It's a century-old wedding tradition for the groom not to see the bride in her dress until her wedding day. However, weeks before the royal nuptials, Prince Harry broke the rule, somewhat, by helping his then wife-to-be, Meghan Markle, choose her tiara for their big day.
The diamond and platinum bandeau tiara worn by the Duchess of Sussex has just gone on display in a special exhibition, titled A Royal Wedding: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, of the royal couple's wedding outfits.
In a recording made especially for the exhibition, the mother-to-be opens up about the magical moment when she tried on tiaras for her wedding day. And, surprisingly, Harry and the Queen accompanied her for the experience.
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'When it came to the tiara on the day, I was very fortunate to be able to chose this gorgeous art deco style bandeau tiara,' the duchess explains in a joint interview with her husband for the recording.
'Harry and I had gone to Buckingham Palace to meet with her Majesty the Queen to select one of the options that were there which was an incredibly surreal day as you can imagine.'
When it came to picking the right tiara, the 37-year-old revealed that she wanted something to complement her Givenchy wedding dress.
'That was the one that I think as we tried them on stood out,' she said of the tiara, originally made in 1932 for the Queen's grandmother, Queen Mary.
'I think it was just perfect because it was so clean and simple - and also to that point, an extension of what Clare and I had been trying to do with the dress which was have something that could be so incredibly timeless but still feel modern.'
Harry also recalls the moment, gushing: 'Funnily enough, it was the one that suited the best, the one that looked the best on you without question,' he says.
'I shouldn't have really been there - but an incredible loan by my grandmother. Very sweet.'
The Duke of Sussex went on to describe the opportunity to choose a tiara for your wedding as 'every girl's dream', subsequently melting our cold icy hearts.
The tiara features large and small brilliant diamonds with a detachable brooch made up of 10 diamond at its centre.
Opening up about her vision for the wedding look, Givenchy designer Clare Waight Keller revealed that Meghan 'knew at the onset' that she wanted a bateau neckline and a cropped sleeve.
The BBC reports the gown and veil were created after 3,900 hours of work by 50 people.
'I had a very clear vision of what I wanted for the day, and what I wanted the dress to look like,' says Markle in a recording at the exhibition.
'So what was amazing in working with Clare is that sometimes you'll find designers try to push you in a different direction.
'But she just completely respected what I wanted to see for the day, and she wanted to bring that to life for me.'
Prioritising a 'very timeless, classic feeling' to the gown that suited its surroundings at Windsor Castle, the then bride adds: 'I knew that the tailoring was so key, because the dress itself would be so covered up.'
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Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
