The fashion wardrobe of the late Queen Elizabeth is to go on display in an exhibition next year at the King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace.

There will be approximately 200 items, including dresses, jewellery, hats, and shoes, in what is claimed to be the biggest ever mounted of the late Queen's clothing. Queen Elizabeth II’s fashion archive is one of the largest and most important surviving collections of 20th-century British fashion, and now forms part of the Royal Collection.

Named "Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style", the exhibition will showcase the story of Britain’s monarch through clothing worn in all ten decades of her life: from birth to adulthood, from princess to queen, and from off-duty style to diplomatic dressing for the global stage.

Among the items on display will be her wedding dress made in 1947 and her Coronation dress in 1953, both created by the designer Sir Norman Hartnell.

An official publication to mark the centenary, Queen Elizabeth II: Fashion and Style, will accompany the exhibition. Written by the exhibition curator Caroline de Guitaut and featuring contributions by fashion experts and designers, the book will explore the late Queen’s fashion archive and her lifelong championing of the British fashion industry in unprecedented detail.

"Over the course of Queen Elizabeth II’s remarkably long reign, her distinctive style became instantly recognisable around the world, bolstering the British fashion industry and influencing generations of designers and couturiers," said Caroline de Guitaut, exhibition curator and Surveyor of The King’s Works of Art. "Only now, as the late Queen's fashion archive comes under the care of Royal Collection Trust, can we tell the story of a lifetime of thoughtful style choices – from her hands-on role and understanding of the soft power behind her clothing, to the exceptional craftsmanship behind each garment. 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."

The exhibition will explore the Queen’s use of diplomatically significant emblems and colours in her wardrobe for overseas tours, as shown in an ingenious white gown designed by Norman Hartnell for a 1961 State Banquet in Karachi, which incorporates Pakistan’s national colours through a dramatic emerald-green pleat cascading down the back.

In her later years, Queen Elizabeth became as recognisable for her casual style and classic British tailoring as she was for her couture gowns. From impeccably cut riding jackets to tartan skirts and silk headscarves, visitors will see never-before-displayed examples of her practical everyday style, which continues to inspire contemporary designers to this day.

Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style
from spring to autumn 2026
The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace
London - UK

Photo: The dress, by Norman Hartnell, is from 1956 @ Royal Collection Trust