This was the dress that started it all: the first time that the then Lady Diana Spencer, at the tender age of just 19, made headlines around the world with her fashion choices.
When she wore this black taffeta gown by Elizabeth and David Emanuel to accompany the then Prince of Wales to an engagement in aid of the Royal Opera Ho use at Goldsmiths’ Hall in London in March 1981, she caused a sensation.
“She looked great in this dress,” Elizabeth has said. “We in no way expected there to be such a reaction. And I think from that moment on, Diana became a fashion icon.”
Although some critics labelled the gown a disaster, Samir Hussein says it marked a turning point.
“The media sensation caused by this dress was so great that it overwhelmed the Budget announcement,” he recalls. “It was quite the baptism of fire, and the first example of Diana bucking the trend of what royals would normally wear.
“Out of what Diana would later refer to as a ‘horrendous occasion’, she learnt to direct how the press and public would see her.”
As one of the most famous women in the world, Diana, Princess of Wales was photographed on countless occasions and almost everywhere she went. The result was a series of images that still resonate today, nearly 27 years after her death.
Now, Diana’s fans will be able to see some of these historic pictures themselves. A selection of famous photographs is to go on display in a new exhibition featuring the work of royal photographer Anwar Hussein and the two sons who followed in his footsteps, Samir and Zak (all above).
After successful runs in the US, Australia and Canada, Princess Diana: Accredited Access will open at the Dockside Vaults in London’s St Katharine Docks in May.
The walk-through exhibition is accompanied by an audio guide narrated by Samir and Zak, who share fascinating anecdotes and new behindthe-scenes stories relayed to them by their father, now 86.
The commentary is interspersed with some of their own tales of capturing memorable images of younger royals – including the Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Together, the Husseins – who make up the longest-standing family of official royal photographers – have spent four decades working with Diana and her family, gaining special access to document notable moments.
Anwar’s images of the Princess are the most prominent in the exhibition, demonstrating the development of a young and shy Lady Diana Spencer into the confident senior royal she later became.
“I am honoured and humbled to have been given the opportunity to photograph Princess Diana so extensively and to have had the pleasure of having many friendly and insightful conversations with her,”
