Buckingham Palace will showcase the largest-ever exhibition of late Queen Elizabeth II’s fashions in 2026 to mark what would have been her 100th birthday.
The landmark royal exhibition will feature around 200 items, about half of which have never been publicly displayed before.
The exhibition will chart the monarch’s life and her historic 70-year reign and include the opulent gowns she wore for her wedding and coronation.
Elizabeth, who died in September 2022 at 96, was the longest-reigning monarch Britain has ever known, and her clothing archive is considered one of the most important collections of 20th-century British fashion.
She would have celebrated her 100th birthday on April 21, 2026.
Queen Elizabeth II wears the imperial crown as she walks through the Royal Gallery to the House of Lords chamber to officiate the opening of a new session of the British Parliament in 1954. (AP)
Highlights include a tulle bridesmaid dress worn by an eight-year-old Princess Elizabeth in 1934 and many beautifully tailored couture dresses by the monarch’s most influential designer, Norman Hartnell.
Hartnell was the man behind an apple-green gown the queen wore for a state banquet given for US President Dwight D Eisenhower in Washington, DC in 1957, a pastel blue gown with a matching jacket that Elizabeth wore for her sister Princess Margaret’s 1960 wedding, as well as the queen’s own wedding and coronation dresses.
Visitors to the exhibition will also see items from Elizabeth’s private, off-duty wardrobe, from her riding clothes and Harris tweed jackets to raincoats and headscarves, as well as design sketches and fabric samples that give an insight into the process of dressing her.
While the late queen was known for her elegant and conservative style, the collection will include a somewhat surprising and avant-garde item: a clear transparent raincoat by the couturier Hardy Amies, made in the 1960s.
The raincoat was designed to allow Elizabeth’s bright daywear to be visible to crowds, no matter the weather.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II (left) and her husband, Prince Philip (right), stand with President Dwight Eisenhower and first lady Mamie at the White House. (AP)
The display will also include pieces by three contemporary British designers — Erdem Moralioglu, Richard Quinn and Christopher Kane — influenced by the monarch’s style to highlight her legacy.
“Queen Elizabeth II’s wardrobe is one of the most significant living archives in modern fashion history,” Kane said.
“From the decline of the court dressmaker to the rise of couturiers like Hartnell and Hardy Amies, her garments tell the story of Britain and its changing identity through fashion.
“For designers and students, it offers a master class in silhouette, construction, repetition, symbolism and, perhaps most importantly, restraint.
“Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life In Style” will be staged at Buckingham Palace from April 10, 2026 to October 18, 2026.
AP