Princess Diana's never-before-seen backup wedding gown
<p>The designer of Princess Diana's iconic wedding gown has revealed the details of a secret second dress that has never seen the light of day. </p>
<p>In an exclusive interview with <em>Hello!</em> magazine, British designer Elizabeth Emmanuel revealed that she had planned for the worst in the lead up to the royal nuptials in 1981 by creating a backup dress. </p>
<p>When Princess Diana married King Charles at St Paul’s Cathedral, she wore the now iconic voluptuous custom gown with a 25-foot train and 10,000 mother-of-pearl sequin and pearl embellishments. </p>
<p>However, this gown may not have been the one debuted on the red-carpet aisle if news of it leaked before the big day. </p>
<p>“The spare wedding gown was made just in case the secret of the real dress ever got out,” Emmanuel proclaimed. “Fortunately, it was never used.”</p>
<p>Emmanuel drew inspiration from the 20-year-old’s initial design for the “spare,” pointing to a similar V-cut neckline adorned with a ruffle trim, puffy sleeves, and massive skirt in the never-before-seen sketch. </p>
<p>The substitute was “pale ivory silk taffeta with embroidered scalloped details on the hem and sleeves” and detailed with delicate pearls along a tight-fitting bodice.</p>
<p>To see the stunning draft design of the spare gown, click <a href="https://www.hellomagazine.com/brides/499047/princess-diana-spare-wedding-dress-unveiled-for-first-time-by-designer-exclusive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.</p>
<p>In the lead up to the wedding, strict security measures were put in place to prevent anyone from seeing the dresses before Diana walked down the aisle. </p>
<p>“We had the dress stored every night in a metal cabinet guarded by two guards, Jim and Bert,” Elizabeth noted. “So there was somebody there 24 hours a day and we put shutters on all our windows, and we put false color threads in the rubbish bins because people were going through our bins.”</p>
<p>Elizabeth, now 70-years-old, lost track of the alternate gown, which the Princess of Wales never actually tried on. </p>
<p>Just before what would have been the royal pair’s 42nd wedding anniversary, Elizabeth told Hello!, “I don’t know where it went. It just disappeared.” </p>
<p>However, when Princess Diana tragically died, her original gown was left to both Prince William and Prince Harry, as the historic garment now rests in Kensington Palace.</p>
<p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p>
