Royal wedding dress designer takes action after original veil goes missing
Royal wedding dress designer takes action after original veil goes missing
Dorothy Reddin Wed, July 29, 2026 at 8:26 AM UTC
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Elizabeth Emanuel | Source: GETTY
Elizabeth Emanuel, who designed Princess Diana's wedding dress alongside her ex-husband David, believes the original veil may be permanently lost and has now created a replica.
Ms Emanuel is convinced that the original 40-foot veil, designed by artisans at Hand & Lock, has either gone missing or sustained damage.
The famous gown has been displayed periodically over the past three decades at both Diana's ancestral family seat, Althorp House, and at Kensington Palace, yet on every occasion the veil has been absent.
The dress itself was crafted by the Emanuels and a small team of seamstresses and embroiderers, working from a compact studio in London's Mayfair district.
To bring the veil back to life, Ms Emanuel was commissioned by Renae Plant, founder of The Princess Diana Museum, to oversee a faithful recreation of the piece.
For this task, she turned to Hand & Lock, the London-based embroidery house that produced the original veil 45 years ago.
Ms Emanuel told People that the veil is essential to understanding the full impact of the bridal ensemble: "It needs that veil. That's the whole magic. That's why I call it the Veil of Light. You can see the twinkle, and it radiates. The dress isn't as complete without the veil."
She explained that the veil "defuses the colour, and it makes the dress look lighter, and it has this airy, delicate feel to it which you don't necessarily appreciate when you see the dress without all of that. It is an integral part of the design."
Princess Diana | Source: GETTY
Just as they had done in 1981, the artisans at Hand & Lock worked entirely by hand when replicating the veil, stitching innumerable miniature sequins across the fabric.
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Ms Emanuel tracked down the exact original measurements to ensure the recreation matched the specifications as closely as possible: "At Hand & Lock, they went back to their records, and I took them an original piece of the fabric and a piece from the same loom to help them."
The sheer scale of the 40-foot veil presented its own logistical challenge: "They did such an amazing job because it was bigger than the room they made it in, and they had to make it in stages."
She marvelled at the level of skill involved: "I don't know how they did it without ruining their eyesight."
Princess Diana and King Charles | Source: GETTY
Exactly 45 years ago today, Princess Diana walked down the aisle at St Paul's Cathedral to marry the future King Charles, wearing what would become one of the most celebrated bridal ensembles in history.
Ms Plant, who is preparing to take The Princess Diana Museum's collection on its inaugural touring exhibition this autumn, told People: "Working with Elizabeth Emanuel to preserve these pieces of history in The Princess Diana Museum is incredibly important to me."
She emphasised that Ms Emanuel "carries firsthand knowledge of how they were imagined, made and experienced, and there is something very special about being able to record and recreate that history with her now."
Ms Plant described the veil as far more than a "simply beautiful object," calling it "part of a living archive," and expressing a deep sense of duty to safeguard Ms Emanuel's "memories, craftsmanship and creative voice for future generations while we have the opportunity to do so."
The newly crafted veil remains in London and could potentially be paired with the original dress at a future exhibition.
Ms Emanuel said she has not yet seen the recreation draped over the actual gown: "If they ever do use it in an exhibition, I would be so happy. It would be amazing. To see it as close as possible as it looked on the day is really important."
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