Palace to show Kate wedding dress

The Duchess of Cambridge's wedding dress is to go on display at Buckingham Palace
12 April 2012

The Duchess of Cambridge's wedding dress is to go on display at Buckingham Palace, it has been announced.

The Sarah Burton creation for Alexander McQueen will be on show during the summer opening of Buckingham Palace between July 23 and October 3, the Royal Collection said.

The Duchess's veil, tiara and wedding shoes and the diamond earrings she wore on her wedding day will also form part of the display.

William and Kate's wedding cake, created by cake designer Fiona Cairns, will be shown in the State Dining Room to complement the wedding dress exhibition.

The intricately-decorated gown worn by the Duchess received widespread praise and was the focus of intense interest for millions of viewers in the UK and worldwide who watched the royal wedding at Westminster Abbey on April 29.

The Duchess's gown featured lace applique floral detail and was made of ivory and white satin gazar, with a skirt that resembled "an opening flower" with white satin gazar arches and pleats. The dress's beautiful, intricate train measured just 9ft - modest in comparison to many previous royal brides.

Individual flowers were hand-cut from lace and hand-engineered on to ivory silk-tulle to create a design that incorporates the rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock. Each lace motif, some as small as a 5p piece, was applied with minute stitches every inch or so.

The bride's veil, made of layers of ivory silk-tulle with a trim of hand-embroidered flowers, was also embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework. The veil was held in place by the Cartier "Halo" tiara, which was lent to the Duchess by the Queen.

The tiara was made in 1936 and bought by the Duke of York - later King George VI - for the Duchess of York - later Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother - three weeks before he succeeded his brother as king.

Go to www.royalcollection.org.uk or (+44) (0)20 7766 7300 for tickets and visitor information.

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