Next spring, Buckingham Palace will lift the velvet rope on 200 rarely seen looks charting the late monarch’s style journey, from a childhood lamé frock to coronation grandeur.
At the King’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace, the story of Queen Elizabeth II will soon be told through hems, seams and jewel-bright silks. “Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style,” opening in spring 2026, lands on the centenary of her birth and offers the most comprehensive view yet of her fashion vocabulary.
About half of the 200 garments and accessories have never been shown publicly. Curator Caroline de Guitaut, surveyor of The King’s Works of Art, notes that Her Majesty understood the soft power of clothing long before the term entered the fashion lexicon. Every look, whether for a state banquet or a weekend ride at Balmoral, carried intent.
The tour begins with the silver lamé and tulle bridesmaid dress eight-year-old Princess Elizabeth wore to her uncle’s 1934 wedding. From there, design threads weave through Norman Hartnell’s satin-rich 1947 wedding gown, the silk and embroidery of the 1953 coronation dress and Hardy Amies tailoring that shaped the postwar decades.
Diplomatic dressing earns its own chapter. A white Hartnell gown created for a 1961 state dinner in Karachi appears with an emerald pleat that nods to Pakistan’s flag. Ian Thomas’s printed chiffons capture the free-spirited 1970s, while the Queen’s trusted riding jackets and tartan skirts remind visitors that her style heart was always in the British countryside.
Archival sketches, fabric swatches and handwritten notes sit beside the finished pieces, offering a backstage pass to the fittings that defined an era of British couture. The Royal Collection Trust will publish an accompanying volume in March 2026, priced at £40 and threaded with essays from designers and historians.
Exact exhibition dates are still pending, but the run extends through fall 2026. Given the likely rush, mark your calendar for November 2025 when tickets become available and prepare to step inside a century of living style history.
