Similarities: Italian-born Isabella Orsini (left) was stunned to notice the likeness between her own gown, from her wedding two years ago, and the Sarah Burton dress worn by the Duchess of Cambridge last monthThere were gasps across the world when the new Duchess of Cambridge stepped out in her wedding gown at Westminster Abbey last month.
But another princess across Europe was more stunned than most as Prince William's bride walked down the aisle in her couture gown by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.
Isabella Orsini, who is the goddaughter of Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, married Belgian Prince Edouard de Ligne two years ago in a startlingly similar dress.
Mirror mirror: Both women are slim, very pretty brunettes, who married into European royaltyAlthough hers was made for her by Belgian designer Gerald Watelet, it bore many similar hallmarks, from the lace applique bodice and sleeves to its full skirt and dramatic train.
The similarities are heightened by the fact that both women are slim, very pretty brunettes, and though the hairstyle differed, they both wore veils with diamond tiaras.
The likeness is so striking that newspapers and magazines across Germany, Belgium, France and Italy branded Catherine's dress a copy, with headlines reading 'Copy-Kate' and 'Copycat Kate'.
Making an entrance: Like Catherine, Ms Orsini had a long train on her gown by Belgian designer Gerald WateletMs Orsini, 36, who is an actress, makes no such claim, though she does agree that comparisons between the two sets of wedding pictures are uncanny.
She told Italian magazine Novella 2000: 'As soon as the Duchess of Cambridge went out to go to church, I thought her dress was a copy of mine.
'It means Kate Middleton has good taste.'
Fashion statement: Catherine's dress had a full skirt and dramatic train to match the Westminster Abbey venueThe style, it appears, is a popular one for those marrying into European royalty.
Both the Duchess and Ms Orsini's dress mirror the wedding gown of Grace Kelly, who became Princess Grace of Monaco when she married Ranier III, Prince of Monaco, in 1956.
Style inspiration? Grace Kelly, who became Princess Grace of Monaco when she married Ranier III in 1956
Miranda Eason, editor of You & Your Wedding magazine, made the same observation.
She told the Daily Express: 'The reason they are similar is they both referenced Grace Kelly’s iconic wedding dress.'
But she added, there were plenty of differences between the Duchess and Ms Orsini's gowns.
'It’s a similar neckline and there are other similarities but the skirt, for example, is different,' she said.
Scoop: Kate ha copiato l'abito da sposa all'attrice italiana Isabella Orsini
source: dailymail