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Seeing the coronation gown in person has been on my bucket list for a very long time. I love analyzing and researching royal style, fashion, and jewellery yet was never in London for one of the rare times the gown was on display.
Even today, seven decades after she donned it on that rainy day in June 1953, the coronation gown remains perhaps the most famous outfit ever worn by Queen Elizabeth II and one of the most important pieces of British dress.
So, upon hearing that this style exhibition was in the works and the coronation gown would be one of the pieces on display, I was determined to be in London for the opening in April. After confirming that date with the Royal Collection Trust, which runs the King’s Gallery, I booked my spring 2026 trip within days of returning home from my last trip to Britain in November.
Though the King’s Gallery isn’t big – it’s effectively a set of three galleries attached to Buckingham Palace – curators used every centimetre of that limited space to display more than 300 pieces of the Queen’s wardrobe in a way that is as elegant and superlative as the many ornately embroidered gowns on display.
Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style is a blockbuster that overdelivers. And a good part of that is because of the large number of iconic outfits on display, including the coronation gown.
The coronation gown is located on a back wall in the second gallery. It’s an inspired location. By the time visitors reach it, they’ve already seen dozens of evening gowns on display in that gallery and are almost punch-drunk on embroidery, sequins, crystals, huge crinoline skirts, and breezy chiffon gowns. Those extraordinary creations are appetizers for the sumptuous glory of the coronation gown. It is isolated in its own glass display, along with samples of the embroidery, still in their original wooden hoops, as well as a few other accessories.
One can’t help but stand in awe.