Princess Diana and Prince Charles at their wedding in 1981.Photo: Anwar Hussein/WireImage
Princess Dianawas prepared for every style possibility for her walk down the aisle — including having a second backup wedding dress!
Althoughsketches of the extra bridal gownhave been revealed before, Elizabeth Emanuel shared a never-before-seen photo of the “spare” dress withHello!magazine. In the snap, a woman is seen working on the ensemble as it is laid on a table.
Elizabeth, who created the royal’s wedding dress alongside her ex-husband David, told the outlet, “The spare wedding gown was made just in case the secret of the real dress ever got out. Fortunately, it was never used. The dress was made in pale ivory silk taffeta with embroidered scalloped details on the hem and sleeves. Tiny pearls were sewn on the bodice.”
“People always ask you what it was like,” she added. “It was similar in certain respects and both had the big skirt, but everything else was different.”
Princess Diana and Prince Charles at their wedding in 1981.Anwar Hussein/Getty
While Princess Diana tied the knot with the future King Charles in July 1981 in a dress featuring voluminous sleeves, the extra ensemble featured more fitted sleeves. The V-necklines and arm openings on both featured similar ruffle details, with the backup option slightly more subdued.
“I don’t know where it went. It just disappeared,” Elizabeth toldHello!
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Princess Diana and Prince Charles at their wedding in July 1981.Terry Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images
The train was so cumbersome that Diana told bridesmaid India Hicks to do her “best” while carrying it down the aisle. “We knew what that meant: If we pulled too much, straightening the material, her tiara and veil would slip,” Hicks toldHarper’s Bazaarin 2018. “But if we didn’t pull enough, the effect of the train would be lost.”
Inside the dress were two hidden gems: a blue bow at the waistband for her “something blue” and a little gold horseshoe as a good luck charm.
Princess Diana also wore a custom tulle veil that was hand-stitched with 10,000 micro-pearls to create what Elizabeth later called a “fairy dust effect” toVogue U.K.“We used the same sequins on the gown itself so that it would also sparkle as Diana walked down the aisle,” the designer said.
The backup dress was not the only precaution the Emanuels took for the wedding day. In addition, they created an extra skirt should something spill on the dress. (It wasn’t used even though makeup artist Barbara Daly revealed that Dianaaccidentally spilled some perfume on her dress. According to Daly, she told her to simply hold that spot on her dress as she was walking to make it seem like she was lifting the front of her dress so she didn’t step on it. The royal was even spotted trying to cover the spot where the perfume spilled with her hand as she approached the altar.)
There was also a parasol made to match Princess Diana’s dress just in case the London weather didn’t cooperate.
source: people.com
