29 July 1981 · St Paul's Cathedral, London
Princess Diana's Wedding Dress and Veil: What She Wore, and How to Get the Look
On 29 July 1981, Lady Diana Spencer married the Prince of Wales at St Paul's Cathedral, with much of the world watching on television. The dress by David and Elizabeth Emanuel is still the one people picture when they think of a royal wedding: ivory silk taffeta, puffed sleeves, antique lace and a train of 25 feet.
We make wedding veils by hand in Bath. Here is what Diana wore, what made it work in a building the size of St Paul's, and how to get the same feeling with a veil made for your own wedding.
The record
What she wore
- The dress
- Designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel in ivory silk taffeta, woven in Suffolk, with antique lace and about 10,000 pearls and sequins sewn by hand.
- The train
- 25 feet (7.6 metres), the longest train of any royal wedding dress.
- The veil
- Ivory tulle, about 153 yards of it gathered into the veil. That is the fabric used, not the length. She wore it forward over her face for the walk up the aisle.
- The tiara
- The Spencer family tiara, from her own family rather than the royal collection.
- The back-up
- The Emanuels also made a second dress, in case the design was leaked before the day. It was never needed.
- Where it is now
- The dress belongs to her sons. Prince William and Prince Harry lent it to Kensington Palace for the exhibition Royal Style in the Making in 2021.
A veil maker's reading
Why it worked in St Paul's
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St Paul's is huge. The walk from the west door to the altar is long, and a bride in a small dress would have looked lost in it. The Emanuels answered with scale. Big sleeves, a full skirt and a train that filled the aisle steps, so that from the back of the cathedral and on every television screen she read as one clear shape.
The veil did the same job in a softer way. With so much tulle gathered into it, it made a cloud around her head and shoulders, and it was worn forward over her face for the walk up the aisle. That is the oldest bridal tradition there is, and it gave the moment of lifting the veil real weight.
There was one problem nobody planned for. By most accounts the train was badly creased in the Glass Coach on the way, because the coach was too small for that much silk, and the creases showed as she stepped out. If you plan a long train, plan the car too.
What we take from 1981 is the two tier veil: a blusher worn forward for the walk, a long layer behind, and a simple edge so nothing gets in the way of the tulle.
Get the look · one
Volume and length
If you want the 1981 feeling, start with a two tier veil at cathedral length. The blusher goes over your face for the aisle and back over your head after the vows. The long layer sits behind and follows you. For a big church or a long aisle, go wide as well as long, so the tulle has fullness and not just length.
You do not need a 25-foot train to wear one. A cathedral veil over a simple dress gives you the drama on its own, and it is lighter to wear than a train.
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Get the look · two
A little sparkle
Discover ‘Jessie’ →
Diana's dress caught the light because of the pearls and sequins sewn all over it. If your dress is plain, a veil with a light scatter of crystals gives you some of that shimmer without changing the dress. It sparkles when you move and stays quiet when you stand still.
Keep it light. A few crystals spread across the tulle look like light on water. Too many and the veil starts to compete with your face.
Worn by real brides
Our Real Brides archive has hundreds of weddings in our veils, photographed by the brides' own photographers. It is the best place to see a cathedral veil moving down a real aisle.
See Real BridesYour questions, answered
Who designed Princess Diana's wedding dress?
David and Elizabeth Emanuel, a husband and wife design team in London. The dress was ivory silk taffeta with antique lace and about 10,000 pearls and sequins.
How long was Princess Diana's train?
25 feet, or about 7.6 metres. It is the longest train of any royal wedding dress.
How long was Princess Diana's veil?
The figure you will see most often is 153 yards, but that is the amount of tulle gathered into the veil, not its length. We have not found a reliable record of the finished length. What the photographs show is a full, long veil worn forward over her face for the walk up the aisle.
What tiara did Princess Diana wear at her wedding?
The Spencer family tiara, which came from her own family rather than the royal collection.
Where is Princess Diana's wedding dress now?
It belongs to her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. They lent it to Kensington Palace for the exhibition Royal Style in the Making, which ran from June 2021 to January 2022.
Keep exploring
More royal wedding veils
See every modern royal bride on our royal wedding veils page, read how Kate Middleton's veil took the opposite approach thirty years later, or go back to 1956 with Grace Kelly's Juliet cap.
Britten has no connection with the Royal Family. Our veils are our own designs, made by hand in Bath.