The wedding gown Diana Spencer wore to marry Prince Charles on July 29, 1981, still remains one of the most iconic dresses in history. A product of its era, the gown was adored the world over—but the dress’ designer, Elizabeth Emanuel (who created the look with her husband, David) wasn’t impressed with the final look, The Mirror reports.
The antique lace and ivory silk taffeta dress had taken months of preparation, and the designers had gone to great lengths to ensure that the gown’s design remained top secret. The dress was reported to have cost around £9,000 pounds and included six different fabrics, classic puffed-up sleeves, and more than 10,000 pearls, 25 yards of silk taffeta, 100 yards of tulle crinoline, and 150 yards of netting for the veil. Its train was made of 25 feet of hand-embroidered silk.
As Diana stepped out of her carriage at St. Paul’s Cathedral to marry her groom, Elizabeth was “horrified” after seeing how creased Diana’s dress had become, admitting she “felt faint” on an appearance on ITV’s Invitation to the Royal Wedding. “We did know it would crease a bit, but when I saw her arrive at St. Paul’s and we saw the creasing, I actually felt faint,” she said. “I was horrified, really, because it was quite a lot of creasing. It was a lot more than we thought.”
Though they had carried out a dress rehearsal beforehand, they’d used a different material, so it wasn’t anywhere near as creased as how the gown looked the day of.
In addition to the gown Diana wore down the aisle, the Emanuels also created a backup dress just in case. “At the time we wanted to make absolutely sure that the dress was a surprise,” David told People. “We didn’t try it on Diana [the second dress]. We never even discussed it. We wanted to make sure that we had something there—it was for our own peace of mind, really.”
And, though Elizabeth may have been horrified at the creasing of the gown, Diana seemed to love it, personally calling David after the ceremony to thank him for his work on the gown, per Hello. “After all the photographs, they went in to have the wedding breakfast and I went back to my studio in Mayfair,” he said. “All of my workroom ladies were there, so we had a glass of champagne. We had a little party and just as I’m about to lock up, the phone rings. I thought, ‘who’s calling?’ It was Diana! She said ‘I just wanted to say thank you so much for the gown. I loved it. Prince Charles loved it. All the family loved it.’ It couldn’t have been more special for me to hear from the client. When you design for a bride, you want her to be happy.”
The creasing of the gown wasn’t the only mishap of the day—Diana’s makeup artist, Barbara Daly, said that before Diana walked down the aisle, she accidentally spilled Houbigant Paris Quelques Fleurs perfume on the gown. Daly said she frantically tried to clean the dress, but that the perfume still left a large stain; Daly instructed Diana to hold the dress up by the stained area so it would appear she was just trying to avoid stepping on it. Even royal brides have mishaps!
Stay In The Know
Marie Claire email subscribers get intel on fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more. Sign up here.
Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.
-
Lily Allen Resented Elton John for Years, But There Are No Hard Feelings Now
This is too funny.
By Iris Goldsztajn Published
-
Hilary Duff Welcomes 3rd Child With Husband Matthew Koma
Townes is her fourth child overall.
By Iris Goldsztajn Published
-
Upgrade Your Vacation Wardrobe With Summer Staples From Shopbop and Nordstrom Rack
Next stop: The airport.
By Julia Marzovilla Published
-
Princess Diana’s First Work Contract—Which Includes a Fib from Diana Herself Written In Her Own Handwriting—Sells at Auction for a Staggering Sum
The then Lady Diana Spencer wrote she was looking to start work as “soon as possible” back in May 1979.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Princess Diana Only Attended One Met Gala and Was, Unsurprisingly, the “Belle of the Ball”
Her “elegant, but revealing” John Galliano for Dior silk slip dress, worn to the event in 1996, is loaded with symbolism—and almost didn’t happen.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Diana Spencer, Then 19, Started Sobbing in the Ladies’ Room As She Asked Princess Grace of Monaco for Advice About Marrying Royalty
As their stars collided that night in March 1981, neither the former Grace Kelly nor the future Princess of Wales had any idea that they’d both someday die far too young in the same manner.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Princess Diana Revealed to a Royal Author the Real Reason Why Her Marriage to Prince Charles Ended Not Long Before She Died in 1997
And no, it apparently wasn’t Camilla Parker-Bowles.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Princess Diana Told Queen Elizabeth Through Tears That Her Then-Husband Prince Charles Was “A Nightmare” and That She “Hated” Him, Royal Author Claims
Ingrid Seward’s new book examines the relationship between mother and son, Her late Majesty and her heir, Charles.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Princess Diana Would Be "Absolutely Distraught" Over the State of Prince William and Prince Harry's Relationship, Expert Claims
She wanted them to have each other's backs.
By Iris Goldsztajn Published
-
Princess Diana’s Wedding Dress Designer Is Working On a Modern Interpretation of the Iconic Gown 43 Years Later
“I wouldn’t change a thing on the dress in 1981, but if I was looking at it through my eyes now, there’s so many possibilities.”
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Princess Diana’s Brother Earl Charles Spencer Speaks Out on the Kate Middleton Drama: “I Do Worry About What Happened to the Truth”
He also weighed in on whether the media frenzy was worse in the 1990s with Diana or in the present day with Kate.
By Rachel Burchfield Published