WITH mere days left before Prince William weds commoner Catherine Middleton, the big question remains not only which designer she’ll wear but how the dress will look.

“It’s a stressful time for the designer,” says 90-year-old retired dress designer Maureen Baker. She should know. Baker, who is recuperating from a fractured hip at her son Jon’s exclusive GeeJam property in Port Antonio, created the dress in which Princess Anne married Captain Mark Phillips in November 1973.

“I’m watching television and it’s all coming back to me,” Baker told the Observer yesterday. “I can only imagine everyone walking around on pins and needles. I’d love, though, to be a fly on the wall.”

Baker was the design director of the fashion house Susan Small and started dressing the young princess as a result of her cousin Princess Alexandra of Kent. “I starting dressing the princess from about 18, I think, but never imagined that she would have chosen me. I mean, we were more prêt a porter, even though we did do outfits for special occasions,” said Baker.

“When the royal engagement was announced, I thought, along with quite a few others, that the job would go to one of the, you know, better known royal couturiers like Norman Hartnell or Hardy Amies. So you can imagine the shock when she came in the workshop ostensibly to be fitted for clothes she’d already ordered and asked if I could design her dress for her,” Baker recalled.

“The next few months were frenetic, to say the least. I was a nervous wreck, but the princess was an absolute delight and would say whether she liked something or she didn’t, so we always knew where we stood. Her main concern was that the gown look good beside her dashing groom, who was wearing full military uniform.”

There’s a twinkle in Baker’s eyes as she continued. “The princess was not a fussy bride. I mean, she knew what she wanted. We all agreed that an uncluttered look would work. When I found a pure silk that she loved, which was very soft, didn’t crease and moved the way I wanted it to, it was all systems go. The princess line gown was elegant and unfussy with the Elizabethan-type sleeves which the princess adored, creating the ‘wow’ factor.”

“The paparazzi were at our doors daily. Naturally, not as intense as they are today, but we had to keep our doors locked even during the day as there’d be people camping outside. We couldn’t even leave the building without someone,” she said.

“The toile had to be ready for the rehearsal (to check the length of the train) and on the day of the wedding I was at Buckingham Palace ensuring that the gown went on well and, again at Westminster Abbey, to ensure all was in place prior to her making the walk up the aisle with her father, Prince Phillip… that was eons ago. I cannot wait until Friday to see what Kate will wear.”