Prince William, Prince Harry to inherit Diana's 1981 wedding gown - Los Angeles Times
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Prince William, Prince Harry to inherit Diana’s 1981 wedding gown

Diana, Princess of Wales sitting on the ground in her billowing wedding gown
Diana, Princess of Wales, on her wedding day, July 29, 1981.
(AFP / AFP/Getty Images)
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Prince William and Prince Harry will reportedly inherit their late mother Princess Diana’s wedding dress when Harry turns 30 on Sept. 15.

The lavish, custom-made David and Elizabeth Emanuel gown was worn by Diana Spencer on July 29, 1981, when she wed the princes’ father, Prince Charles, the first in line to the British throne.

The iconic gown, embellished with thousands of pearls and with a 25-foot train, will pass to her sons along with several other items from her estate according to her will, the Telegraph reported.

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The elaborate garment had been “looked after” by Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, and was featured in an exhibit “Diana: A Celebration” at her family home in Althorp for two months every year. It also traveled the world in various exhibits.

The real question here is what are they going to do with it?

Wills and Harry will also inherit 150 other items from their mother, including 28 other dresses, designer suits and evening gowns that belonged to the fashion-forward princess, two diamond tiaras and other family jewels, pictures, letters, videos paintings and home movies among other items from her funeral, the newspaper said.

Harry, like his brother William, when he turns 30 will receive about $16.5 million placed in a trust by the family. William inherited his sum when he turned 30 in 2012.

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Diana, known by her philanthropic moniker “the People’s Princess,” “amicably” separated from the Prince of Wales in December 1992 after it was revealed that both had engaged in extramarital affairs. They divorced in 1996.

The princess died at age 36 on Aug. 31, 1997, following a high-speed car crash in Paris in which her companion, Egyptian millionaire Dodi el-Fayed, was also killed. Prince William, then 15, and Prince Harry, then 12, walked behind their mother’s cortege during her funeral.

The monarchy went through a dark public-relations period after the dissolution of Diana and Charles’ marriage, which was also marked by an aloof Queen Elizabeth II following Diana’s death. (The 2006 film “The Queen” was based on this series of events.)

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However, the throne managed to resuscitate its public image with the courtship of William and his college sweetheart, Kate Middleton, now his wife, Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, who has drawn several comparisons to Diana Spencer.

Wills proposed to Catherine with his mother’s sapphire and diamond engagement ring and the couple honored William’s late mother at their April 2011 royal wedding.

Surely, they could spare a jewel or two. Follow me on Twitter @NardineSaad.

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