Fifty years ago the eyes of the world were fixed on the tiny principality of Monaco, where a real-life fairy tale was unfolding in the marriage of Philadelphia-born film star Grace Kelly (1929-1982) and Prince Rainer III of Monaco (1923-2005), head of Europe’s oldest ruling family. The royal wedding that took place on April 19, 1956, represented the intersection of the worlds of monarchy and celebrity, high fashion and Hollywood – old Europe and Irish Catholic Philadelphia.

Every aspect of the nuptials was a source of intense public interest, but none more so than the silk and lace bridal gown that was designed for Kelly by academy-award winning designer Helen Rose (American, 1904-1985), and fabricated under top-secret conditions by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the royal wedding, the Philadelphia Museum of Art will present the exhibition “Fit for a Princess: Grace Kelly’s Wedding Dress,” on view from April 1-May 21, along with an illustrated publication devoted to Grace Kelly’s style, her famous gown and its colorful history. This focused exhibition will give visitors an opportunity to view the celebrated dress, donated to the museum shortly after the wedding ceremony, which has become one of the museum’s most beloved objects.

For conservation reasons, the dress can be placed on view only for short periods of time; it was last shown in 1997-98 in the large survey exhibition “Best Dressed: 250 Years of Style.”

“Fit for a Princess: Grace Kelly’s Wedding Dress” will include the bridal dress, headdress, veil and shoes, along with the lace and pearl encrusted prayer book that the bride carried down the aisle. The dresses of a bridesmaid and flower girl from the ceremony, also in the museum’s collection, will be on view as well.

Grace Kelly: Icon of Style to Royal Bride, an 80-page book written by Kristina Haugland will accompany the exhibition. Co-published by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Yale University Press, the publication tells the story behind the famous wedding dress, with specially commissioned line drawings to illustrate its unusual four-piece construction, called a “masterpiece of engineering” at the time. Full color images show the wedding dress and accessories, along with the attendants’ dresses also owned by the museum.

In conjunction with the exhibition, Haugland will present a lecture, “Grace Kelly: From Icon of Style to Royal Bride,” on Sunday, April 9, at 2:30 pm.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. For information, 215-763-8100, or philamuseum.org.