The centenary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth will be marked in 2026 by the largest exhibition of her fashion ever staged, Buckingham Palace announced on Monday.
The show, 'Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style,' will open at The King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace in London from spring to autumn 2026, featuring around 200 items, half of which will be on public display for the first time.
The exhibition will trace Britain’s longest-reigning monarch’s life through clothing worn across 10 decades – from her childhood as Princess Elizabeth to her reign as Queen.
It will feature couture, jewellery, hats, shoes and accessories, as well as design sketches, fabric samples and handwritten correspondence revealing her involvement in her wardrobe’s creation.
“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,” said curator Caroline de Guitaut, Surveyor of The King’s Works of Art.
“Over the course of Queen Elizabeth II’s remarkably long reign, her distinctive style became instantly recognisable around the world, bolstering the British fashion industry and influencing generations of designers and couturiers.”
Among the earliest items on display is the silver lamé bridesmaid dress designed by Edward Molyneux, which Princess Elizabeth wore at age eight for the 1934 wedding of her uncle, the Duke of Kent, to Princess Marina of Greece.
British couturier Norman Hartnell, who became Elizabeth’s most influential designer from the 1940s through the 1970s, is prominently featured.
Hartnell designed both her 1947 wedding dress and her 1953 coronation gown, which cemented his status as Britain’s leading couturier.
Eveningwear was a vital component of her wardrobe. Visitors will see crinoline-skirted gowns of the 1950s by Hartnell and Hardy Amies, as well as a striking evening dress from 1961 incorporating Pakistan’s national colours.
The cream satin gown features a dramatic emerald-green pleat cascading down the back and was worn to a state banquet in Karachi.
The exhibition will also include brightly coloured chiffon evening gowns by Ian Thomas from the 1970s, capturing the relaxed glamour of the decade, which will be shown for the first time.
In her later years, the Queen became equally recognisable for her off-duty style.
Impeccably cut riding jackets, tartan skirts, and her trademark silk headscarves will be displayed, showing her practical yet elegant everyday fashion choices that continue to inspire designers today.
An official book, Queen Elizabeth II: Fashion and Style, written by de Guitaut with contributions from fashion experts and designers, will accompany the exhibition.
Tickets go on sale in November 2025.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Paris on Wednesday in a rare visit by an Iranian top diplomat in recent years....
Russia has proposed a comprehensive programme to equip the forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) with modern weaponry, aimed at...
French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to visit China from 3 to 5 December 2025, during which he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping....
Rescuers in Thailand readied drones on Thursday to airdrop food parcels, as receding floodwaters in the south and neighbouring Malaysia brightened hop...
French health experts are warning that the highly pathogenic H5 strain of bird flu, already devastating wild and farm animals, could evolve into a vir...
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Paris on Wednesday in a rare visit by an Iranian top diplomat in recent years.
Russia has proposed a comprehensive programme to equip the forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) with modern weaponry, aimed at strengthening collective security across the Eurasian region.
The European Parliament has approved a non-binding resolution calling for a minimum age of 16 for social media access across the EU, citing rising concerns about children’s mental health and online safety.
French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to visit China from 3 to 5 December 2025, during which he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Venezuela says it has deployed a range of weapons, including decades-old Russian-made equipment, and plans to mount guerrilla-style resistance in the event of an air or ground assault particularly from the U.S.
A passenger aircraft from Polish carrier LOT veered off a taxiway at Lithuania's Vilnius airport after arriving from Warsaw on Wednesday, halting all traffic, the airport operator said.
A major fire continues to rage at a warehouse in Southall, west London, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the sky hours after it first broke out.
The Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia’s Afar region erupted on Sunday morning (23 November), covering nearby villages in ash.
At least 36 people have died in a fire that ravaged a residential apartment complex on Wednesday according to John Lee the chief executive of Hong Kong.
Netflix crashed on Wednesday for about an hour in the U.S. as it launched season five of "Stranger Things", with the service becoming inaccessible to many subscribers within minutes of the episodes going live at 8 p.m. local time.
Iconic Mexican artist Frida Kahlo's painting 'El sueño (La cama)' sold for $54.7 million at a Sotheby's auction on Thursday, setting a new auction record for the artist and making it the most expensive work by a woman artist ever sold at auction.
Lewis Hamilton has dismissed suggestions of friction within Ferrari after team chairman John Elkann's recent comments that he and teammate Charles Leclerc should "focus on driving and talk less".
Germany has returned 12 royal-era cultural artefacts to Ethiopia in a ceremony in Addis Ababa, marking a formal step in ongoing cultural cooperation between the two countries.
A portrait painting by 20th century Viennese artist Gustav Klimt sold for $236.4 (including fees) at Sotheby's on Tuesday night in what the auction house said was a record for a modern work of art.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment