The Most Beautiful Royal Gowns, Ranked

When visiting Hong Kong in 1989, Princess Diana wore this white silk, pearl, and sequin gown by Catherine Walker. Because of the matching bolero (ah, the '80s), the press at the time dubbed the gown “the Elvis dress.” Whilst this look isn’t everyone’s taste, we reckon it's a daring look by our favorite Royal rebel. In 2012, designer Catherine Walker recalled, “She shone in the dress and the dress shone around her in a shimmering column of glistening pearls.”

British royals are known for supporting British fashion designers, and Duchess Catherine of Cambridge is no different. The Duchess — or Catherine, or Kate — is a fan of Jenny Packham gowns, and regularly steps out in her creations. This is a blush metallic gown with elaborate detailing. This was one of Kate’s first appearances after her globally televised 2011 royal wedding. According to etiquette experts, when dressing, royals need to look “memorably good” as a way of complimenting those waiting for them.

Here we have Princess Anne — the Queen’s only daughter — in a very 1970s ruffled floral dress, paired with white evening gloves. The Princess was attending an event in London’s Dorchester Hotel, and looks almost bohemian, except for her signature chignon. Princess Anne was an successful equestrian in her youth, and won two silver and one gold medal at the European Eventing Championships. Impressively, Anne was the first member of the British royal family to compete in the Olympic games.

This stunning, one-shoulder, white silk, silver beaded dress was custom-made for Princess Diana by Japanese designer Hachi. In this image, the Princess is attending the National Gallery in Washington D.C. in 1985. The dress was one of the first one-shoulder gowns that Diana wore, and the shape went on to become one of her staples. This dress was part of an exhibition of Diana’s clothes, and was eventually sold at an auction for $60,000.

When Kate Middleton appeared on the scene, fashion journalists were quick to come up with “The Kate Effect.” This new term described the fact that everything the Duchess wore in public quickly sold out soon after. After Kate wore this silk-jersey blue wrap dress to announce her engagement, British designer Issa sold out in 43 countries. In fact, Issa was massively overwhelmed with the demand, as it had been a niche brand until that point. Sadly, they closed due to the stress.