Tailor at centre of Meghan and Kate’s bridesmaid dress row speaks out

The tailor at the centre of the bridesmaids’ dresses drama at Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding is not surprised that it prompted tears.

Luxury suit and dressmaker Ajay Mirpuri has broken four years of silence on the now infamous affair – claimed to have led to tears from the Duchesses of Sussex and Cambridge – after being tracked down by the Daily Mail.

He revealed that he saw nothing of what is said to have gone on but he and three staff had to work round the clock at Kensington Palace and Windsor Castle for four days before the 2018 nuptials after finding that none of the six bridesmaids’ dresses made by French fashion house Givenchy fitted.

Mr Mirpuri, 45, who has a showroom in London’s West End, said he felt it was a shame that how the young bridesmaids, including Princess Charlotte, looked on the day had been overshadowed by reports of the fall-out between Meghan and Kate.

The tailor at the heart of the bridesmaids’ dresses drama at Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding has spoken out (pictured centre: Tailor Ajay Mirpuri)

Kate and Meghan had a reported fall-out before the Duchesses of Sussex's marriage to Prince Harry over six bridesmaids' dresses which did not fit

Kate and Meghan had a reported fall-out before the Duchesses of Sussex’s marriage to Prince Harry over six bridesmaids’ dresses which did not fit

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were married on May 19, 2018 (pictured during their carriage procession on Castle Hill outside Windsor Castle)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were married on May 19, 2018 (pictured during their carriage procession on Castle Hill outside Windsor Castle)

‘If anything happened in the background, it didn’t happen in front of me,’ the tailor said today.

‘But yes, weddings are stressful at the best of times – and especially one at this high level; you’ve got to respect that.

‘They were faced with a problem like anyone gets at a wedding, with last minute hitches.

‘I can understand why anybody would be upset if the dresses weren’t fitting – it’s nerve-wracking.

‘I feel for them all, because you wouldn’t want the children to go out on a big stage in an ill-fitting dress – and that’s what they were.

‘All six bridesmaids’ dresses had to be fixed, and we did it.

‘I’m a royalist and I wanted to do whatever I could with my small business to serve the Royal Family.

‘We just got our heads down and said “Now we’re here, we’ve got to fix it so that on the day Britain comes off well.”

‘Had this book not come out, no-one would have known it was us. But if it saved the day, it saved the day, and good luck to them.

‘I won’t say it upsets me, but in that whole big event, this [the row] is what’s spoken about the most – it should be the fact that they [the bridesmaids] looked fabulous.’

Kate and Meghan exchanged a series of texts (re-created, above) about the bridesmaid dress, according to Harry

Kate and Meghan exchanged a series of texts (re-created, above) about the bridesmaid dress, according to Harry 

Pictured: Princess Charlotte in her bridesmaid dress after the Sussex wedding in 2018

Pictured: Princess Charlotte in her bridesmaid dress after the Sussex wedding in 2018

Mr Mirpuri was speaking for the first time about his role, after Prince Harry detailed in his book Spare, officially published today, his and Meghan’s version of the row with the Duchess of Cambridge about the dresses.

The Prince remains angry that initial reports of the argument focused on Kate being left in tears. There have been several different versions over the years of who made who cry.

Now, Harry has said it was Meghan who he found ‘on the floor sobbing’.

According to his account, four days before the May 2018 wedding, Kate sent Meghan a text about her daughter Princess Charlotte crying because her dress was ‘too big, too long, too baggy’.

A terse exchange ensued in which Meghan said a tailor – named by Harry only as Ajay – had been ‘waiting all day’ at Kensington Palace to make alterations.

Speaking at his Mirpuri Bespoke showroom on London’s New Bond Street, Mr Mirpuri said there was a huge amount of work to do on the dresses just days before the Windsor Castle wedding was to be globally televised.

Harry and Meghan celebrate their wedding day in May 2018 despite tensions within the family and drama with Meghan's father

Harry and Meghan celebrate their wedding day in May 2018 despite tensions within the family and drama with Meghan’s father

The gowns were created – as was the wedding dress – by British designer Clare Waight Keller, artistic director of Givenchy. But they were made, it seems, from measurements only, and without repeated fittings.

The other bridesmaids were Harry’s goddaughter Florence van Cutsem, Rylan and Remi Litt, the daughters of close friends of Meghan, Ivy Mulroney, daughter of Canadian stylist Jessica Mulroney, the unofficial maid of honour and Zalie Warren, another of Harry’s goddaughters and the youngest of the troop, aged just two at the time.

‘I’ve no idea what measurements Givenchy had received, but with our experience and knowledge we could see straight away that all six bridesmaids’ dresses had to be fixed, as they weren’t going to fit,’ Mr Mirpuri said.

‘We had to work tooth and nail for four days, four of us working until 4am three nights in a row, to make them fit.

‘We left Windsor Castle at 10pm the night before the wedding. Did anyone on the day complain about the bridesmaids’ dresses and how they looked? The answer is no.’

Mr Mirpuri has worked for Meghan several times, plus others in the royal household, as well as A-listers Elton John, Michael Caine and Mariah Carey.

When asked what he charged, he replied: ‘I won’t divulge that – or who paid the bill. I can’t say it was four figures or five figures. But whoever’s mistake it was paid the bill.’

Givenchy did not respond to a request for comment.

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