Royal Style in the Making: Diana's Wedding Dress at Kensington Palace

Ina

Jul 11, 2021

2 min read

Updated: Oct 6

Royal Style in the Making was an exhibition in the Orangery at Kensington Palace, open from 3 June 2021 to 2 January 2022. Diana's wedding dress was at its centre, and this page is a record of what was on show.

Diana's ivory wedding dress on a mannequin in a glass-walled display, with puffed sleeves and a frilled neckline

Royal Style in the Making: What Was in the Exhibition?

The exhibition came from the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, which Historic Royal Palaces looks after at Kensington Palace. The collection holds more than 10,000 items, and the curator of the show was Matthew Storey.

It followed how royal clothes are designed and made, from the first sketch to the finished garment. Alongside the dresses there were drawings, photographs and small objects.

Six framed dress sketches on a white shelf wall, in blue, pink and cream, each showing a figure in a long gown

Which Dress Was on Display?

Diana's wedding dress, worn at St Paul's Cathedral on 29 July 1981, was the centrepiece. David and Elizabeth Emanuel designed it. It is ivory silk taffeta, trimmed with antique Carrickmacross lace that had belonged to Queen Mary.

The train is 25 feet long, and it filled most of the long white runway the gallery had laid for it. A small gold horseshoe was stitched into the dress for luck.

The long ivory train of the wedding dress spread down a white runway, with visitors standing at the far end

Behind the dress, the gallery had a photograph of the nave of St Paul's, so the dress stood against the church where it was worn.

The wedding dress at the end of a long white room lined with windows, with a photograph of the interior of St Paul's Cathedral behind it

A caption panel beside the display case, with a photograph of the interior of St Paul's Cathedral with red chairs in the choir behind the glass

How Was a Royal Dress Made?

A couture house starts with a toile, a trial version cut in plain cotton. The exhibition showed a toile by Handley-Seymour, made for the 1937 coronation gown of the future Queen Mother. Bellville Sassoon, another royal dressmaker, also featured.

In one section a grid of black-and-white photographs showed dressmakers cutting and pinning fabric.

A grid of black-and-white photographs of women cutting and pinning fabric at work tables

A table of objects held a green book, handwritten notes on cards, an old magazine and a pair of white and silver shoes.

A wooden table with an old magazine, a pair of white and silver shoes, a green book and handwritten cards

Another case held white dresses on mannequins, with black ribbon belts and one on a hooped skirt frame.

Five white dresses on mannequins with black belts, one on a hooped petticoat, against a pale curtain

A pale blue-green silk gown with wide skirts and apricot ruffles stood in a glass case by a window.

A pale blue-green silk gown with a wide skirt and apricot ruffled cuffs on a mannequin in a glass case

A framed colour photograph of a woman in a pink top with two children, hung on a pale wall in the exhibition

Who Owns the Dress?

The dress has belonged to Prince William and Prince Harry since 2014. The exhibition at Kensington Palace was the first time it had been at the palace since 1995.

It had been shown elsewhere in between, and was not new to the public. What changed in 2021 was the setting: Diana lived at Kensington Palace for years.

What Is the Orangery at Kensington Palace?

Historic Royal Palaces says the Orangery was built in 1704 and credits Nicholas Hawksmoor and John Vanbrugh. It is a restaurant with a terrace, in Kensington Gardens.

The red-brick front of the Orangery at Kensington Palace under a blue sky, with a round window above the doors

Royal Style in the Making: Practical Notes

📍 Where: The Orangery, Kensington Palace, Kensington Gardens, London W8 4PX.

📅 Open days: 3 June 2021 to 2 January 2022.

☕ Food: The Orangery is a restaurant with a terrace.

🚇 Getting there: High Street Kensington, on the District and Circle lines, or Queensway, on the Central line.

🗺️ Nearby: The Henry Moore Arch in Kensington Gardens, my page on autumn in Chelsea and Kensington and Christmas in Chelsea.

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All photos were taken by Ina/WithinLondon, unless stated otherwise.