The famous wedding dress worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, is to go on public display for the first time in more than 25 years.
It will be displayed with Diana's 7.6-metre sequin-encrusted train, the longest in British royal history.
Princes William and Harry have agreed to lend their mother's full-silk taffeta bridal gown to Historic Royal Palaces for a temporary exhibition at Kensington Palace in the UK's capital.
The dress – with its billowing sleeves, bows and lace flounces – will be the star attraction.
“Our summer exhibition 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,” said Matthew Storey, exhibition curator at Historic Royal Palaces.
“We’ll be exploring how the partnership between each designer and client worked and revealing the process behind the creation of a number of the most important couture commissions in royal history.
"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 for fashion fans."
The Royal Style In The Making exhibition will open in the orangery at the palace on June 3 and run until January 2.
It will be closed on July 1, which would have been Diana's 60th birthday, when her sons are due to attend the unveiling nearby of a statue in her memory.
The gown, designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel for Lady Diana Spencer's wedding to the Prince of Wales in 1981, features a fitted bodice overlaid at the centre, both front and back, with panels of antique Carrickmacross lace, which originally belonged to Queen Mary – Prince Charles's great-grandmother.
The bride’s ivory silk tulle featured 10,000 mother-of-pearl sequins.
Royal Style In The Making will feature items displayed for the first time, including the surviving toile for the 1937 coronation dress of the Queen Mother.
See photos of William and Harry:
-
Prince William and Prince Harry join Queen Elizabeth II's funeral procession towards St George's Chapel in September 2022 in Windsor. Getty Images -
The royal brothers attend a vigil in honour of the queen at Westminster Hall, central London. Getty Images -
Prince William, his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince Harry, and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, at Westminster Hall as the queen's coffin is carried in. Getty Images -
The princes and their wives on the Long Walk at Windsor Castle, heading to meet mourners who had gathered and left tributes to Queen Elizabeth. Getty Images -
Prince William and Prince Harry unveil a statue they commissioned of their mother Princess Diana in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, in July 2021. Getty Images -
The princes at the ceremonial procession during the funeral of Prince Philip at Windsor Castle in April 2021. Getty Images -
The princes are joined by their wives for a Commonwealth Day service in March 2020 in London. Getty Images -
(L-R) Prince William, Sir David Attenborough, Prince Charles — now king — and Prince Harry attend the world premiere of Our Planet at London's Natural History Museum in April 2019. Getty Images -
The princes and their wives leave a Christmas Day service at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Sandringham, in December 2018. Getty Images -
Prince William and Prince Harry attend the opening of the Greenhouse Sports Centre in 2018 in London. Getty Images -
Prince William and Prince Harry watch the RAF 100th anniversary flypast from the balcony of Buckingham Palace alongside the queen, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. Getty Images -
Prince William, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry attend an Anzac Day service at Westminster Abbey in 2018. Getty Images -
Prince Harry with his best man, Prince William, as they wait for the start of his wedding ceremony to Meghan in 2018. Getty Images -
The princes race against each other at a London Marathon training day at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in 2017. Getty Images -
The princes try out light sabres during a tour of the Star Wars sets at Pinewood studio, London, in 2016. Getty Images -
Prince Harry, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William raise their wands on the set used to depict Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter films. Getty Images -
The princes take part in the late queen's diamond jubilee celebrations at Buckingham Palace in 2012. Getty Images -
Prince Harry, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William wave from the royal barge Spirit of Chartwell in 2012. Getty Images -
Prince William takes the hand of his bride Kate, followed by Prince Harry and Pippa Middleton as they walk down the aisle of Westminster Abbey in 2011. Getty Images -
The princes chat before the wedding in 2011. Getty Images -
The princes pose with David Beckham at an FA reception in Johannesburg, South Africa. Getty Images -
The princes on a visit to a classroom lit by oil lamps in Semongkong, Lesotho, in 2010. Getty Images -
The princes celebrate a try during the 2007 Rugby World Cup final between England and South Africa in 2007. Getty Images -
The princes pose for an official photograph for the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla in 2005. Getty Images -
The princes follow the coffin of their grandmother and Princess Diana's mother, Frances Shand Kydd, in 2004. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth waves to the crowd from the balcony of Buckingham Palace as Prince Harry and Prince William look on after attending the Trooping of the Colour ceremony in 2003. Getty Images -
Prince Charles and his sons William and Harry appear at a photo call in the Swiss village of Klosters at the start of his annual skiing holiday in 2002. Getty Images -
Princes William and Harry appear with the Queen Mother during celebrations to mark her 101st birthday in 2001. Getty Images -
Prince Philip, Prince William, Earl Spencer, Prince Harry and Prince Charles follow the coffin of Princess Diana in September 1997. Getty Images -
Prince William and Prince Harry pose with Princess Diana and Prince Charles on Prince William's first day at Eton College in 1995. Getty Images -
Princess Diana with the young princes at the piano in Kensington Palace in 1985. Getty Images -
Prince Charles and Princess Diana with their sons aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia in Venice in 1985. Getty Images
