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Britain's Princess Eugenie shows off scar in wedding dress to raise awareness for scoliosis

Britain's Princess Eugenie shows off scar in wedding dress to raise awareness for scoliosis

WINDSOR, England - Britain's Princess Eugenie wore an elegant voluminous dress by London-based label Peter Pilotto for her wedding to Jack Brooksbank on Friday, with the bride picking a low back to reveal scars she got from surgery as a child.

The 28-year-old granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth walked down the aisle of Windsor Castle's 15th Century St George's Chapel in a fitted corset and pleated skirt with a long train designed by Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos, who founded the label in 2007.

"The dress features a neckline that folds around the shoulders to a low back that drapes into a flowing full length train," Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

"The low back feature on the dress was at the specific request of Princess Eugenie who had surgery aged 12 to correct scoliosis."

Photo: Reuters

Eugenie, who has previously shared pictures of her X-rays, wanted to pay tribute to the staff at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital who treated her, as well as others suffering from the condition.

"I think you can change the way beauty is, and you can show people your scars," she told ITV's "This Morning" programme before the wedding.

Eugenie, who announced her engagement in January, worked closely with Pilotto and De Vos, leafing through archives of frocks worn by British royals to pick a silhouette.

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Motifs meaningful to the couple were woven into a jacquard of silk, cotton and viscose blend, the palace said. The designs included the thistle and shamrock, the flowers of Scotland and Ireland, and the English rose.

Eugenie borrowed the queen's Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara, decorated with rose cut diamonds and emeralds and made by jewelers Boucheron in 1919 in the style worn in the Russian Imperial Court.

She wore diamond and emerald drop earrings given to her by Brooksbank and satin peep-toe heels by Charlotte Olympia.

Speculation over who would design the wedding dress had mounted over the last few weeks, with labels cited including Erdem and Ralph & Russo, which made a blue two-piece outfit for Eugenie's sister and maid of honour Princess Beatrice.

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"As soon as we announced the wedding, I knew the designer, and the look, straight away," Eugenie was quoted as saying. "I never thought I'd be the one who knew exactly what I like, but I've been pretty on top of it."

Outside the chapel, voiced their approval.

"She looked beautiful. It was really stunning. It was very flattering," said Sue Powry, 64, from the eastern English town of Ipswich.

Joseph Afrane, a security officer from London, said: "The dress was fantastic ... It suited her."

Eugenie, who works in art and Brooksbank, who is European brand manager for Casamigos Tequila, a brand co-founded by Hollywood actor George Clooney, married at the same venue that her cousin Prince Harry and Meghan Markle chose for their nuptials in May.

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