Royal Indeed: Duchess’ Wedding Dress Draws in Record Crowds
October 4, 2011
courtesy of CNN.com
Just when you thought the #hashtags and Royal Wedding watches were over… the event heard ’round the world rears its way back into ‘ooh la la’ all over again! According to CNN, UK’s Telegraph, and People.com, the Duchess of Cambridge - more widely known as Prince William’s prettier half, Kate Middleton – and her decadent dress have given Buckingham Palace a fiscal cause for celebration.
Profitting millions upon millions in ticket sales, the dress and all its trimmings went on display from late July to October 3, and while exact numbers won’t be known until after the year end audit, first case estimates put more than 600,000 visitors in eye line with the royal wedding WOWSA gown, breaking the previously held record of visitors from 1994 of 420,000.
photos courtesy of people.com
The Alexander McQueen dream dress – designed by Sarah Burton – is considered the Rolls-Royce of wedding wear. Composed of silk gazer and hand-tatted lace intricately comprised with shapes representing the counrties of the UK, this knock out gown also features a 9 foot train and several bling-tastic accessories. Among the ones on display, the Queen Mum’s ‘something borrowed’ 1936 Cartier halo-styled tiara and a pair of Robinson Pelham diamond earrings, a ‘something new’ gift from her parents which featured their family crest.
And the ‘oohing’ and ‘awwing’ doesn’t stop there! While the majority of money raised will go to preserving the Royal Collection – housing thousands of paintings and treasures of the Royal Palace, the Duchess of Cambridge asked that a slice of that ca-ching go to charity. According to the Telegraph:
When she gave permission for the dress to go on display, the Duchess made it clear that she wanted the gown to raise money for charity, and a proportion of the takings will go to the charitable foundation set up by the Duchess and her husband to receive wedding gifts. (telegraph.co.uk)
But what’s next for the dress, one might wonder? Straight to storage, and rightfully so! According to a palace source,
Kate is “keen to ensure that the dress survives undamaged for as long as possible, and so this inevitably means limiting the number of times that it is transported or displayed.” (people.com)
In the meantime, we can all still sigh in remembrance, keep the Royal Wedding pics a Google search away and hold close to a our memory bank, the day a Prince married a Princess.
Filed under: Celebrity Dish, as you wish!
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