For the first time in seven years, Princess Diana’s iconic wedding dress will get another moment in the spotlight this summer, when it goes on display at Kensington Palace as part of a new exhibition entitled, “Royal Style in the Making.”
According to the Historic Royal Palaces website, the exhibition will examine “the intimate relationship between fashion designer and royal client, revealing the process behind the creation of a number of the most important couture commissions in royal history.”
Diana’s dress, from her world-wide watched wedding to Prince Charles in 1981, will be displayed at Kensington Palace’s newly-conserved historic Orangery from June 3rd to January 2nd. Prince Harry and Prince William both agreed to lend their mother’s wedding gown to Historic Royal Palaces for the exhibition. The dress hasn’t been on display at Kensington Palace, Diana’s former home, since 1995, ITV News reports, though members of the public could later view it at her childhood home, Althorp.
The elaborate dress was designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, and boasts the longest train in royal history, at a staggering 25 feet. It has puffed sleeves, a scooped neckline, and a dramatic full skirt which rests on a structure of net petticoats. The bodice features antique lace panels—specifically, panels of Carrickmacross lace that once belonged to Prince Charles’ great grandmother, Queen Mary—while the train is decorated with sequins.
In a press release, exhibition curator Matthew Storey said, “Our summer exhibition at Kensington Palace will shine a spotlight on some of the greatest talents of British design, whose work has been instrumental in shaping the visual identity of the royal family across the 20th century.”
Also on display will be a rare, surviving toile for the 1937 coronation gown of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother; consort of King George VI, and “never-before-seen items from the archives of some of the most celebrated royal couturiers of the 20th century, set alongside examples of the glittering gowns and stylish tailoring created for three generations of royal women.”
The website also teases that there will be some surprises for fashion fans. “While one of the highlights will undoubtedly be Diana, Princess of Wales’s show-stopping Emanuel-designed wedding dress—which goes on show at the palace for the first time in 25 years—we’ve got some real surprises up our sleeve,” Storey added.
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