Princess Diana wore the most outrageous dress just before her wedding

Much has been written about Princess Diana's wedding dress, perhaps the most iconic of all time, thanks to its magnificent train, over-the-top ruffles and 80s pouffy skirt.

However one that hasn't been written about, and indeed has never even been photographed or seen publicly, is an even more outrageous dress, also by David and Elizabeth Emanuel.

They designed it for the bride-to-be, who wore it two days before the big day, Elizabeth revealed in a new interview with The Telegraph.

The Princess of Wales chose it to attend a ball hosted at Buckingham Palace for the 1,400 guests, a mix of foreign royals, dignitaries, celebrities and friends, who were to attend the nuptials that week.

Rather than opting for a demure design, she chose to make a statement with the 'really important gown' which was a bright shade of magenta pink.

It featured a ruffle neckline in an echo of the black dress which turned heads on her first outing after the engagement, and a dramatic thigh slit.

'Diana wanted to look ultra-glamorous for this big event, and by that stage we knew she had the figure of a top model, and was growing more confident by the day. Together with her, we plotted to create a head turning dress that no one would expect or forget,' Elizabeth wrote previously.

Sadly, as the event was private, no pictures of Diana in the gown exist, or if they do they are part of the guests' photo albums, but we can imagine she looked resplendent.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Contributing Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK. She writes about catwalk trends and the latest high street and Instagram sartorial must-haves. She also helms the Women Who Win franchise.

She has worked in fashion for over 10 years, contributing to publications such as Cosmopolitan, Red, Good Housekeeping, and Stylist.