding party, as they serve to represent joy and innocence on the big day. However, for her ceremony, Kate opted to forgo this approach, wanting to include her sister, Pippa, in her wedding party as her maid of honor. And it appears that the princess may not have been the only royal bride to do so.

During Queen Elizabeth’s royal wedding to Prince Philip she also elected to break with this time-honored tradition by including her sister, Princess Margaret, as a bridesmaid in her wedding party. While it’s unclear what specific duties Margaret had on the day of the nuptials, it’s evident that she supported her sister over the course of the day. After Elizabeth and Philip said “I do” at Westminster Abbey, they headed to the balcony of Buckingham Palace to greet members of the public. In her role both as a member of the royal family and as a bridesmaid, Margaret stood next to her sister as the newlyweds waved to eager onlookers.

At Kate’s nuptials in 2011, Pippa was a noticeable presence, helping manage the younger members of the wedding party—and assisting her older sister with her nine-foot train as she entered the church. However, even though the bride may embraced an American tradition by asking her sibling to be her maid of honor, she still honored other British customs, particularly when it came to the outfits of the bridal party. While it’s considered a faux pas at American weddings to don anything in a white hue, the British royal custom is just the opposite, as the bridesmaids are expected to wear the neutral color. In her role, Pippa stayed true to the tradition, opting for an ivory satin-based crepe gown that was designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen. “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,” Gabi Winters, a color expert, told Hello!.

It’s a tradition that many royal brides have embraced—from Queen Elizabeth in 1923 and Princess Diana in 1981 to Kate Middleton in 2011 and Meghan Markle in 2018. However, even though the custom stipulates that the bridesmaids should wear white gowns, some members of the British royal family have put a bit of a modern twist on it, opting to add a hint of color to the ensemble. For example, both Diana and Kate decided to add sashes with a hint of color to the dresses.