Three Royal Wedding Guests Wore This £340 Dress From The Harry And Meghan Lifetime Movie

A case of life imitating art?

lifetime movie self portrait dress

by Katie Rosseinsky |
Published on

From the heavy-handed Princess Diana symbolism to gratuitous references to The Crown to the vilification of Kate Middleton as Kensington Palace’s resident mean girl, there are plenty of things wrong with Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance, the Lifetime movie based on the earlier stages of the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s relationship, but costume design is not one of those things.

Claudia Da Ponte, the designer tasked with recreating Meghan’s pre-royal wardrobe for the two-hour cliché-fest, looked to the former actress’s now-deleted Instagram account to learn more about her personal style, and scoured websites dedicated to documenting precisely that (such as the indispensable Meghan’s Mirror). Now, in a plot twist far more exciting than any of Harry & Meghan’s soapy micro-dramas, it seems that not one but three guests at Harry and Meghan’s real-life wedding wore a dress worn by Lifetime Meghan in one of the movie’s pivotal scenes.

The dress in question is a £340 style from one of Meghan’s go-to occasionwear labels, Self-Portrait. The Sweetheart Crochet-Lace and Crepe Midi Dress (which is still available in a handful of sizes on the brand’s website) features the label’s distinctive crochet work on the long-sleeved bodice, with a pleated midi skirt in a navy and white chevron print.

Twitter user Michaela was the first to spot the first two instances of this strange case of life imitating art (the question of whether a Lifetime movie can be described as art is one that we'll tackle another time).

Another user @itsMegha then spotted the same style on a third guest, albeit in an inverse colourway.

To further add to this tangled web of fashion and high culture, the dress in question was inspired by an outfit that (real) Meghan was photographed in while travelling to the Queen’s annual Christmas lunch: Self-Portrait’s Nightshade Midi Dress, a £300 midi style with a similarly intricate bodice (this time in Self Portrait’s specially designed guipure lace). More recently, she wore a floral print style in green from the label (which is also favoured by the Duchess of Cambridge for red carpet events) for an Invictus Games reception at the Australian High Commission.

Was this a style faux pas or merely the ultimate meta-fashion moment? We'll leave you to decide.

Catch up on some of the most fashionable guests at the royal wedding in the gallery below...

Gallery

All The Guests At Meghan & Harry's Wedding

Prince Harry Meghan Markle Royal Wedding Guests1 of 31
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Earl Spencer and Lady Karen Spencer

Prince Harry's uncle - and Princess Diana's younger brother, with his wife, Lady Karen Spencer.

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James Blunt and Sofia Wellesley

The "Beautiful" singer and his wife Sofia arrive at the royal wedding

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Idris Elba and Sabrina Dhowre

Luther star Idris Elba and his then-fiancee Sabrina Dhowre were surprise guests at the wedding

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Oprah Winfrey

Oprah arrived at the wedding dressed in Stella McCartney

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Carole Middleton

Pippa and Kate Middleton's mother arrived at the royal wedding in an ice-blue skirt suit and matching fascinator

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Amal and George Clooney

Amal and George Clooney both looked incredible - Amal is 100% topping the best-dressed list in her mustard yellow Stella McCartney ensemble

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Cressida Bonas

Harry's ex Cressida was spotted in London-based brand Eponine

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Victoria and David Beckham

Victoria and David Beckham made their entrance at the royal wedding - she's wearing a navy dress that's not a million miles away from the dress she wore to Kate and WIlliam's wedding in 2011.

Prince Harry Meghan Markle Royal Wedding Guests9 of 31
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Pippa Middleton and James Matthews

Pippa Middleton was spotted wearing a £495 dress by brand The Fold - just one day before her own wedding anniversary

Prince Harry Meghan Markle Royal Wedding Guests10 of 31
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Chloe Madeley and James Haskell

Chloe Madeley arrived with her fiancee - England international rugby player James Haskell

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Kitty Spencer

Lady Kitty Spencer, Prince Harry's cousin, arrived wearing a forest green floral dress by Dolce and Gabbana

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Fergie, Duchess of York

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, Prince Andrew's ex wife and the mother of princesses Beatrice and Eugenie arrives at St George's chapel

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Julia Carey and James Cordon

The actor and talk show host arrived with his wife, Julia

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Joss Stone

The musician, a close friend of Prince Harry, arrived at St George's chapel with a friend.

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Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford

The Great Gatsby actress arrives wearing William &Son with her husband, musician Marcus Mumford.

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Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian

Tennis star - and friend of Meghan's - arrived wearing Versace with her husband Alexis Ohanian

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Princess Anne

Prince Harry's aunt arrives at the chapel in a red and black ensemble

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Princess Beatrice

Prince Harry's first cousin wore a dark blue dress by Gainsbourg paired with a matching Fiona Graham headband. She wore shoes by Valentino.

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Zara Tindall and Mike Tindall

The Olympic equestrian (nee Phillips) and one of Prince Harry's first cousins, arrived with her husband.

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Princess Eugenie

Princess Eugenie, one of Prince Harry's first cousins, arrived in a powder-blue Jackie-Kennedy-inspired outfit. The dress is by Roksanda Viola and the pill-box hat is by Stephen Jones.

Prince Harry Meghan Markle Royal Wedding Guests21 of 31
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Sophie, Countess of Wessex

The countess (married to Prince Harry's uncle Edward) arrived wearing a bespoke bodice top and midi skirt by British couture and ready-to-wear designer Suzannah.

Prince Harry Meghan Markle Royal Wedding Guests22 of 31
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Queen Elizabeth II

Her Majesty the Queen arrives shortly before the bride wearing a flared silk dress in lime, lemon, purple and grey. Her coat is lime silk tweed. Both are by Stuart Parvin. The Queen's hat is also lime silk tweed by Angela Kelly and is adorned with handmade crystals and pearls by Lucy Price.

Prince Harry Meghan Markle Royal Wedding Guests23 of 31
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Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall

The duchess of Cornwall arrives with Prince Charles. She is wearing a pink silk coat dress by Anna Valentine and her hat is by royal favorite Phillip Treacy.

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Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge

Prince Harry's sister-in-law sits in the chapel between Prince Andrew and the Duchess of Cornwall. She wears a yellow silk coat by Alexander McQueen -- who also famously designed her wedding gown when he married Prince William in 2011 -- paired with a Phillip Treacy hat and Jimmy Choos.

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Doria Ragland

Mother-of-the-bride Doria Ragland, who rode partway to Windsor with Meghan, arrives at St George's Chapel in a mint green ensemble by Oscar De la Renta. Her hat is by Stephen Jones.

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Chelsy Davy

Prince Harry's former girlfriend arrives dressed in navy.

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Gina Torres

The American actress was one of Meghan's Suits co-stars, many of whome who were invited to the ceremony.

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Princess Charlotte

Prince Harry's niece was one of the flower girls. She looked adorable in her Givenchy dress and flower crown.

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Sarah Rafferty

Actress Sarah Rafferty - who co-starred with Meghan in Suits -arrives in a navy blue ensemble

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Patrick J Adams

The actor who played Meghan's on-screen love interest in Suits looked dapper as he arrives for the ceremony with his wife Troian Bellisario, who wore a cream bell-sleeved dress with embellished shoulders.

Prince Harry Meghan Markle Royal Wedding Guests31 of 31
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Abigail Spencer and Priyanka Chopra

The actors - both friends of Meghan - looked happy and relaxed as they arrived at the chapel together.

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