Meghan Markle’s choice of dress for her second wedding, to Prince Harry, is said to have caused Queen Elizabeth to raise an eyebrow.

The late Queen is reported to have thought her gown was ‘too white’ for a divorcee.

Prince William’s cousin has, however, defended Meghan’s choice and explained why she, too, wore an ivory gown for her own second wedding.

Maddison May Brudenell – whose great-grandfather was King Charles’s beloved great-uncle, Earl Mountbatten of Burma – exchanged vows with Canadian welder Bret Kapetanov last November.

And Maddison reveals that she had to overcome the opposition of her mother, Edwina Hicks.

The model, 31, says: ‘In the monarch’s view, it was not appropriate for a divorcee getting remarried in church to look quite so flamboyantly virginal. My mother, our late Queen’s goddaughter, had said exactly the same to me, and that other family members would agree.’

Maddison, who previously ran off to be secretly married to a DJ, Olaoluwa Modupe-Ojo, wore a bespoke white dress by Laura Green, of Modern Bride, for her wedding to Kapetanov.

Of her frank conversation with her mother, she says: ‘I was sad to think about the painful past during what I wanted to be a joyful, future-focused time of my life. But I understood the notion. My mum was speaking out of love. I didn’t let my feelings overcome me – we talked about it.

Meghan and Harry pictured outside St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle on their wedding day in 2018

Maddison reveals that she had to overcome the opposition of her mother, Edwina Hicks, when exchanging vows with Canadian welder Bret Kapetanov last November

‘However, as I told my mother, we may as well splash muddy water, drip some blood, sweat and tears on it for good measure.

‘As it happens, my dress did have a lot of unique components, but these were because of what I chose and not in any way what I felt I must choose. My mother listened to my wisdom and respected my style.’