See Hundreds of Garments That Elizabeth II Wore Throughout Her Seven-Decade Reign
A new exhibition at Buckingham Palace will examine the British monarch’s life and legacy using evening gowns, suits and accessories
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Roughly 200 items from Elizabeth II’s wardrobe are about to be exhibited in London—including wedding and coronation gowns, childhood dresses and flowing floral getups from the 1970s.
Elizabeth was lauded for her diplomacy, poise and devotion to public service. But like many British monarchs, she was also known for her style. The queen, who died in 2022 at age 96, wore countless custom-made gowns, suits and dresses throughout her seven-decade reign—and as a princess before it. “Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style,” which will be on view in the King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace next spring, traces the queen’s life through fashion.
Fun fact: Elizabeth II’s wedding tiara
Not far from Buckingham Palace, the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee will be constructing a glass bridge inspired by the British monarch’s diamond-studded wedding tiara.
“Over the course of Queen Elizabeth II’s remarkably long reign, her distinctive style became instantly recognizable around the world, bolstering the British fashion industry and influencing generations of designers and couturiers,” says exhibition curator Caroline de Guitaut in a statement from the Royal Collection Trust, the organization that controls England’s palaces and royal artworks. “In the year that she would have turned 100 years old, this exhibition will be a celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s uniquely British style and her enduring fashion legacy.”
Born in 1926, Elizabeth was dressed in royal trappings all her life. One of the oldest pieces in the exhibition, to be displayed for the first time, is a silver bridesmaid’s dress designed by Edward Molyneux, which Elizabeth wore to her uncle’s wedding when she was 8.
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One of Elizabeth’s royal dressmakers was Norman Hartnell, who designed her wedding dress, which she wore when she married Prince Philip in 1947, and her coronation dress, which she wore when she was crowned queen in 1953.
Vanity Fair’s Eléa Guilleminault-Bauer points to Hartnell’s 1955 autobiography, Silver and Gold, in which he recalled the intimidating process of designing the coronation gown: “My mind was teeming with heraldic and floral ideas,” he wrote. “I thought of lilies, roses, marguerites and golden corn; I thought of altar cloths and sacred vestments; I thought of the sky, the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars and everything heavenly that might be embroidered upon a dress destined to be historic.”
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Hartnell drew up nine different designs in total. The winning dress’ embroidery featured 11 emblems: a Tudor Rose for England; thistle for Scotland; shamrock for Ireland; leek for Wales; maple leaf for Canada; wattle flower for Australia; fern for New Zealand; protea for South Africa; lotus flowers for India; and wheat, cotton and jute for Pakistan.
In 1978, Hartnell told the New York Times’ Judith Weinraub about the complex work of dressing the queen. “She can’t wear skirts that are too tight for her to get out of a limousine or pleated ones that the wind might blow up at a garden party,” he said. “Her hat has to be off her face so her picture can be taken, and it can’t be so big that she has to hold it on her head to keep it from blowing away.”
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Elizabeth’s other royal dressmakers included Hardy Amies, who made several formal evening gowns for her, and Ian Thomas, once Hartnell’s assistant, who crafted cascading, colorful evening gowns and sleek ensembles for diplomatic tours.
The garments will be displayed alongside hats, jewelry, shoes and other accessories, as well as designers’ sketches, fabric samples and handwritten letters regarding the queen’s fashion. The artifacts explore the “behind-the-scenes process of dressing the most famous woman in the world,” revealing how the queen’s symbolic authority was displayed through clothing, per the statement.
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De Guitaut adds: “Only now, as the late queen’s fashion archive comes under the care of Royal Collection Trust, can we tell the story of a lifetime of thoughtful style choices—from her hands-on role and understanding of the soft power behind her clothing, to the exceptional craftsmanship behind each garment.”
“Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style” will be on view at Buckingham Palace in London from spring through autumn of 2026.
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