LONDON.-On 20 November 2007 The Queen and Prince Philip will celebrate 60 years of marriage - Her Majesty will be the first reigning Sovereign to reach this anniversary. To mark the occasion, a special exhibition at Buckingham Palace this summer recreates the day in 1947 when Princess Elizabeth married The Duke of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey. With archive film footage of the celebrations and behind-the-scenes preparations, the exhibition reflects the mood of public rejoicing that swept the Nation in the immediate aftermath of war. The exhibition will be on view through September 28, 2007.

For the first time since the wedding day, the outfits worn by the principal members of the wedding party have been brought together. Princess Elizabeth’s magnificent dress and 13-foot bridal trail, designed by Norman Hartnell, is on show with the jewels worn by the bride, such as the beautiful diamond fringe tiara that secured her veil. The display includes the dresses designed by Hartnell for the Princess’s grandmother, Queen Mary, her mother, Queen Elizabeth, and for the bridesmaids, and the uniforms worn by King George VI and The Duke of Edinburgh. Among the display of wedding presents are gifts from Mahatma Gandhi, Pope Pius XII, President Chiang Kai Shek and President Truman, and some of the most spectacular items from The Queen’s renowned personal jewellery collection, including the diamond bracelet given to Her Majesty by Prince Philip on their marriage.

Through close family connections Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark had encountered each other on several occasions during their early years. The couple’s first publicised meeting was in July 1939 at Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, where the Prince was a student. By the mid-1940s there was much media speculation about a romance. In February 1947 Prince Philip renounced his Greek royal title and became a naturalised British subject, Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, taking the surname of his maternal grandfather. On 10 July 1947 the couple’s engagement was announced, and the platinum and diamond engagement ring was seen on the 21-year-old Princess’s finger soon after. Shortly before the wedding the bridegroom was named His Royal Highness and created Duke of Edinburgh.

Norman Hartnell, Court Dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth since 1938, set out to create ‘the most beautiful dress I had so far made’. The Princess’s bridal gown was made of ivory silk and decorated with crystals and 10,000 seed pearls, which Hartnell had obtained from America. The 13-foot star-patterned train was inspired by Botticelli’s figure of Primavera, symbolising rebirth and growth after the war. For the ‘something borrowed’, the bride wore the tiara originally made for her grandmother Queen Mary. She also wore the two famous pearl necklaces that had reputedly belonged to Queen Anne and Queen Caroline (consort of George II), and the pearl and diamond earrings that had been given to her by her grandmother as a 20th-birthday present. Princess Elizabeth’s bouquet, supplied by the Worshipful Company of Gardeners, was of white orchids with a sprig of myrtle from the garden at Osborne House. A gold pen presented to Princess Elizabeth by the Chartered Institute of Secretaries was used to sign the marriage register.

The royal couple received over 2,500 wedding presents from well-wishers around the world. Among the perishable items were 500 cases of tinned pineapple for distribution by the bride, sugared almonds, tins of salmon and crystallised fruits, while the more practical gifts included an electric washing machine, a refrigerator, 76 handkerchiefs, 30 scarves, 148 pairs of stockings and 16 nightgowns. The exhibition includes gold and silver, porcelain, glass and furniture from donors ranging from world leaders to the ‘Elizabeths, Alexandras and Marys’ of the Borough of Twickenham. Among the display of wedding presents will be a Singer sewing machine from the Provost and Council of Clydebank, an HMV radiogram from Sir Malcolm Sargent and a piece of Indian lace woven by Mahatma Gandhi.

To mark the occasion Princess Elizabeth received many items of jewellery from the Royal Family, including pieces that had originally been given as wedding presents to Queen Mary in 1893. Among those that are included in the exhibition are the diamond ‘Girls of Great Britain’ tiara, very familiar today from images of Her Majesty on banknotes and coinage, the ‘Dorset Bow’ brooch and the Cornwall ruby and diamond bracelet. Among the breathtaking display of diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires are the necklaces given to the Princess by the City of London and the Nizam of Hyderabad, and a diamond ‘stomacher’ from Queen Mary. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth gave their daughter a 19th-century sapphire and diamond necklace and matching pair of earrings, a Boucheron diamond and ruby necklace, and a magnificent pair of Cartier diamond ‘chandelier’ earrings.

Entry to the exhibition is included in admission to the Summer Opening of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace which runs until 28 September 2007.

The exhibition is accompanied by the book Five Gold Rings: A Royal Wedding Souvenir Album. It is richly illustrated with images of wedding dresses and jewellery, gifts between bride and groom, engagement and wedding presents from friends and family, wedding cakes and flowers, invitations, menus, music and photographs. Woven through the text are personal letters and diary entries from the Royal Archives, several of which are reproduced for the first time. Beautifully illustrated throughout, it is available price £9.99 from the Royal Collection online shop and good bookshops.