A Dress for Diana

July 29,1981—The Royal Wedding of HRH Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer was one of the iconic moments of the twentieth century. It remains a day embedded in the memory of millions of people around the world—over 800 million people were watching at home on television.

Of all the images from the day, the most unforgettable is Diana’s arrival at St. Paul’s Cathedral in a glass carriage and the public’s first glimpse of the best kept secret of the day, the royal wedding dress: layers of silk, antique lace, pearls, sequins, and a 25-foot train, which had been hidden in a vault in London, concealed from the public eye. It was a true Cinderella dress, one the public is joyfully remembering today as they anxiously wait to see if the wedding grown of England’s future princess, Kate Middletown who is already known for dressing like Diana at royal events, can surpass it.

For the designers, David Emanuel and Elizabeth Emanuel who created Diana’s dress, it was “a fairytale come true.” Having only been introduced to her earlier that year, the Emanuels quickly became one of her favored designers, which lead to the career-changing request they received in March 1981.

The glorious dress the Emanuels created was one bridal designers around the world would soon mimic, and it is carefully deconstructed in this artfully designed book created by the designers themselves and filled to the brim with background information on the dress and Diana’s wishes for it, the original inspirational sketches of it, close-up images of its remarkable details, and photographs of Dina dressed in it on her wedding day as she became the royal princess of England.