What Happened to Princess Diana’s Iconic Wedding Dress? Ariana Quihuiz, Emma BanksThu, July 30, 2026 at 11:00 AM UTC 0 Princess Diana on her wedding day in 1981Credit: Terry Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty Princess Diana and thenPrince Charles tied the knot on July 29, 1981, at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London The late royal’s silk taffeta wedding gown featured a recordbreaking 25footlong train Prince William and Prince Harry inherited the dress in 2014 Princess Diana’s wedding dress is considered one of the most iconic bridal looks in British royal family history.
What Happened to Princess Diana’s Iconic Wedding Dress?
Ariana Quihuiz, Emma BanksThu, July 30, 2026 at 11:00 AM UTC
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Princess Diana on her wedding day in 1981Credit: Terry Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty -
Princess Diana and then-Prince Charles tied the knot on July 29, 1981, at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London
The late royal’s silk taffeta wedding gown featured a record-breaking 25-foot-long train
Prince William and Prince Harry inherited the dress in 2014
Princess Diana’s wedding dress is considered one of the most iconic bridal looks in British royal family history.
The late royal married then-Prince Charles on July 29, 1981 at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London in front of 3,500 people, with a record-breaking 750 million viewers watching the nuptials on TV. Diana wore a custom ivory silk taffeta gown for the special occasion that featured a 25-foot-long train.
“It was all about drama and making Diana a fairytale princess,” designer Elizabeth Emanuel, who created the gown with her then-husband David, explained to British Vogue in September 2020. “The gown was typical of early ‘80s style — overblown, romantic, flouncy — but we had to get it right because we knew it would go down in history.”
Following their nuptials, Charles and Diana welcomed two children, Prince William and Prince Harry, before separating in 1992. The ex-couple’s divorce was finalized in 1996, and Diana died the following year, on Aug. 31, 1997.
So, what happened to Diana’s wedding dress? Here’s everything to know about the iconic gown, including who inherited it after her death.
Diana’s wedding dress was designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel
Princess Diana and then-Prince Charles on their wedding day in 1981Credit: Anwar Hussein/Getty
Diana’s wedding dress was designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, a former husband-and-wife team who worked together until their divorce in 1990. Diana called their office herself to secretly request their services.
“It was such a special moment because I thought, ‘My life was going to change, David’s life. It’s never going to be the same again,’ ” Elizabeth later recalled at PEOPLE’s 2024 “Styling Princess Diana” panel at Fotografiska New York.
Elizabeth added that Diana didn’t “have any idea” about what she wanted and that they produced “lots and lots of sketches” to get it right. The final product featured a ruffled collar, puff sleeves and a voluminous skirt. Its defining detail, however, was a record-breaking 25-foot-long train that had to be “folded like a bedsheet” to fit inside the horse-drawn carriage that transported the bride to St. Paul’s Cathedral.
The dress was worth over $100,000 at the time
Princess Diana her wedding day in 1981Credit: Ron Bull/Toronto Star via Getty
Diana’s dress is estimated to have cost $114,800 at the time, which would be equivalent to about $448,500 today. Instead of the full amount, however, Elizabeth and David charged 1,000 guineas for their work. Guineas were British coins made of gold mined in West Africa that were in circulation from 1663 to 1813.
“We would have given it to Diana for free,” Elizabeth told British Vogue in September 2020. “But that token amount seemed right, and my dad thought it would be romantic to use guineas.”
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Her sons inherited the dress after her death
Following her death in 1997, Diana’s wedding dress was inherited by her and Charles’ two sons, William and Harry. The late royal left the gown to her children in her will. It remained under the care of her brother, Charles Spencer, until Harry turned 30, according to the Los Angeles Times.
It is currently unknown where the dress is stored.
Diana’s dress has been put on display twice
The wedding dress of Diana, Princess of Wales is displayed during the “Royal Style In The Making” exhibition.Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage
In 2021, William and Harry loaned their late mother’s wedding gown to an exhibit at Kensington Palace titled Royal Style in the Making. Prior to the show’s opening, designer Elizabeth told PEOPLE that she couldn’t wait to see the dress again.
“It will be like seeing an old friend after all these years,” she said. “I was looking at the images again today, and I can’t believe how many sequins we sewed onto the dress. This is going to be a wonderful exhibition.”
The exhibit marked the first time that Diana’s gown had been on display in nearly 25 years. It was previously part of a July 1998 exhibit at Diana’s ancestral home, Althorp, where the late royal is buried.
Her wedding tiara is reportedly in her brother Charles’ possession
In addition to her 25-foot-long veil, Diana accessorized her wedding gown with the Spencer Tiara, an heirloom piece that had been in her family for generations.
The headpiece served as Diana’s “something borrowed,” and she went on to wear it several times after her wedding day.
In the years since her death, however, it has only been publicly worn once. Diana’s niece, Celia McCorquodale, wore the tiara for her own nuptials on June 16, 2018.
Today, the tiara is reportedly still in the possession of Diana’s brother, Charles, who inherited the piece upon their father John’s death in 1992.
on People
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Published: July 30, 2026 at 09:45PM on Source: MORNING MAG
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