Princess Diana Had a Secret Second Wedding Dress That ‘Just Disappeared’: "It Was Really..."

Princess Diana's wedding gown was undeniably gorgeous. However, designer Elizabeth Emanuel also created a backup dress for the Princess of Wales to walk down the aisle. Though it never saw the light of day, Emanuel gave a never-seen-before glimpse into his creation with Hello! Magazine. And it isn't any less than what Diana wore on her big day. 

Emanuel, along with her ex-partner David, designed the spare gown. She told the outlet about why they created it, "The spare wedding gown was made just in case the secret of the real dress ever got out. Fortunately, it was never used." She then gave details of the spare dress, "The dress was made in pale ivory silk taffeta with embroidered scalloped details on the hem and sleeves. Tiny pearls were sewn on the bodice." 

While comparing the spare gown with the original one, Emanuel noted, "People always ask you what it was like. It was similar in certain respects," referring to the V-neck with a more understated ruffle trim, a wide princess skirt, and three-quarters sleeves. "But everything else was different," added the designer because "it was really just a back-up to the original." But, for some reason, it "just disappeared." And Diana never tried the backup gown. 

The media's curiosity surrounding her wedding dress was so intense that the designers took care of every little detail so it remains a secret. Royal Style in the Making exhibit curator Matthew Storey previously told PEOPLE that the designer couple (Elizabeth and David) knew what was at stake had the design leaked in the press before the actual wedding. So, they dropped "false trails" by dumping the wrong fabric in the garbage. 

The late Princess of Wales further instructed Emanuels and their team at Brook St, Mayfair to take more precautions. "[Diana] asked us to keep it very, very secret." She explained that her "staff were wonderful and very loyal and didn't talk to anybody," including keeping the dress in a "metal cabinet guarded by two guards, Jim and Bert." Personnel watched over the wedding gown 24/7 and kept the window shutters down. 

Thankfully, the dress made it to the altar without being leaked. And it also fitted her well as Emanuel noted that Diana lost quite a lot of weight, coming to a 23-inch waist from a 26- to 27-inch. "Most brides do lose weight," she said. "So we weren't that worried when she did." But, years later, Diana opened up about her struggle with bulimia at the time of her wedding. 

"The bulimia started the week after we got engaged," Diana was heard in the recording tapes for Andrew Morton's book, Diana: Her True Story — in Her Own Words. "My husband put his hand on my waistline and said: 'Oh, a bit chubby here, aren't we?'" And this triggered something in her that completely ruined the special day for her.