Kate Middleton’s wedding dress designer awarded OBE

Designer Sarah Burton, who created the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress, was awarded an OBE by the Queen today.She said working on the coveted commission was a “real honour”.

• Fashion house creative director spent months making the dress.

• OBE was given by the Prince of Wales.

The bridal gown captured the imagination of royal fans across the globe when she walked up the aisle of Westminster Abbey to exchange vows with Prince William last year.

Burton, creative director at fashion house Alexander McQueen, had spent months making the dress with input from the Duchess.

Speaking after receiving the OBE from the Prince of Wales during a Buckingham Palace investiture ceremony, she said: “I’m very, very humbled and it’s just a huge honour to be here - I’m very lucky.”

Burton became creative director of the British label in May 2010 following the death of Alexander McQueen - also known as Lee - earlier that year.

Pregnant

She has a long association with the fashion company having first joined in 1996 as an intern before returning after her graduation and later becoming head of women’s wear before acting as McQueen’s aide.

The designer, who is heavily pregnant with twins due in February, was awarded the OBE for services to the British fashion industry.

She said: “I’ve been given some amazing opportunities - to work for someone as amazing as Lee and then having the honour of doing the wedding dress, that was a real honour.”

The designer said she never expected to receive the royal commission: “It came completely out of the blue, it was very exciting and I felt very privileged.”

Workmanship

Kate’s wedding dress had an intricate train which measured nearly 9ft (2.7m) - modest in comparison to many previous royal brides.

The train and bodice were decorated with delicate lace applique flowers, handcrafted using the Carrickmacross lace-making technique which originated in Ireland in the 1820s.

The lace design also incorporated the four floral emblems of the United Kingdom - the rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock.

In the run-up to the wedding, staged in April last year, St James’s Palace said the bride had chosen British brand Alexander McQueen for the “beauty of its craftsmanship” and its “respect for traditional workmanship and the technical construction of clothing”.