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Sketches of the Royal Wedding dress unveiled by Kensington House

All 53 nations of the Commonwealth were represented in the five-meter-long veil designed by award-winning designer Claire Waight Keller.
Sketches of the dress worn by Meghan Markle during the Royal Wedding were unveiled on Sunday, May 20, 2018 by Kensington House on Twitter.

Kensington Palace released images of the design of Meghan Markle's spectacular wedding dress on Sunday.

Award-winning designer Claire Waight Keller came up with the dress after consulting with Markle on what she wanted for the design.

The Kensington Palace Twitter feed called the design a "timeless minimal elegance referencing the codes of the iconic House of Givenchy."

According to a release by Kensington House, Markle chose to work with Waight Keller on the design after meeting with her early this year.

Markle "wanted to highlight the success of a leading British talent who has now served as the creative head of three globally influential fashion houses -- Pringle of Scotland, Chloe and now Givenchy," Kensington House said.

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She had expressed the wish to have all 53 Commonwealth nations with her through the ceremony, and this was represented in the five-meter-long veil designed by Waight Keller. Flowers from each of the nations were blended into the veil itself.

"The Commonwealth family of nations – of which Her Majesty The Queen is Head – will be a central part of Prince Harry’s and Ms. Markle’s official work following His Royal Highness’s appointment as Commonwealth Youth Ambassador. Ms. Markle wanted to express her gratitude for the opportunity to support the work of the Commonwealth by incorporating references to its members into the design of her wedding dress," Kensington House said.

In addition to the flora of the nations of the Commonwealth, Markle selected two personal favorites -- Wintersweet, which grows on the grounds of Kensington Palace in front of Nottingham Cottage and the California Poppy, which is the official flower of the state of her birth, California.

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A selection of flora distinctive from every member state of the Commonwealth is listed below:

AFRICA:

  • Botswana - Ear of Sorghum and Cat’s Claw
  • Cameroon - Red Stinkwood
  • Gambia - White Variety Orchid
  • Ghana - Caladium
  • Kenya - The Tropical Orchid
  • Lesotho - Spiral Aloe
  • Malawi - Lotus
  • Mauritius - Trochetia Boutoniana
  • Mozambique - Maroon Bell Bean
  • Namibia - Welwitschia
  • Nigeria - Yellow Trumpet
  • Rwanda - Torch Lily
  • Seychelles - Tropicbird orchid
  • Sierra Leone - Scadoxus
  • South Africa - Protea
  • Swaziland - Fire Heath
  • Uganda - Desert rose
  • United Republic of Tanzania - African violet
  • Zambia - Bougainvillea

ASIA:

  • Bangladesh - White Water Lily
  • Brunei Darussalam - Simpor
  • India - Indian Lotus
  • Malaysia - Bunga Raya Hibiscus
  • Pakistan - Jasmine
  • Singapore - Vanda Miss Joaquim Orchid
  • Sri Lanka - Blue Water Lily

CARIBBEAN & AMERICAS:

  • Antigua and Barbuda - Agave
  • Bahamas - Yellow Elder
  • Barbados - The Pride of Barbados
  • Belize - The Black Orchid
  • Canada - Bunchberry
  • Dominica - Carib Wood
  • Grenada - Bougainvillea
  • Guyana - Victoria Regia Water Lily
  • Jamaica - Lignum Vitae
  • Saint Lucia - The rose and the marguerite
  • St Kitts and Nevis - Poinciana
  • St Vincent & the Grenadines - Soufriere Tree
  • Trinidad & Tobago - Chaconia

EUROPE:

  • Cyprus - Cyclamen Cyprium
  • Malta - Maltese centaury

UNITED KINGDOM:

  • England - Rose
  • Wales - Daffodil
  • Northern Ireland - Flax flower
  • Scotland - Thistle

PACIFIC:

  • Australia - Golden wattles
  • Fiji - Tagimaucia
  • Kiribati - Bidens Kiribatiensis
  • Nauru - Calophyllum
  • New Zealand - Kowhai
  • Papua - Sepik Blue Orchid
  • Samoa - Teuila
  • Solomon Islands - Hibiscus
  • Tonga - Heilala
  • Tuvalu - Plumeria
  • Vanuatu - Anthurium

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