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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
Marissa DeSantis

The Met Gala's 6 best royal red carpet moments, from Princess Diana to Princess Beatrice

The first Monday of May marks one of the biggest red carpet events of the year, and certainly, the most fashionable, thanks to the annual Met Gala.

The invitation-only event, which serves as a fundraising benefit for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City, brings together the world’s most glamorous celebrities, socialites and fashion designers.

But when it was first established in 1948, the Met Gala was far from the fashionable event it has become (in fact, it wasn’t even held in May until 2005). Former Vogue editor-in-chief, Diana Vreeland, took on consultant duties in 1972, creating some of the Met’s most elaborate themes and attracting an A-list guest list that included names like Bianca Jagger, Cher and Andy Warhol.

It was thanks to Vreeland that the Met Gala began counting royalty (both celeb and real-life royalty) among its guest list, too, with Princess Lee Radziwell and her sister, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis attending in the ‘70s.

With Vogue’s current editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, at the helm (she’s been organizing the event since 1995), that tradition continues - with more royals, too.

While this year’s Met Gala has been postponed, ahead, you can relive all of the best royal moments over the years.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

(Ron Galella Collection via Getty)

While she doesn’t have an official royal title, the former First Lady is certainly considered to be American royalty. In 1979, Jackie made her unforgettable Met Gala debut for the Costume Exhibit entitled, ‘Fashions of the Habsburg Era: Austria-Hungary,’ dressed in a black, strapless Valentino gown with a matching ruffled wrap.

Though this was the first time Jackie attended the Met Gala (which was organized by her friend and former Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland), she had previously been involved as co-chair of the 1976 and 1977 exhibitions.

In 1976, while working at the publishing company, Viking Press, Jackie even edited In The Russian Style, which was published in conjunction with that year’s costume exhibit, ‘The Glory of Russian Costume.’

Princess Diana

(Patrick McMullan via Getty Image)

When Princess Diana attended the 1996 Met Gala, she wore the ultimate ‘90s look - with a couture twist, obviously. For the Christian Dior theme, Diana donned a navy blue slip dress with black lace trim, created by Dior’s then-designer John Galliano. Diana accessorized with jewelry from her own collection, most notably choosing to wear her pearl and sapphire choker necklace.

The dress was reportedly part of Galliano’s first couture collection for the fashion house, but Diana almost didn’t wear it. According to Royal biographer, Katie Nicholl, Diana worried that her then 14-year-old son William would be “embarrassed” by how revealing it was.

Lee Radziwill

(Getty Images)

The younger sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Lee became known as Princess Lee Radziwill following her 1959 marriage to Poland’s Prince Stanislaw Albrecht Radziwill.

Lee attended the Met Gala several times over the years, including in 1978 and 2010, but it was her 2001 appearance that was particularly noteworthy. Wearing a beaded white gown, Lee celebrated the Costume Institute’s exhibit dedicated to her late sister, ‘Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years.’

Marie-Chantal of Greece

(Getty Images)

Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece has attended the Met Gala several times over the years. In 2001, she arrived on the arm of Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani, who recently recalled that year’s theme, ‘Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years,’ on his Instagram.

“The Princess wore, in homage, the draped mint-green Valentino gown that Jackie herself had worn on her visit to Cambodia in 1967,” Valentino captioned the photo of himself and Princess Marie-Chantal alongside an image of Jackie in the original design.

Queen Rania of Jordan

(Getty Images)

Proving to be a favorite designer among royalty, Valentino created Queen Rania of Jordan’s gown for the 2016 Met Gala. Though the theme was ‘Manus X Machina: Fashion in the Age of Technology,’ Queen Rania took a more classic approach with her feather embellished dress from Valentino’s Fall 2016 collection.

Princess Beatrice

(Getty Images)

The last royal Met Gala appearance came courtesy of Princess Beatrice in 2018. For the slightly controversial ‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination’ theme, Beatrice played it safe with a billowy violet gown by Alberta Ferretti.

The embellishment along the sheer sleeves and neckline of the gown, plus her bejeweled rope hair accessories meant that Beatrice didn’t even have to wear jewelry.

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