Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge's (AKA Kate Middleton) hand-crafted lace Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen wedding dress is undoubtedly one of the most famous gowns of all time, but the breathtaking reveal at Westminster Abbey was almost ruined thanks to a leak of the designer.
Before she was even a Duchess, Kate chose the British brand "for the beauty of its craftsmanship and its respect for traditional workmanship and the technical construction of clothing". That showed up in the gorgeous details of the dress, which had roses, daffodils, thistles, and shamrocks woven into the sleeves to symbolise England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
However, like many people who plan a wedding, Kate found that things didn't run entirely smoothly. She - understandably - wanted to keep the designer a secret so that her dress would be a total surprise. But The Sunday Times managed to find out that Alexander McQueen would be making the dress over a month before the big day, and the then-29-year-old was apparently gutted about the leak.
In new Channel 5 documentary Secrets of the Royal Dressmakers, royal correspondent Katie Nicholl revealed: "Behind the scenes I think that caused tears at the Palace because Kate had done everything she could to keep the wedding dress a secret."
Luckily, no details about the design itself were revealed and of course, by the time the wedding rolled around in April 2011, she was beaming from ear to ear.
And we're still obsessed nine years on, so we'd say that's a win.
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