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Queen's gowns, gems on display for 80th birthday celebration

Last Updated: Friday, February 10, 2006 | 3:32 PM ET

CBC Arts

Buckingham Palace has announced the biggest exhibition ever of gowns and jewelry belonging to Queen Elizabeth II, coinciding with her 80th birthday.

"It's spectacular. The gowns have never been shown in public together like this before and there will be 30 pieces of personal jewelry," said a spokesman for the Royal Collection, which has carefully preserved the gowns.

Eighty dresses dating from the 1940s to the present will be on display this summer, in a show included in the price of general admission to Buckingham Palace. The Queen wore them for both official engagements and private family occasions.

Many of the gowns were created by couturiers Norman Hartnell and Hardy Amies, who each worked for the Queen for a number of years.

Clothing on display includes a gold one-shouldered gown overlaid with fine lace by Hartnell, created for the Queen's tour of Commonwealth countries in 1953 to 1954.

Another Hartnell gem is a small-waisted black velvet and duchesse satin evening dress from the late 1940s.

Visitors will be able to view the stunning diamond and emerald Grand Duchess Vladimir Tiara, bought from an aunt of Russian Czar Nicholas II, along with brooches set with stones from the famous Cullinan Diamond — the largest gem ever found at 3106 carats.

Also on display will be a pair of aquamarine and diamond brooches given to the Queen by her father, King George VI, on her 18th birthday.

And on a romantic note, another piece on exhibit will be a bracelet designed by the Duke of Edinburgh for his wife. The gold, sapphire, diamond and ruby bracelet incorporating the interlaced initials "E" and "P" was a gift to mark the royal couple's fifth wedding anniversary.

As part of the birthday celebrations, Windsor Castle will hold a retrospective of photographs of the Queen's public and private life over the past 80 years, including pictures taken by Cecil Beaton and Prince Andrew, the Queen's second son.

The photos will be on display starting in April and ending March 11, 2007.

The Queen turns 80 on April 21.

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