ROYAL WEDDING: FASHION SPECTACULAR WITH EVERY COLOUR OF THE RAINBOW

Saturday April 30 2011 by Mark O’Conner and Antonia Kraskowski

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IT was the greatest sartorial wedding of all time – a fashion spectacle.

A worldwide TV audience of more than two billion saw dazzling outfits that covered the colour spectrum.

The Queen wore a lemon yellow, single crepe, wool dress with hand-sown beading at the neck and a matching jacket. Her Angela Kelly-designed outfit was set off with her Queen Mary’s True Lovers Knot diamond brooch, a triple-strand pearl necklace and matching yellow hat.

Mother of the bride Carole Middleton looked elegantly demure in sky-blue dress coat and Sydney day dress by Catherine Walker, a favourite designer of Princess Diana. The matching hat was by Berkshire-based milliner Jane Corbett. The Walker label is still run by her husband after she died of breast cancer last year.

Prince Harry’s on-off girlfriend Chelsy Davy wore an aqua green reverse satin dress with matching faille silk jacket, both designed by Alberta Ferretti exclusively for her.

Victoria Beckham dazzled in a royal navy trapeze dress and elegant Philip Treacy pillbox and shoes by Christian Louboutin. Husband David, wearing his OBE, chose a morning suit by Ralph Lauren, with a Treacy top hat.

Elton John chose British designer Richard James of Savile Row for his morning suit, with David Furnish in a Henry Poole outfit.

Princess Anne chose a lilac and lime green floral coat, lilac plain dress and hat. Her daughter Zara Phillips wore a pewter, bow-back, mandarin-collar dress coat by Paul Costelloe. Camilla wore a champagne, long-line jacket over a drop-waisted cream dress by Anna Valentine, who also designed her own royal wedding outfit, with a Treacy hat.

Fashion savvy princesses Beatrice and Eugenie looked stunning, Beatrice in a dusky-pink dress coat in Valentino couture and Eugenie in a cornflower-blue puffball dress and floral pattern jacket by Vivienne Westwood. They both wore Jimmy Choo shoes and hats by Philip Treacy.

Navy was a popular colour. Knight of the Garter Rowan Atkinson’s wife, Sunetra, chose it for a belted suit with clutch bag and pink floral Jane Taylor hat. Society girl Tara Palmer Tomkinson was resplendent in a royal blue dress by Deborah Milner with studded peeptoe slingbacks in the same shade by Nicholas Kirkwood. She also wore a Treacy hat.

The lion’s share of hats were by Philip Treacy, with 36 creations, and Stephen Jones, with 12.

Prime Minister’s wife Samantha Cameron defied experts who said it would be a gaffe not to wear a hat in the Queen’s presence. She chose a headpiece and necklace by Erickson Beamon for Erdem and teamed them with an elegant teal £495 dress by Burberry London and £75 Aldo shoes.

However, etiquette bible Debrett’s states: “Hats are traditional, but by no means compulsory, at weddings.”

Speaker’s wife Sally Bercow was as flamboyant as ever in a knee-length split dress with plunging neckline. In heels and a black fascinator, she towered over husband John.