Meghan Markle’s £100,000 Wedding Dress: A Royal Masterpiece

Meghan Markle's wedding is just around the corner and the world is eagerly waiting to see what dress she will wear.

Multiple sources have revealed that the actress has chosen British couturiers Ralph and Russo to make the first of two gowns she plans to wear on May 19th.

This stunning hand-stitched, heavily beaded design is set to be worn by Meghan as she walks down the aisle at St George's Chapel, in front of 600 guests and an estimated billion TV viewers worldwide.

She will also wear it for the reception being held afterwards by the Queen in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle.

The dress is expected to cost around £100,000, which will be met by Prince Harry and his family privately.

While this may seem like a lot, sources have revealed that hundreds of hours of manpower have gone into making it, almost all by hand.

This is the wedding of the year, after all.

News of Meghan's dress came as Kensington Palace revealed new details about the wedding, including that Harry and Meghan will not go on honeymoon until later in the summer.

They will also conduct their first public engagement as man and wife days after their wedding.

Harry, sources say, has been kept in the dark about his fiancée's dress – he doesn't even know who is designing it, because he wants it to be a complete surprise on the day.

Ralph and Russo have been odds-on favourite for the commission since Meghan wore a £56,000 semi-sheer black evening dress from the label for her official engagement portrait.

Earlier this week, their Hoku tour at E18 visited the Royal School of Needlework, which was responsible for the bespoke lace on the Duchess of Cambridge's wedding dress and boasts a long association with the Royal Family.

While the first gown is expected to be a showstopper, Meghan will change into another dress for a second, black tie evening reception thrown by Prince Charles at Frogmore House in the grounds of Windsor Great Park.