The Royal Wedding Dress: A Story of Great British Design

The Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress takes centre stage in the Ballroom at Buckingham Palace during the annual Summer Opening. 

Designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, the wedding dress is on display alongside the magnificent Cartier ‘Halo’ tiara, lent by The Queen to The Duchess on her wedding day; The Duchess’s wedding shoes, hand-made by the team at Alexander McQueen; the diamond earrings commissioned by the Middleton family as a personal gift to the bride from her parents; and a replica of the bridal bouquet. The display also includes a special exhibition film in which Sarah Burton discusses for the first time the creation of the dress.

To complement the wedding dress display, The Duke and Duchess’s wedding cake created by Leicestershire-based cake designer Fiona Cairns is shown in the State Dining Room. Three large-scale reproductions of the official wedding photographs showing The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the pages and young bridesmaids, and the royal wedding party, are also on display in the Throne Room where they were taken by photographer Hugo Burnand.