Princess Diana’s Iconic Wedding Dress To Be Displayed After 25 Years

Prince William and Prince Harry have granted permission for their late mother, Princess Diana's wedding dress to be displayed for the first time in 25 years.

The iconic dress will be on show at Kensington Palace, where the Princess used to reside.

The dress will form the centrepiece of a landmark exhibition exploring royal fashion design through the ages.

The exhibition, Royal Style in the Making, will open on Thursday 3rd June until January 2022.

The full silk taffeta wedding dress, with its billowing sleeves, bows, and lace flounces, and a show-stopping 25ft 7.6m sequin-encrusted train, is one of the most famous bridal dresses in history.

Created by David and Elizabeth Emmanuel for Diana and Prince Charles' wedding in 1981, it was valued at £151,000 last year.

The dress featured a fitted bodice overlaid at the centre, both front and back, with panels of antique Carrick macros lace, which originally belonged to Queen Mary, the groom's great grandmother.

Its gently scooped neckline and large puff sleeves were trimmed with bows and deep ruffles of taffeta, while the full skirt was supported on a mountain of stiff-neck petticoats to create its famous silhouette.

The bride's ivory silk tulle featured 10,000 mother-of-pearl sequins.

The dress was last exhibited in London at Kensington Palace in 1995, when the Princess was still in residence.

When Diana passed away in 1997, the dress was given to her brother, Earl Spencer, to look after until it could be passed to her sons when they turned 30, as stipulated in her will.

For two months every year, it went on display at his Althrop home, Northamptonshire, where the princess was raised, whilst it was also loaned to various worldwide exhibits.

In 2014, when Prince Harry turned 30, the dress was inherited by the brothers and taken into their private collection.

Other items handed over to the brothers in accordance with their mother's will included 28 other dresses, designer suits and evening gowns, two diamond tiaras, the original text of the Earl Spencer's tribute to his sister at the funeral in Westminster Abbey, and the score and lyrics of the Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin's version of Candle in the Wind, played by Sir Elton at Diana's funeral.

The upcoming exhibition, Royal Style in the Making, will examine the relationship between fashion designers and their royal clients and feature a number of never-before-seen items including the rare surviving twill for the 1937 coronation dress of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

According to Mail Online, Matthew Storey, exhibition curator at Historic Royal Palaces, 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.”

He continued, “…while one of the highlights will undoubtedly be Diana, Princess of Wales' show-stopping Emmanuelle-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 wedding dress display will kick off a period of celebration at the Palace in honour of the late Princess.

In July, both William and Harry will unveil the much-anticipated statue of their mother on the grounds of Kensington Palace.

With the brothers' consent, the iconic wedding dress of their mother will be on show at Kensington Palace for the first time since her passing.