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On the day of Kate Middleton's wedding to Prince William, the couple's official Royal Wedding website announced: "Miss Middleton chose British brand Alexander McQueen for the beauty of its craftsmanship and its respect for traditional workmanship and the technical construction of clothing." Almost a year later, Kate re-emphasized that respect yesterday by personally thanking the dressmakers who spent hours stitching the design into reality.
The Duchess payed a private visit to the Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace, expressing her gratitude to a group of about 30 members. The team worked on her custom McQueen gown while wearing gloves and without even knowing the identity of the designer. They learned the origin of Kate's dress the same as the rest of us on April 29, 2011, on TV.
No surprise, then, that the school's chief executive, Susan Kay-Williams, was just as tight-lipped in commenting to the Daily Telegraph following Kate's visit: "It was lovely to meet the Duchess of Cambridge and to show her what the Royal School of Needlework does."
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—Phillip B. Crook