Queen Elizabeth's 'Remarkable' Fashion Takes Center Stage at New Exhibit

Yahoo

21-07-2025

Queen Elizabeth's 'Remarkable' Fashion Takes Center Stage at New Exhibit originally appeared on Parade.
Throughout her 70-year reign as queen of the United Kingdom and its Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II became known not just for her leadership but for her timeless sense of style. A new exhibit will showcase more than 200 of her most iconic wardrobe pieces, many of which are being displayed for the very first time. The collection offers a rare glimpse into the fashion evolution of one of history's most enduring monarchs.
The royal family's Instagram shared details of the upcoming exhibit. The caption began with a tease, "Coming soon," followed by a photo slideshow.
It continued, "Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style. In 2026, to mark the centenary of Queen Elizabeth II's birth, The King's Gallery in London will play host to the largest and most comprehensive exhibition of The late Queen's fashion ever mounted, Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style."
The caption concludes, "Shown here is a cream silk evening gown with foliate beaded embroidery, designed by Sir Normal Hartnell, and worn by Queen Elizabeth II in 1956. It is just one of approximately 200 items, many on display for the first time, charting the remarkable story of Britain's longest-reigning monarch through clothing and accessories worn in all ten decades of her life."
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The exhibit opens in Spring 2026. Tickets go on sale in November 2025.
Royal watchers shared their excitement about the ability to see some of the monarch's most iconic looks up close. The comments section of the post was filled with excited fans.
"So exciting! I cannot wait to see all the beautiful outfits in one place," one Instagram user wrote. A second suggested, "They should do a virtual exhibition too for us who can't visit the physical exhibitions."
A third follower exclaimed, "This will be amazing." "She was a great queen in her role and splendid style," penned a fourth fan.
Elizabeth's fashion was legendary. And it was all housed on an entire floor of Buckingham Palace instead of a closet.
Reportedly, the queen and her husband, Prince Philip, had private apartments on the north side of Buckingham Palace. The top floor was dedicated to storing her clothes.
Paul Burrell, butler of the late Princess Diana, told Yahoo UK's The Royal Box that the queen's outfits were brought down to her every day by her private dresser. These choices were limited to two.
'Her dresser will bring down two outfits in the morning, which are sketched with pieces of material clipped to them so that the Queen can remember whether it's silk or cotton or wool,' Burrell explained. 'The one the Queen picks is the one which is brought downstairs from up above. So she doesn't see her wardrobe with clothes in it.'
In her later years, the monarch had one steadfast fashion rule. She always wore brightly colored outfits.
Per Reader's Digest, her daughter-in-law, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, said in the documentary The Queen at 90, there was a reason for this decision. 'She needs to stand out for people to be able to say, 'I saw the queen,'' the duchess explained.
'Don't forget that when she turns up somewhere, the crowds are two, three, four, 10, 15 deep, and someone wants to be able to say they saw a bit of the queen's hat as she went past.'
Queen Elizabeth died on Sept. 8, 2022, at 96.
Queen Elizabeth's 'Remarkable' Fashion Takes Center Stage at New Exhibit first appeared on Parade on Jul 21, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 21, 2025, where it first appeared.
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