It’s
the country in which she took refuge in 1981 to consider her future following the Prince of
Wales' proposal of marriage.
Now, the wedding dress of Diana, Princess of Wales
is to go on display in Sydney as part of a wide-ranging exhibition celebrating the life of the
woman who was once destined to be Queen of Australia.
The dress, which was designed by husband-and-wife team David and Elizabeth
Emanuel, will be the star attraction at an exhibition at the city's Powerhouse Museum.
The exhibition will open less than a month after millions across the globe will pay tribute to the Princess on the 10th anniversary of her death at the end of August.
As well as the fairytale gown, Diana: A Celebration will also give Australians a chance to see many of the items from the exhibition which is annually displayed at the Princess’s
ancestral home of Althorp House in Northamptonshire, England.
Exhibits include rare home movies which show Diana in her earliest years, as well
as personal letters, photographs and other private possessions which document
the Princess’s life right up until her tragic death at the age of just 36. Some of Diana's most famous daytime and evening gowns will also go on display at the Sydney museum.
In the months before she died, and at a time when
she was having a clear-out of her wardrobe prior to the Christie's
auction of her evening gowns in June 1997, it was rumoured that Diana herself wished
to donate her wedding dress
to the British Museum.
However, this plan never came to fruition and, following
her death, the wedding dress which spawned thousands of copies became the main attraction at Althorp.
