Princess Diana's Wedding Dress Sparked A Contentious Legal Battle

Princess Diana's wedding to Prince Charles was one of the most memorable events of the 1980s. Crowds around the world instantly fell in love with the princess' stylish gown and long train. However, the iconic dress caused quite a headache for its designers, Elizabeth and David Emanuel. The exes and former business partners engaged in a contentious legal dispute about the ownership of the gown's design. David sued Elizabeth for copyright infringement when she attempted to sell sketches of previous designs at auction, including a sketch of the famous wedding dress. According to People, David claimed that since these designs were made under the Emanuel brand, she had "infringed his copyright by reproducing drawings of designs they'd collaborated on together and putting them up for sale without his consent." David even requested that copies of the sketches be destroyed (via The Daily Mail).

The Emanuels skyrocketed to stardom in 1981 when Princess Diana (at the time an unmarried Lady Diana) reached out to the couple in search of an outfit to wear for one of her first public appearances with Prince Charles. After that, the soon-to-be princess was certain they were the right designers to create her wedding dress. They established a great friendship and the Emanuels continued to design gowns for Diana even after the wedding. On October 18, 2024, it was announced that the court case had finally been settled "amicably" by the designers. "I am just so happy that it has finally all been settled," Elizabeth exclusively told People. "This means I can move forward with my life." With the settling, Elizabeth now owns all the intellectual property rights of the Emanuel partnership.

The iconic wedding dress worn by Princess Diana became so popular that it nearly overshadowed the wedding itself. According to Town and Country, the ivory taffeta gown — valued at around $115,000 — was made with 10,000 pearls and embroidered with countless sequins. The dress even included lace that once belonged to Queen Mary. Princess Diana's famous train, measuring 25 feet long, is still the longest to be worn at any royal wedding (via Today).

It was later revealed that the royal gown was not exactly one of a kind. In fact, a backup wedding dress was made before the ceremony in case of emergency, and even Princess Diana didn't know about it! News stations around the world were desperate to find out anything they could about the gown, and the designers worried that the look might be stolen or damaged before the royal wedding. The second dress was created without the princess knowing so as not to stress her about the big day.

The backup dress did differ from the one Princess Diana would end up wearing during the ceremony. Unlike the ivory dress that made its way to St. Peter's Cathedral, the backup dress was white. It was also missing some of the most noteworthy features that ended up being part of the royal gown. The backup dress didn't include the record-length train, nor did it include the playful puffy sleeves. A more fitted option, the backup dress was far less sensational and didn't reflect how grand the wedding would be for the young royals. Thankfully, the original dress design was kept safe, and Princess Diana wore the gown, which would become one of the greatest fashion moments of all time.