Her design team went to extraordinary lengths to keep the gown under wraps.
Published on June 24, 2025 11:43AM
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Key Takeaways
- Princess Diana had a secret code name during the making of her wedding dress: Deborah Cornwall.
- The name has a surprising tie to Prince Charles's second wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, who used the title Duchess of Cornwall upon her marriage to Charles.
- The designers used the code name to avoid anyone eavesdropping on their plans for the gown.
In the lead-up to the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, the public was determined to uncover the details of the celebration, including the gown that the bride would wear. As a result of the intrigue, the designers of Diana's dress, David and Elizabeth Emanuel, had to go to extreme lengths to keep the ensemble a secret, including hiring security and creating an emergency second dress in case the design of the first one was leaked. However, in a new documentary that's scheduled to be released on June 28, Secrets of Diana's Wedding Dress, Elizabeth reveals that they also used a code name for the bride throughout the process: Deborah Cornwall. "When we started to see Diana, we were just very aware of security, so we decided to call her Deborah," Elizabeth said in the documentary, according to People. "We called her Deborah Cornwall. Isn’t that strange?"
The "Cornwall" designation may have been a nod to one of the titles that the princess was expected to receive upon her marriage to Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall. Yet, few members of the public are familiar with this often-forgotten designation of Diana's since she opted instead to go by her higher title, the Princess of Wales. After the duo divorced in 1996, the prince married Camilla Parker Bowles. Rather than adopt Diana's previous title, Camilla elected to be referred to as the Duchess of Cornwall—prior to becoming Queen Camilla in 2022.
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In the documentary, Elizabeth also reveals more about the day she found out Diana wanted her to make her wedding dress. Upon hearing that the soon-to-be princess had asked her and her then-husband to be the ones to create her wedding gown, Elizabeth reportedly let out a shriek of excitement, People reported. And in an effort to design a truly showstopping gown, Elizabeth recruited her mother and the mother of her personal assistant, Caroline Slocock, to assist them in the process.
It's clear that the princess appreciated the team's extraordinary efforts. In the documentary, Elizabeth reveals that while they tried to keep Diana from the workroom, the princess was determined to venture up there. "One day, she had persuaded me to let her go upstairs," the designer says, according to People. "She was just curious and wanted to see everybody. They were almost crying." Elizabeth herself says she was shocked that they were able to construct the gown in such a confined area. "I can’t believe we managed to create the dress in that attic space," she reportedly says in the documentary.
