Princess Diana’s Wedding Day Fashion Could Have Looked Very Different as Her Backup Gown Is Finally Revealed

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When Princess Dianarevealed her wedding gown on the day she married Prince Charles, July 29, 1981, brides all around the globe wanted to replicate her stunning look. Now, 42 years later, designer Elizabeth Emanuel revealed the shocking news that there was a backup gown in case any major details about Diana’s outfit leaked to the press.

“The spare wedding gown was made just in case the secret of the real dress ever got out. Fortunately, it was never used,” she toldHello! magazine. “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.” While Diana’s original dress featured 10,000 mother-of-pearl sequins and pearls, along with an iconic 25-foot train, the other gown was very different.

“People always ask you what it was like,” Emanuel continued. “It was similar in certain respects and both had the big skirt, but everything else was different.” The sketch, see it HERE, shows three-quarter-length sleeves with a bell cuff and delicate embellishments at the hemline — it was a slightly more subtle than Diana’s dramatic design that she wore down the aisle. Sadly, Emanuel has no idea where the backup dress is now. “It just disappeared,” she shared.

Emanuel and her team happily obliged Diana’s demands that they keep the details of the dress “very, very secret” because she wanted to make a grand entrance. “And also because we had the dress, stored every night in a metal cabinet guarded by two guards, Jim and Bert,” she added. “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.” Not only were the designers a loyal group, they also let the backup gown’s existence remain a secret for over four decades.

Before you go, click here to see all of our favorite photos of Princess Diana.