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October 2005 – The wedding of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and Prince Charles has often been called the wedding of the century. On July 29, 1981, the royal couple wed in St. Paul's Cathedral with an estimated one billion people around the world watching the ceremony via television. Presently 150 objects which belongs to Diana, including her wedding gown, are traveling on a US tour set to open at the Houston Museum of Natural Science on Oct. 21, 2005, remaining on view through February 5, 2006.

The exhibition includes nine galleries that highlight the royal wedding gown and 28 of her designer dresses as well as family heirlooms, personal mementos, paintings and rare home movies and photos. The exhibition is on loan from the Althorp Estate, the Spencer family’s 500-year-old ancestral home.

Charles Spencer said, "We are pleased to bring this story of my sister’s life to the Houston Museum of Natural Science and people all throughout Texas and the region. We hope that guests will remember all the good that Diana brought to the world and the dignified way in which she carried herself. She was an ordinary girl who lived a truly extraordinary life.”

Royal Wedding

At the heart of Diana, A Celebration is the Royal Wedding gallery, featuring Diana’s gown from her marriage to Prince Charles, including a diamond tiara, veil, 25-foot train, shoes and parasol, among other items. Home movies filmed by her father and scenes from her childhood, her engagement to Prince Charles and the events leading up to the royal wedding are animated with video, personal possessions, photographs and personal correspondence.

Eight other galleries feature childhood displays, engagement items, Diana’s famous dresses and her well-known charity work.

Diana’s dress was designed to be a romantic evocation of the Victorian era, with a dramatic crinoline skirt and the use of layers and flounces.
Diana's wedding shoes
Photos courtesy Houston Museum of Natural Science

Tickets

Tickets for the special exhibition, which include entrance into the museum’s nine permanent exhibit halls, are $17.50 for adults; $14.50 for children (3-11), students with valid college ID and seniors (62+); $13.50 for groups of 20 or more; $9.50 for Museum members and $5.50 school groups.

For tickets:

• visit www.hmns.org
  
• call 713-639-4629
  
• Information is available in Spanish at (713) 639-4603