King's Gallery: Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style

Some exhibitions tell you a story through paintings, documents or photographs. Others have the remarkable ability to bring a person back to mind through the things they once wore. In July 2026, during my visit to London, I had the opportunity to visit Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace. For anyone who followed Queen Elizabeth II throughout the years, it is much more than an exhibition about royal fashion. It is a journey through a familiar life.

Organised to mark the centenary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth in 1926, the exhibition is the largest and most comprehensive display of her fashion ever staged. More than 300 items take visitors through all ten decades of her life, from childhood and her years as a young princess to her long reign as Queen. Many of the pieces have never been displayed before.

A royal life told through clothes

What I particularly loved was the way the exhibition follows the different stages of Elizabeth’s life. Her clothes change as the young princess becomes a wife, a Queen, a mother and eventually one of the most recognisable women in the world.

There are gowns for the great State occasions, but also hats, handbags, shoes and other accessories. Design sketches, fabric samples and correspondence offer another fascinating perspective, showing how much thought and craftsmanship went into creating the Queen’s wardrobe.

Her clothes were never simply about looking elegant. They became part of the way Queen Elizabeth II presented the monarchy. Colour could make her visible in a crowd, while the choice of fabrics, designers and details could carry a message during an overseas visit or an important national occasion.

Walking through the exhibition, however, I found myself thinking less about fashion history and more about memories.

I recognised outfits from photographs, documentaries and royal occasions I had followed over the years. I was certainly not the only visitor experiencing that feeling. Around me, people stopped in front of particular dresses and remembered the Queen wearing them.

That is perhaps what makes this exhibition so special. We are looking at clothes, but somehow we are also looking back at our own memories of Queen Elizabeth II.

The wedding dress and those wonderful shoes

For me, there was one undisputed highlight: Princess Elizabeth's wedding dress. Designed by Norman Hartnell for her marriage to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten on 20 November 1947, the dress is one of those iconic royal gowns I have seen countless times in photographs. Yet seeing it in person was completely different.

And then there were the shoes! Perhaps they are a small detail compared with the magnificence of the wedding gown, but I found them absolutely fascinating. Shoes are such personal objects. Looking at them somehow made the historic wedding of the future Queen Elizabeth II feel much closer and more human.

That is one of the joys of seeing royal history outside the pages of a book. Details that are easily overlooked in an official photograph suddenly catch your attention.

Memories of a remarkable queen

Queen Elizabeth II understood the importance of clothing throughout her long public life. Her distinctive coats, colourful outfits, hats, handbags and shoes eventually became almost a visual language of their own. The exhibition also reminds us of the extraordinary British craftsmanship behind that image and the designers and makers who helped create it over many decades.

But I left The King’s Gallery thinking about something else.

For many of us, Queen Elizabeth II was simply always there. Seeing her wardrobe displayed chronologically brings back royal weddings, jubilees, State Visits, Trooping the Colour, family celebrations and countless other moments.

Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style therefore does something beautiful. It preserves not only the clothes of a Queen, but also the memories attached to them.

The exhibition can be visited at The King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace and, following exceptional demand, has been extended until 18 April 2027.

Conclusion

Have you visited Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style, or is there one outfit worn by Queen Elizabeth II that you particularly remember? I would love to hear which royal look brings back the strongest memories for you.

And if you enjoy discovering royal history, palaces, exhibitions and the stories behind the world's royal families, keep following All About Royal Families. There are many more royal stories and personal visits still to come.

own pictures taken in July 2026 in the King's Gallery