Lady Diana Spencer became the Princess she was known to be when she married the then Prince Charles on July 29, 1981. The royal was known for her philanthropy and charity work, which she continued long after separating from the monarch-to-be. But her style was also a hit with fans, and in particular her wedding dress – but Princess Diana had no idea there was a ‘secret’ backup on standby for the big day.
The nuptials were a turning point for the royals. Fans adored Princess Diana, and she would spend the next several years showing what work The Firm does to help those in need. The 20-year-old bride probably had no idea how her life would turn out as millions watched her say I Do to King Charles – who was second in line to the throne then. Her iconic gown is a vital piece of fashion history. But the designer of Princess Diana’s wedding dress had made a secret backup that the young woman had no idea was made. Now we can see it.
Princess Diana’s wedding dress
The ivory silk taffeta and antique lace gown featured a 25-foot train and 153 yards of tulle veil.
Although fashion trends can change with the weather, it still holds significance in the world of clothes.
At the time, it was valued at $11,300, which is equivalent to up to $40,000 in today’s money.
It was something out of a fairy tale. But Princess Diana’s designers, Elizabeth and David Emmanuel, made a backup wedding dress which was “a complete secret”.
She crafted the spare gown out of concern if something happened to the original, such as, if someone stole the dress, or it was damaged.
It was different from the original design, without the iconic long train and was white, not ivory. It had fitted sleeves instead of the puff material around Princess Diana on her actual wedding dress, as well as frilly cuffs.
Elizabeth was inspired by a gown Emanuels created for Prince William‘s mother for a private ball days before she tied the knot.
But the spare was never finished, even though Elizabeth wanted something on hand if the worst did happen.
She told People: “I just thought, ‘If anything happens we’ll finish it off and have it ready,’ “.
“It likely ended up on some sample rail. It probably got reused, torn up, thrown out, who knows?”
She calls it the ‘dress that never was’, but she did recreate Princess Diana’s spare gown in the video below.
Princess found ‘peace’ before her nuptials
The designer added Princess Diana found ‘peace’ in the dress studio as the frenzy around her wedding grew in the lead up to her wedding.
She said: “She would go upstairs and chat with all the seamstresses. She loved browsing through the rails because this was a new world for her.”
“I don’t think she’d been particularly into fashion before she met us.”
While Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle’s designers were only revealed close to the big day itself, Diana’s were known early on in the planning. This was because there would be crowds outside waiting to see her.
But they were clever, trying to hide any detail about Princess Diana’s wedding dress so it wouldn’t leak to the press.
Elizabeth said they’d put shutters on the windows to remove any chance of something peaking through, and would through different fabrics in various colors in the bin to throw people ‘off the scent’.
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