Princess Diana's secret second wedding dress has finally been revealed
In the world of celebrity weddings, there currently seems to be something of a trend for brides to have more than one wedding dress. Sofia Richie Grainge wore *three* custom Chanel wedding gowns, with Barbara Palvin following suit and wearing three wedding dresses when she married Dylan Sprouse last month.
But it turns out the multiple dress trend isn't as new as we thought. Elizabeth Emanuel, the woman who – alongside her then-husband, David – designed Princess Diana's iconic wedding dress complete with ruffled neckline, puff shoulders, and XL train, has revealed to Hello! that the couple also prepared a second wedding dress for the royal.
The OG design for the 1981 Royal Wedding was a frothy number featuring 10,000 pearls, detailed lace, and an epic 25-foot train – the longest train ever worn by a royal bride.
But, as well as making an exact replica to be displayed at Madame Tussauds, the Emanuels also designed a second wedding dress to act as a "backup" in case the first was leaked to the public ahead of the big day.
"The spare wedding gown was made just in case the secret of the real dress ever got out. Fortunately, it was never used," Elizabeth told the publication.
David has previously spoken about the second dress, telling People, as reported by Hello!, "We wanted to make absolutely sure that the dress was a surprise. We wanted to make sure that we had something there; it was for our own peace of mind, really."
"We didn't try it on Diana. We never even discussed it," he added.
While sketches of both designs had previously been released, Elizabeth has finally shared a photograph of the never-before-seen second gown. Sharing the image exclusively with Hello!, she can be seen working on the design with the dress laid across the table.
Although the second dress was never finished, Elizabeth described it, saying, "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."
Appearing in a sketch to feature a frilled V-neckline and three-quarter length sleeves, like the one Diana wore, Elizabeth acknowledged the similarities, "It was similar in certain respects and both had the big skirt, but everything else was different. So it was really just a backup to the original."
Add "multiple wedding dresses" (along with bike shorts, polka dots, preppy chic and more) to the list of trends Princess Diana championed. She really is the OG style icon.
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