Elizabeth and David Emanuel, the creators of Princess Diana’s iconic 1981 wedding dress, have settled a High Court case over drawings of the gown and other designs. As a result of the settled dispute, Elizabeth now owns all the intellectual property rights of the Emanuel partnership.
David brought legal action against Elizabeth — who, in addition to being his former business partner, is also his ex-wife — and a south London auction house over alleged copyright infringement.
According to court documents, David previously claimed that Elizabeth had infringed his copyright by reproducing drawings of designs they’d collaborated on together and putting them up for sale without his consent — including Diana’s wedding gown that she wore to marry then-Prince Charles on July 29, 1981.
David claimed, reports the Telegraph, that doing so infringed his copyright and broke their separation agreement, where they both promised to not use the Emanuel label in their future work.
In a statement released on Oct. 18, David and Elizabeth announced they had settled the case “amicably.”
“I am just so happy that it has finally all been settled,” Elizabeth exclusively tells PEOPLE, confirming that she now owns all the intellectual property rights of the Emanuel partnership. “This means I can move forward with my life.”
Elizabeth confirmed to PEOPLE that the terms of the settlement were achieved in mediation.
PEOPLE has contacted David’s legal team for comment.
According to the Telegraph, David said in a statement: “Emanuel was at the forefront of haute couture in the 1980s until Elizabeth and I went our separate ways. Our creations were very much in demand from the world’s most famous women throughout that period. We had a very distinctive house style and in keeping with that we created some of the most iconic dresses of the 20th century.”
In addition to Diana’s wedding dress — the creation for which they are most well-known — the Emanuels designed and produced a number of clothing items for the late Princess of Wales, including several evening gowns and a blouse she wore for her official engagement portrait when she was still Lady Diana Spencer.
The Emanuels first met at the Harrow School of Art in 1974 and married two years later in 1976. They launched their label the next year, in 1977, and began serving clients from celebrities like Bianca Jagger (Jagger wore a chiffon dress designed by Elizabeth from her Royal College of Art collection at her Studio 54 birthday party, which garnered major media attention and client interest, ultimately launching the “Emanuel” brand) to royals like Sarah Ferguson, Princess Anne and Princess Michael of Kent.
Before her marriage to Charles, Diana approached the Emanuels looking for a dress for her first formal engagement with her soon-to-be husband, ultimately choosing a black strapless gown designed by Elizabeth for the fundraising concert at Goldsmiths’ Hall in March 1981.
Emanuel, the label founded by Elizabeth and David, went on to create Diana’s wedding gown, which became not only one of the most iconic royal wedding dresses of all time, but one of the most iconic wedding dresses, period. The ivory gown designed by Elizabeth had ruffled collar, puffed sleeves and a 25-foot train — the longest in royal wedding history — and was embellished with 10,000 pearls. After the wedding, the Emanuels experienced global fame as a result of the dress.
“We could hear the people outside cheering. Everybody was happy and smiling,” Elizabeth told PEOPLE of Charles and Diana’s wedding at St. Paul’s Cathedral. “It really was a fairy-tale wedding.”
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Of the Emanuels being asked to design Diana’s gown, Elizabeth exclusively told PEOPLE that “She said, ‘Would you do me the honor of making my wedding dress?’ It was hard to control myself.”
As nerves mounted in the run-up to her wedding day, Diana found the Emanuels’ design studio to be an “oasis of peace,” Elizabeth said.
“She would go upstairs and chat with all the seamstresses. She loved browsing through the rails because this was a new world for her,” she added.
Unbeknownst to the bride, who turned 20 years old just weeks before her big day, the Emanuels crafted a second dress as a precautionary measure.
“I was a bit neurotic, and I thought, ‘What happens if somebody breaks in and steals the dress or something spills or there’s a fire or it gets stolen?’ ” Elizabeth told PEOPLE. “So I thought, ‘I’m gonna make a backup dress.’ ”
Inspired by a pink gown that she and David made for Diana to wear at a private ball a few days before her royal wedding, the backup dress was created — and notably lacked a long train. The silk was white, “not the deep ivory that the royal wedding dress was made of” and while the actual wedding dress had puffed sleeves, Elizabeth says the backup had “slim ones, more fitted to her arms” with frilly cuffs.
In April, Elizabeth added that she planned to “climb back into the time machine” and make a modern version of the bridal gown that Diana wore 43 years ago.
“I’m going to try and capture the spirit of the original — but through my eyes now,” Elizabeth said. “I want to preserve all the sparkles and pearls but with a completely different vision.”
The designer adds of the “sequel” to the original gown, “It’s a really exciting thing because I often get asked, ‘Would you do the same dress again?’ Well, I wouldn’t change a thing on the dress in 1981, but if I was looking at it through my eyes now, there’s so many possibilities.”
