Fashion Queen: The Royal Collection Trust to put on exhibition of outfits for Queen Elizabeth II's birthday anniversary

a composite image of queen elizabeth ii in a black and white archive photograph in a gown with another image of the same gown on a mannequin

31 July 2025

King Charles III's mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was Britain's longest-reigning monarch.

April 21 2026 will mark 100 years since her birth, and the Royal Collection Trust has announced that Buckingham Palace will celebrate her life with a special exhibition.

The Royal Collection Trust says they will be displaying 200 items - half of which will be displayed for the first time - charting the Queen's history through her clothes and accessories.

The exhibition will be called Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style and will be held at The King's Gallery until autumn 2026.

Clothes will be featured from all stages of her life.

Check out a small selection of the gowns which will be featured in the exhibition below.

Queen Elizabeth II: Learn more about her life

The story of Queen Elizabeth II - Our Queen: A Newsround Special
Published
19 September 2022
Queen Elizabeth II has died, aged 96
Published
19 September 2022
King Charles III's coronation: Look back at historic day
Published
9 May 2023

composite image shows an archive image of queen elizabeth as a young child wearing a frilly dress and flower crown and another picture of the same dress on a mannequin — Image caption,
Queen Elizabeth II in 1934, when she was Princess Elizabeth of York, wearing a bridesmaid dress by Edward Molyneux, which will be featured in the exhibition. The Royal Collection Trust says this dress will be on display for the very first time.

The Royal Collection Trust says that alongside the clothing and accessories, there will be "never-before-seen design sketches and fabric samples".

They say there will also be letters which give an insight into how the Queen's outfits were decided and how the Queen was dressed.

a long sleeved floor length dress embroidered with lots of flowers on a mannequin — Image caption,
Princess Elizabeth's wedding dress by Norman Hartnell, from 1947

a sleeveless, strapped sweetheart neckline dress with embroidered crosshatching across the bodice and top of the skirt leading into embroidered flowers — Image caption,
Evening Gown by Norman Hartnell, from 1956

"In the year that she would have turned 100 years old, this exhibition will be a celebration of Queen Elizabeth's uniquely British style and her enduring fashion legacy," said exhibition curator Caroline De Guitaut.

three dresses in bright colour tones and with abstract patterns on mannequins — Image caption,
Evening gowns by Ian Thomas from the 1970s, photographed by Jon Stokes

the back of a strapped dress which is coloured white with a bright green pleat draped down the back and green accents on the top of the straps — Image caption,
Evening Gown by Norman Hartnell from 1961. The gown was designed for a 1961 State Banquet in Karachi, Pakistan. The dress includes Pakistan's national colours - white and emerald green.

Queen Elizabeth regularly worked with designer Norman Hartnell.

He was the designer behind many of the outfits featured in the exhibition, including her wedding dress and her Coronation dress.