Eugenie tells of showing scar to break taboo at royal wedding exhibition
The Queen’s granddaughter had her dress designed to display the scar on her back from a childhood operation.
Princess Eugenie is to tell visitors to Windsor Castle “how scars tell a story” and showing them is a “way of getting rid of a taboo”, as part of a special exhibition of her wedding dress.
The princess’s Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos gown featured a low back to reveal her scar from scoliosis surgery as a child.
In a recording made for members of the public visiting the castle, Eugenie explains: “I had always wanted a low back, part of it was showing my scar.
“I believe scars tell a story about your past and your future and it’s a way of getting rid of a taboo.
“For me it’s a way of communicating with people who are going through either similar situations with scoliosis or having a scar of their own they are trying to deal with.”
Eugenie, the Queen’s granddaughter and daughter of the Duke of York, married tequila brand ambassador Jack Brooksbank in a glittering royal wedding at St George’s Chapel on October 12.
Prince George and Princess Charlotte were among the young helpers, along with Robbie Williams’ daughter Theodora.
The royal wedding exhibition includes Eugenie’s gown – which has a neckline that folds around the shoulders to a low back, which drapes into a flowing full-length train – as well as her Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara and evening gown, Jack Brooksbank’s morning suit, and Princess Beatrice’s maid-of-honour outfit.
Also on show are the outfits of bridesmaid Theodora and Louis de Givenchy – one of the pageboys.
The fabric of Eugenie’s gown includes symbols which were significant to the princess, such as the White Rose of York, interwoven with ivy, representing the couple’s marriage and their future together.
The symbols were reinterpreted in a garland motif woven into a bespoke jacquard fabric.
In a recording for visitors, Mr Pilotto says: “When it came to the textile… we wanted to engineer the garlands containing all the symbols that were important to Princess Eugenie, so there’s a sense of progression from small to large in a wave-like motif around the whole dress.
“It was all about the beautiful silhouette but yet the motif adding a sort of richness to the fabric.”
A Royal Wedding: HRH Princess Eugenie and Mr Jack Brooksbank is part of a visit to Windsor Castle from March 1 to April 22.
