Unlike both of her daughters, who went for gorgeous lace-sleeved gowns on their big days, Carole Middleton’s wedding dress was far less traditional with its boho style. The Princess of Wales’s parents haven't publicly shared pictures from their 1980 nuptials and yet we know exactly what Carole’s dress was like, thanks to her daughter-in-law.
When James Middleton married Alizée Thevenet in 2021 the bride said "I do" wearing Carole’s bardot-neckline gown. To celebrate their 4th wedding anniversary James has shared two never-before-seen pictures on Instagram - including a full-length glimpse at the dress.
The couple got married in France and so the off-shoulder design of Carole’s wedding dress was a perfect choice for the gorgeous September sunshine. In the first picture James and Alizée can be seen leaving a building hand in hand and beaming as confetti is thrown into the air.
The second shows the two walking on the beach and the combination of these snaps gives curious fans a great look at both the front and back of the gown. It fell to an elegant midi length with an A-line shaped skirt that was far less voluminous than Kate or Pippa’s dresses.
A waist belt gave it extra shaping and tied at the back, and the bardot neckline had a frill running across it covered with embroidery. What looks to be a lace trim ran along the edge of this frill and the bottom hem of the dress too.
Everything about the design of Carole and Alizée’s dress was whimsical, feminine and delicate. Speaking previously to Hello!, Alizée revealed that she’d tried on her mother-in-law’s wedding gown during lockdown, when she and James were living with his parents.
"My ‘something borrowed’ was in fact my dress from my mother-in-law Carole who last wore it 41 years ago on her wedding day in June, 1980," Alizée said. "While talking about dresses with Carole and sharing ideas during lockdown for inspiration, I tried on her wedding dress and fell in love with it."
She went on to describe how "amazing" it was for her to be able to give a frock as "beautiful" as Carole’s a "second lease of life". Alizée explained that it’s "always troubled" her that wedding dresses are typically only worn once.
If you're wondering whether she made any changes to Carole Middleton’s wedding dress for her own big day 41 years later, this doesn’t appear to have happened.
"It fitted me perfectly and was exactly what I wanted," Alizée shared.
So although Carole and Michael’s wedding pictures remain private, her dress likely looked the same or very similar to when Alizée wore it. If I had to describe Carole’s style I wouldn’t immediately say "boho" and yet it’s clear that she does have a fondness for this judging by her wedding dress.
Her wedding also sounds like it was relatively relaxed, which would work with this type of gown too. In an interview with The Telegraph in 2018 it was revealed that the mum-of-three planned her own big day and it involved an evening bonfire.
"I found the venue, organised the wedding breakfast, the bonfire and chilli con carne in the evening," she said.
