Diana: Love Life Legacy – A Life of Giving: What to Know Before the Exhibition Opens

 

There are some exhibitions you can understand from a few photographs and a press release. Then there are those where the objects themselves tell a much bigger story.

That is what visitors can expect from Diana: Love Life Legacy – A Life of Giving, opening November 7, 2026, at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum in Simi Valley, California. The exhibition runs through May 31, 2027 and brings together more than 700 original artifacts from different chapters of Princess Diana’s life.

For anyone planning a visit, here are a few things worth knowing before heading to Simi Valley.

A collection that goes beyond the famous photographs

Yes, there are some instantly recognisable pieces.

Diana’s “Travolta” dress, worn during the 1985 White House State Dinner, will be displayed alongside her famous “Black Sheep” sweater, the “Caring” dress, wedding slippers and Lady Dior accessories. The exhibition will also unveil Jacques Azagury’s “Final Goodbye” dress publicly for the first time.

But the collection doesn't stop with fashion. Visitors will see handwritten letters, childhood treasures, jewellery, historic documents, personal possessions and other objects that help fill in the quieter parts of Diana’s story.

What was she like away from the official photographs? What did the objects she kept say about her life?

Those are the sorts of questions the exhibition invites visitors to consider.

A special connection to the Reagan Library

The Simi Valley exhibition has an interesting American connection built into it.

For this stop of the exhibition, Princess Diana’s artifacts will be paired with material from President and Mrs. Reagan’s archival collection. The display includes the invitation to the 1985 White House State Dinner, connecting visitors with the occasion when Diana famously danced with John Travolta.

It gives the exhibition a distinctly U.S. angle while keeping Diana’s international life at its centre.

From a virtual museum to a real gallery

The Princess Diana Museum has spent years documenting and presenting Diana-related artifacts through its virtual collection. Now, selected pieces are moving from that digital setting into a physical exhibition.

For visitors, that changes the experience quite a bit.

A photograph on a screen can show you a dress. Standing a few feet away from the actual garment lets you see its construction, scale and details in a completely different way. The museum itself has described this transition as a move from seeing these pieces digitally to experiencing them in three dimensions.

What visitors will take away

Diana: Love Life Legacy – A Life of Giving follows Diana through different parts of her life, including her role as a daughter, sister, wife, mother, humanitarian and global figure.

For Southern California visitors, the exhibition offers a chance to see these objects without travelling overseas. The Reagan Library is at 40 Presidential Drive, Simi Valley, California, and the museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a few holiday and event closures.

As opening day approaches, The Princess Diana Museum will continue sharing stories from the collection and the work behind bringing it to Simi Valley.

Explore The Princess Diana Museum to learn more about Diana’s life, the collection behind Diana: Love Life Legacy – A Life of Giving, and what visitors can expect when the exhibition opens November 7, 2026.