For years after Queen Elizabeth II and the late Prince Philip got married in 1947, brides took inspiration from the royal's beautiful wedding dress.
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The then-Princess, who was 21 at the time, had to use clothing ration coupons to pay for her dress due to the strict rationing measures in place following World War II. But her bridal gown could have been very different had she been forced to adhere to the British public's strict rations.
The rationing scheme allocated each type of clothing item a points value depending on the material and labour that went into its creation. Eleven coupons were needed for a dress, and adults were initially given 66 points for one year – which shrank to just 24 coupons in 1946.
WATCH: Look back at Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's 1947 royal wedding
It is reported that the government allowed the Queen 200 extra ration coupons for her wedding dress, which was created two years after the war ended. Hundreds of well-wishers across the UK also sent Her Majesty their coupons to help with the dress, although they had to be returned as it would have been illegal to use them.
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The monarch's elegant white satin dress was created by Sir Norman Hartnell, who submitted various designs; the winning creation was approved in mid-August, less than three months before the wedding on 20 November.
Her Majesty bought her wedding dress with ration coupons
Inspired by Botticelli's famous painting Primavera and symbolising rebirth and growth after the war, her wedding dress featured a 15-foot train as well as a fitted bodice and a floor-length panelled skirt. It was decorated with crystals and 10,000 seed pearls, all imported from the United States of America.
She paired it with a double-strand pearl necklace and the Queen's diamond fringe tiara, which broke and had to be quickly repaired on the morning of the royal wedding.
The Queen and Prince Philip got married two years after World War II
Her Majesty was the picture of elegance as she said her vows inside the iconic Westminster Abbey.
At the time, she was the tenth member of the royal family to marry at the Abbey, but since then the London venue also hosted Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones' wedding in 1960, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson's nuptials in 1986 and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's ceremony in 2011.
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