Princess Diana’s secret second wedding dress that ‘just disappeared’

Princess Diana’s secret second wedding dress reportedly “just disappeared” and it was in many ways very “different” to her final look.

• The late Princess of Wales’ wedding dress is unforgettably regal though she had a “back-up” dress made “just in case” the secret of her real outfit got out.
• Princess Diana’s designers created a spare gown which has apparently “disappeared” with its whereabouts currently not known.
• This royal news comes as it was revealed this royal is the most popular public figure in America - and is not the King or the Princess of Wales! 

There have been plenty of beautiful royal wedding dresses over the years, but some stand out as being particularly iconic. The late Princess Diana’s wedding dress featured thousands of pearls and a seven metre train that flared out behind her as she walked down the aisle at St Paul’s. Just like the dresses of the Princess of Wales and Duchess of Sussex, Princess Diana’s gown was shrouded in mystery leading up to the big day. The final design featured puffed sleeves and was made from taffeta, though it wasn’t the only one made. 

Whilst Kate’s huge wedding secret of her designer was leaked in 2011, her mother-in-law had a solution ready and prepared in 1981. Princess Diana’s secret second wedding dress was created “just in case” the real dress details became known. 

Princess Diana’s wedding dress was designed by Elizabeth and David Emmanuel and they went to great lengths to try and keep the dress secret, including making a “spare”. Getting candid with Hello!, Elizabeth gave inside details on Princess Diana’s wedding dress and also unveiled the details and sketches of the spare gown.

"The spare wedding gown was made just in case the secret of the real dress ever got out. Fortunately, it was never used," she explained, before going on to share some tantalising details about what Princess Diana’s second wedding dress looked like.

Elizabeth continued, "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."

Whilst some of this might sound similar to the gown the Princess of Wales actually wore when she married the now-King Charles, the designer shared that various things about it were different. She also disclosed that fans are likely never going to get a glimpse of Princess Diana’s secret second wedding dress as its whereabouts are a mystery...

"People always ask you what it was like. It was similar in certain respects and both had the big skirt, but everything else was different. "So it was really just a back-up to the original and I don't know where it went. It just disappeared.”

Where it is now remains to be seen since even Elizabeth doesn’t know “where it went”, but it certainly sounds stunning as a “spare” wedding dress. Princess Diana’s secret second wedding dress thankfully wasn’t needed, however, and she got married in her magnificent “real” gown.

Speaking on ITV’s Invitation to the Royal Wedding in 2018, Elizabeth reportedly expressed how “horrified” she was when she saw how there was “a lot more” creasing of the fabric than they’d thought there would be on Princess Diana’s wedding day. However, it still looked spectacular and in 2021 the dress featured as part of an exhibition at Kensington Palace.

It’s certainly stood the test of time as an iconic royal wedding outfit, as have both the dresses worn by Princess Diana’s daughters-in-law Kate and Meghan for their weddings.