Sep 29, 2009 11:30 pm US/Eastern
Diana: Her Wedding Dress Unveiled In Philly
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
Eyewitness News has an exclusive first look at an exhibit sure to draw crowds. It's called Diana: A Celebration. On Tuesday, we went behind the scenes of the National Constitution Center to see the unveiling of the star attraction -- Diana's wedding dress.
When Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles married in 1981, it was the most watched wedding ever -- the pomp, the pageantry, and the princess.
Now that magnificent dress has arrived at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, and Eyewitness News shows it to you first.
The dress was designed to be a princess fantasy -- silk taffeta, 10,000 mother-of-pearl sequins and pearls, and a 25-foot train so long, it couldn't be rolled out fully in the National Constitution Center room today. But it will be!
"When the train was on, which clips onto the back here, people thought that it was really, really heavy, but it wasn't," said Graeme Murton, Althorp Estate art handler and one of the people behind the exhibit.
Gloved hands guide the dress as it's put into its case and prepared for public display in Diana: A Celebration.
There will be far more on display than just Diana's wedding dress. Many of her clothes are here, too, showing her evolution from demure young princess to confident, stylish woman.
In some cases, photos of Diana sit right next to the clothes. All in all, 28 dresses, suits, and gowns will be on display, even the outfit she wore to visit a minefield -- one of her chief causes was to ban landmines.
And what is a princess without a glittering tiara! That will be on display, too. Handlers are making sure everything is perfect for opening day.
There will be other objects you might not expect.
"Frogs!" said Nicholas Grossmark, Althorp Estate art handler. "She had a thing about frogs. So we have a whole collection of these china ornament frogs."
You can get a peek at letters written and signed by Diana, and even glimpse home movies of her childhood.
"I think the home movies will surprise people," said Steve Frank, vice president of education and exhibits for the National Constitution Center. "I think the intimacy of the artifacts will surprise people and how close a look at who Diana really was."
This will be the East Coast premiere of the exhibit, and ticket sales are already brisk, evidence that Diana is as loved in death as she was in life.
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