From Sparkling Tiaras to Pastel Hats, New Buckingham Palace Exhibition Celebrates the Fashion of Elizabeth II

In addition to being a world leader, the British queen was a fashion icon. A new show at Elizabeth’s former residence highlights some of the most memorable looks and the history behind them

Michele Debczak

– Correspondent

April 14, 2026 11:00 a.m.

As Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, Elizabeth II lived through—and influenced—many eras of fashion. For the next several months, the sartorial side of her legacy will be celebrated in a new exhibition called “Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style.”

In honor of the centenary of the late queen’s birth on April 21, 1926, the King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace is showcasing 300 selections drawn from a collection of 4,000 items she owned.

Some pieces date back to Elizabeth’s childhood, such as a yellow fairy princess dress that she wore to a party in 1934. Cecilia Oliver, a textile conservator at the King’s Gallery, highlighted it as one of her favorite pieces in the show.

“What I love most about it is that it was bought for Elizabeth as a child, and to think of her as this tiny little girl that then grew up into this magnificent woman with all this weight of responsibility on her shoulders, it just feels very, sort of sentimental,’’ she tells Danica Kirka of the Associated Press.

The exhibition features plenty of iconic looks, including the dress that fashion designer Norman Hartnell created for the queen’s coronation in 1953. As the show progresses, visitors can see how Elizabeth’s style changed with the times, going from “full 1950s dresses next to the much slimmer silhouettes of the 1960s and beyond,” Victoria Murphy writes for Town & Country.

Yet just because her outfits evolved doesn’t mean the queen was following the whims of the day, which could have been perceived poorly by the public. “If she was chasing fashion trends, we would think she was blown away by every wind,” royal fashion commentator and Vogue contributor Marian Kwe tells BBC News.

The collection also highlights the queen’s talent for melding fashion with diplomacy. Some notable pieces she sported while meeting with leaders abroad include a cherry blossom dress from her 1975 trip to Japan, the green-and-white dress she wore to a 1961 state banquet in Pakistan to match the country’s flag, and a shamrock-dappled gown from her 2011 visit to Ireland.

“I think she had a definite sense of what suited her,’’ exhibition curator Caroline de Guitaut tells the AP. “She absolutely knew how she wanted to appear.”

Elizabeth’s style continued to evolve throughout her lifetime, and in her later years, she became known for her colorful, eye-catching outfits—always tied together with a hat. Like many of her fashion choices, this served a diplomatic purpose.

“She needs to stand out for people to be able to say, ‘I saw the queen,’” Elizabeth’s daughter-in-law Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, said in the 2016 documentary The Queen at 90. “Don’t forget that when she turns up somewhere, the crowds are 2, 3, 4, 10, 15 deep, and someone wants to be able to say they saw a bit of the queen’s hat as she went past.”

The King’s Gallery exhibition includes a wall of the queen’s statement-making hats and accessories. Also on view is a garment from late in her reign that she never personally wore: the dress donned by her stunt double while parachuting into the opening ceremony for the 2012 London Olympics.

Elizabeth died on September 8, 2022, at 96, marking the end of her 70-year reign. Though she didn’t live to see her 100th birthday, the new exhibition takes the opportunity to keep her colorful legacy alive.

“Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style” is on display through October 18 at the King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace.