The Fragrances Queen Elizabeth, Princess Diana, Kate Middleton, and Meghan Markle Wore on Their Wedding Days
Updated: Nov. 22, 2022
And you can buy them, too!
On wedding days, the bride’s dress usually gets all the attention. And with the gorgeous numbers the royals wear for their weddings, we can’t blame people for talking. But even though we might never be able to afford an Alexander McQueen gown like these royal women, a spritz of perfume is a more affordable way to feel like a true princess. Or, you can always borrow these Princess Diana style tips that still work today.
Queen Elizabeth II
No sources have confirmed the fragrance Her Majesty wore when marrying Prince Philip in 1947, but a Floris scent would make sense. The family-run perfumers have had a Royal Warrant since 1820, and the company is still the Queen’s favorite. Floris hasn’t revealed Her Highness’s favorite scent, but experts speculate it’s probably the same as her favorite flower: White Rose, according to the Telegraph. The perfume has a musky, powdery base, with notes of rose, jasmine, and carnation.
Princess Diana
During her 1981 wedding to Prince Charles, Diana Spencer’s wedding day perfume almost caused a royal mess—quite literally. Princess Diana’s makeup artist Barbara Daly revealed that before the ceremony, the bride accidentally spilled perfume down her dress when trying to dab it onto her wrists, according to Express. Luckily, Daly told Diana to hide the stain by holding the dress so it looked like she was keeping it off the ground. Hopefully, she also used these tricks for making perfume last longer to make the mishap worth it. The unruly perfume was Quelques Fleurs L’Original by Houbigant, which the French company describes as a sensual scent with notes of jasmine, tuberose, lily of the valley, and sandalwood. Her wedding scent wasn’t her favorite though—find out Princess Diana’s favorite (and affordable!) perfume.
Kate Middleton
Clarence House (the official residence of William and Kate) reported that Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, wore a little-known perfume for her wedding day in 2011, according to the Daily Mail. The brand, Illuminum, has only been around for about ten years. Kate’s choice, White Gardenia Petals, is ultra-feminine with notes of white gardenia, muguet, and jasmine, with amber tones as its base. As soon as the news broke that it was the Duchess’s wedding scent, the bottles sold out within moments, and eager buyers were put on a two-week waiting list.
Meghan Markle
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle chose a unisex perfume for their big day. The custom fragrance is by legendary perfumer Floris London, according to People. The scent has notes of wood and spice as well as bergamot, orange blossom, and green tea. The Sussex wedding day perfume is part of their private collection so it isn’t available to the public. However, the scent is heavily based off of their Bergamotto di Positano fragrance if you want to smell like a royal. Here are some other tiny details you probably missed at Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s wedding.
