Queen Elizabeth Used a Bizarre Method to Pay for Her Wedding Dress — Which Was Totally Illegal

The late Queen Elizabeth would not strike as one who would refuse to abide by the law. However, even she was not exempt when bad times called for desperate measures. When she married Prince Philip in 1947 — two years after World War II had ended— all was indeed fair in love and war. The Queen had to pay for her wedding gown using extra wartime ration coupons, a method that was considered illegal.

Queen Elizabeth fell madly in love with Prince Philip when she was just 13, while he was 18. The pair stayed together for an incredible 73 years until Philip passed in 2021. As reported by The Daily Express, several rationing restrictions were still in place after World War II. One of these threatened to affect a key part of the wedding, as strict limits were imposed on the amount of fabric that could be used. So royal fans stepped in to save her big day, committing an illegal act in the process. Hundreds sent in their own wartime ration coupons so she could have her wedding dress made. Sadly, the young Princess had to return them with a thank-you note, as it was illegal to transfer coupons between households.

Freshly after World War II, the UK’s stringent rationing system had extensive limits on what was available. The wartime rationing system assigned a point value to each type of clothing based on the materials used and the labor required to produce it. The Express reports that the scheme meant 11 coupons were needed for a dress, with adults initially being given 66 points to last one year, which shrank to just 24 in 1946. However, Hello! magazine reported that the government allowed the then-Princess to use 200 extra ration coupons to get her wedding dress made from designer Sir Norman Hartnell.

The then 21-year-old Elizabeth's wedding to Prince Philip was received well after the dark days of World War II. Zoe Burke, Editor of Hitched, spoke to the publication of the Queen’s unusual method and said, “It’s amazing to think that the late Queen paid for her iconic (and now super-costly) wedding dress with her rationing coupons. It was a pretty savvy investment. Royal wedding spending increased vastly during the late Queen’s reign, as these events have become country-wide celebrations with high expectations.”

While Queen Elizabeth’s wedding dress was later made without a hitch, there were many hiccups on her wedding day. Royal wedding florist David Longman shared, “When you look at the state photographs of all the bridesmaids and the royal guests, there is the Queen without a bouquet.” It got lost. He added, "So, in the middle of their honeymoon, they had to get dressed up again in their wedding clothes, and my father had to provide another bouquet for those photos.” Her diamond-fringed Queen Mary's tiara also broke the night before her big day and had to be quickly repaired in the morning. Despite the minor shortcomings, her beautiful 1947 wedding was watched by over 200 million people.