Exhibition: A Century of Style: Queen Elizabeth II’s Exhibition in Buckingham Palace Extended by Six Months

A landmark exhibition celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s enduring influence on British fashion, that opened at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace in London in April 2026, will now be extended till 18 April 2027, due to popular demand.

Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style has been presented as the most extensive display of the late monarch’s wardrobe ever staged, featuring around 200 items—half of them making their public debut. Tickets are on sale via the Royal Collection Trust website.  Due to ongoing high demand, visitors are encouraged to book tickets well in advance as no tickets are held back for on the day walk-ups.

Queen Elizabeth II on Princess Margaret’s Wedding Day, Cecil Beaton, 1960.
© Cecil Beaton / Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Hat worn for the wedding of Princess Margaret, Claude St Cyr, 1960.© Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2025 | Royal Collection Trust. Photographer: Paul Bulley

Three leading British designers—Erdem Moralioglu, Richard Quinn and Christopher Kane are featured, each contributing a piece inspired by the late Queen’s distinctive style. Their works, drawn from previous collections, are shown alongside related garments from the Queen’s archive. All three designers also provide reflections for the exhibition’s official publication, Queen Elizabeth II: Fashion and Style, which includes a tribute by Dame Anna Wintour and an essay by Professor Amy de la Haye of the London College of Fashion.

Exhibition curator Caroline de Guitaut said the retrospective demonstrates the “symbolism, tailoring and British craftsmanship” that defined the Queen’s wardrobe. 

The exhibition charts Queen Elizabeth II’s attire across all ten decades of her life, from couture evening gowns to the tailored countrywear that became synonymous with her off-duty style. Many of the garments—now part of the Royal Collection—are accompanied by original sketches, fabric samples and annotated design drawings, some bearing notes penned by the late Queen herself.

Ensemble worn for the wedding of Princess Margaret, Norman Hartnell, 1960

Highlights include an apple-green Norman Hartnell gown worn at a 1957 state banquet for US President Eisenhower, and the blue crinoline-skirted gown and bolero chosen for Princess Margaret’s wedding in 1960.  Items from her private wardrobe are also featured, such as a 1950s Harris tweed jacket and Balmoral tartan skirt, as well as the green coat designed by Angela Kelly and worn in her later years.

Transparent rain coat, worn over a patterned silk day dress and coat, both by Hardy Amies, 1970s.© Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2025 | Royal Collection Trust. Photographer: Jon Stokes

One of the more unexpected pieces on display is a clear plastic raincoat created by Hardy Amies in the 1960s, considered a precursor to the Queen’s later transparent umbrellas edged in colour to match her outfits. Amies would go on to produce futuristic designs for Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Evening gown by Norman Hartnell, 1957. Worn for a state banquet given for President Eisenhower at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. Here displayed in the Green Drawing Room at Windsor Castle. Credit: © Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2025 | Royal Collection Trust. Photographer: Paul Bulley

A previously unseen Hartnell sketch for a silver lamé dress designed for a 1972 State Visit to France is also shown, bearing the Queen’s handwritten note indicating that it was later re-worn for the opening of parliament in Canberra—evidence of her long-standing practice of repeating outfits.

The silver lamé beaded shift dress is shown in photo below.

Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style is at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace,  extended until 18 April 2027.

Royal Collection Trust will offer £1 tickets to visitors receiving Universal Credit and other named benefits, alongside concessions for young people aged 18 to 24, as part of its commitment to widening access to the Collection.

ERDEM x H&M launching 2 November

By revealing that the next designer that H&M is collaborating will be ERDEM, the London-based label, you will know that floral prints will continue to be an important focus come Autumn/Winter 2017.  “I’ve always been fascinated by things that explore femininity,” says the designer, “whether it’s lace or flowers or the aesthetics of beauty.”

H&M creative advisor Ann-Sofie Johansson, designer Erdem Moralıoğlu (in blue), and filmmaker Baz Luhrmann together on location in England.  Image courtesy of H&M.

Designer Erdem Moralioglu is known for his exquisite romantic clothes loved by women and A-listed celebrities for red-carpet moments.  To be launched on November 2 in selected stores and online, the new collection ERDEM x H&M will celebrate the power of beauty by exploring historical references and personal narratives, and feature a full wardrobe of feminine womenswear, an accessories line and, for the first time ever, a collection for men.

H&M has also announced that visionary film director Baz Luhrmann will bring the collection to life through his unique storytelling in the new promotional film.

Erdem was born in Montreal, Canada, to a Turkish father and English mother, a twin with his sister Sara. He moved to London to study fashion at the Royal College of Art in 2000, before launching his own label in 2005.   His label has now grown to become one of London’s most successful, with his shows one of the highlights of London Fashion Week. He’s won multiple awards, including Womenswear Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2014, and his collections are stocked in the most prestigious stores around the world.