YOUNGSTERS from a County Durham village have sent an urgent letter to the Royal family with some last-minute fashion advice for the future princess.

Fashion-concious children in Bishop Middleham, near Sedgefield, designed a range of dresses for bride-to-be Meghan Markle who will tie the knot with Prince Harry on Saturday.

The creations formed part of a Weddings Then and Now exhibition which took place at the weekend in the village's St Michael's Church.

After the event, which attracted more than 200 visitors, the little ones posted off some top tips to the happy couple, suggesting what they think the American actress should wear on their big day.

Neil Stevenson, who organised the event with wife Sharon, said: "They all put something special into it and each of them was different.

"We had everything from white dresses made out of doilies and glittery bits to feathers, unicorns and unicorn colours.

"I have a feeling things may well be set in stone but you never know. Certainly we'll be making a claim if we see any pinks and mauves."

Six groups put their fashion forecasts on show at the exhibition on Saturday.

Among them was the Rainbows' dress with a sequined pink top and long white skirt, the young horticulturalist Carrot Club's gown featuring rosebuds and daisies below a pink, green and purple striped top and the Happy Days Playgroup's frock in tiered pastel shades with a striped top.

Meanwhile the Messy Church group's design featured diamante decorations, the Brownies' creation was multi-coloured and included several rainbows and St Michael's Primary School pupils incorporated tiered lace with a waist-length veil.

The designs were displayed alongside 33 dresses as part of the wider exhibition of wedding memorabilia which raised £412 in donations to go towards a new boiler for the church.

The oldest dress on show dated back to 1949, and belonged to the Marshall family.

It had been designed by seamstress Irene Dove who wore it to walk down the aisle of the same church when she married local farmer Charles Marshall.

The cream, crepe fabric wedding gown with its smocked shoulders and fitted waist, and which she wore over a parachute silk under-slip, had some adjustments made to it by the mother-of-four's youngest daughter Judith Wood, of Stillington, ahead of it joining the eclectic collection.

And a unique afternoon dress dating from shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, which started life in China as a length of hand-embroidered Shantung silk, was another star of the show.

The then proud owner of the champagne-coloured, ankle-length gown was Londoner Sarah Gibson, grandmother of Bishop Middleham’s Graham Jeffs.

The dress was subsequently transformed into a wedding gown and was admired again in 1987 when Mr Jeffs married his wife Sue, who donned it for their big day in Surrey.

The Reverend Michael Thompson, team vicar of the Parish of the Upper Skerne, said: "It was a wonderful community event and one of which organisers should be really proud."