Princess Diana

Princess Diana

The designer of Britain's Princess Diana's wedding dress has begged Princes William and Harry to put it on permanent display.

The lavish gown - which featured 10,000 pearls and a 25ft train - has been in the possession of the late royal's brother Earl Spencer since her death in a Paris car crash in 1997 but now he has handed it over to her sons, Elizabeth Emanuel has urged her sons to allow the 1981 creation to be viewed by the public.

Elizabeth - who designed the dress with her brother David - said: "I'm hoping and assuming that it will go on display at Kensington Palace, as so many people want to see the dress.

"It's ridiculous that the Diana dress was not in the recent V&A exhibition Wedding Dresses 1775-2104. They had to make do with a video instead."

Earl Spencer handed over the dress - which Diana wore to her 1981 wedding to the princes' father Prince Charles - to William and Harry last month in accordance with his sister's will, who asked for her belongings to be "looked after" by him until both her sons turned 30.

However, a Kensington Palace spokesperson insisted the two royals have not yet made a decision on what to do with the dress.

They said: "The wedding dress and other items that were on display at the Althorp Estate have just been returned to the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

It is too early to say what the long-term plans will be for the wedding dress."

The spokesperson declined to comment on where the dress is currently being stored.