Diana: Legacy of a Princess exhibit opens at the Queen Mary

A collection of Diana, Princess of Wales's dresses and personal memorabilia are being exhibited aboard the retired oceanliner-cum-museum Queen Mary in Long Beach, California as part of the Diana: Legacy of a Princess exhibition that has made it across the Atlanta Ocean.

In addition to the dresses, there is a fine collection of Diana dolls, all attired in her evening dresses as well as a replica of one of her tiaras, a hat, a caricature mug, Charles and Diana bedroom slippers, books, a lacquered box with her likeness, lots of photographs (even of Camilla, Charles’ original love and current wife!) and her widower Prince Charles’s bright orange investiture chair of modern, angular design.

Dresses on display include a red taffeta-skirted gown by Murray Arbeid which Princess Diana, the former Lady Diana Spencer, reportedly accessorized with two differently colored long gloves in red and black for the 1986 America’s Cup Ball in London.

Though the Diana: Legacy of a Princess exhibition is focused on the late Princess Diana, it also features memorabilia and artifacts from the royal family, including Queen Mary and King George to Prince William and his wife Catherine, the former Kate Middleton.

Kate Middleton fans will also be pleasantly surprised that this Diana exhibition includes the now famous see-through netted dress worn by the future wife of Diana’s son Prince William during a 2002 student fashion show at St. Andrews University that many say may have helped to win the heart of William, the heir to the British throne.

Other items on display related to the now Duchess of Cambridge include the royal blue Issa dress which she wore to announce her engagement to Prince William in 2010.

The exhibition is being jointly presented by the Queen Mary and the nonprofit breast cancer awareness organization Pink Ribbons Crusade, founded by Jess and Suzanne King of Austin, Texas in 2000, who just happen to be avid collectors of Diana memorabilia. A portion of proceeds from ticket sales will also benefit City of Hope.

The Diana: Legacy of a Princess exhibition opened on Saturday, June 16, 2012, and will run indefinitely! Tickets go for $34.95 or you can enjoy my slide show as a sneak peek until you can make it over to the Queen Mary in SoCal…