Princess Diana’s wedding dress designer Elizabeth Emanuel recalls Diana the woman and her ‘ultimate fairy princess’ gown 25 years after her death on August 31, 1997

Elizabeth Emanuel recalls Princess Diana, 25 years after her death and 41 years after her royal wedding to Prince Charles – and making THAT bridal gown

Emanuel spent months designing it, putting ‘all the frills on the lace’ to make it ‘the ultimate fairy princess dress’ that was seen and loved around the world

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Princess Diana at her 1981 wedding to Prince Charles wearing a bridal gown designed by Elizabeth Emanuel. She recalls Diana the woman and the process of making the dress. Photo: AP

Published: 4:15am, 31 Aug 2022Updated: 6:32pm, 31 Aug 2022

Elizabeth Emanuel cradles the massive scrapbook across her chest before laying it gently on the table and opening its Prussian blue covers to reveal a personal time capsule of her relationship with Princess Diana.

Emanuel got to know Diana during the months she and her then-husband, David, spent designing the future princess’ wedding dress.

Four decades later, there is a sense of intimacy as she leafs through sketches, fabric swatches and photos of Diana, displayed alongside images of the designer’s mother stitching embroidery into the gown. It is like looking at a family album.

That sense of connection helps Emanuel understand why Diana’s death in a Paris car crash 25 years ago resonated with so many people around the world.

Elizabeth Emanuel designed Princess Diana’s wedding dress. Photo: AP

“I think people just felt she was like family, that she cared,” Emanuel says. “They felt close to her because you knew every detail of her life. It was in all the press, all the time. And there was all these things going on.