Royal wedding: Everything you need to know about Meghan's dress

After months of speculation and rumour, Meghan Markle stepped out for her wedding in a dress by British designer Clare Waight Keller.

The pure white gown featured a five-metre long veil, made from silk tulle with hand-embroidered flowers from each of the 53 Commonwealth countries.

It took hundreds of hours to sew the designs, with experts washing their hands every half an hour to keep the material pristine.

The dress was made from a double-bonded silk cady with soft matt lustre. The colour was chosen by Meghan and the designer to bring a "fresh modernity", Kensington Palace said.

Meghan's veil was held in place by Queen Mary's diamond and platinum bandeau tiara, made in 1932 and lent by the Queen.

The bling continued with a detachable brooch at its centre featuring 10 brilliant diamonds.

The new Duchess of Sussex also wore a Cartier bracelet and earrings, and her shoes were based on a Givenchy design and made of silk duchess satin.

Meghan's hair was styled by Serge Normant, while her friend Daniel Martin did her make-up.

:: Meghan dress and its place in royal fashion history

In tribute to Princess Diana, the bride's bouquet included forget-me-nots - her favourite.

Harry also handpicked some flowers from the Kensington Place garden to add to the bouquet, which was designed by florist Philippa Craddock and tied with a silk ribbon.

It also included scented sweet peas, lily of the valley, astilbe, jasmine and astrantia and myrtle.

Despite rumours the dress would be made by Canadian designer Erdem Moralioglu, it was home-grown Clare Waight Keller, Givenchy's first female artistic director, who created it.

But how does it compare to the Duchess of Cambridge's dress?

Kate's gown is believed to have cost about a quarter of a million pounds when she married Prince William in 2011.

It was an Alexander McQueen design, padded at the hips, narrowed at the waist and with long Chantilly lace sleeves.

The back featured 58 buttons, with a full skirt replicating the opening of a flower.

She had a relatively short bridal train, just under 9ft (2.7m), and her ivory silk tulle veil featured hand-embroidered flowers around the edge. Find out more about Kate's dress below...

:: Relive the magic! See all of the guests as they arrived at the royal wedding - use our exclusive, interactive Who's Who feature on the Sky News app and website. Watch our Sky News royal wedding hour-long special on catch-up and Sky Q.