King Charles and Princess Diana's marriage was sadly very far from being a royal romance success story and when their separation was announced in 1992 everyone had opinions. Even now the former couple's relationship is still heavily scrutinised and the release of Earl Spencer's controversial memoir, Swan Song, in early autumn fanned the flames again.

The late Princess's brother made several shocking claims about the King, including the allegation that he'd once told Diana he wasn't "actually in love" with her. All of this paints a harsh picture but royal photographer Arthur Edwards has now detailed how Charles stepped in to protect her and their children after the split - and was uncompromising with his friends.

"It was awful for him and, although he would never mention it, I know that after the split, Charles wrote to all his friends and said, 'If you comment or write a bad thing about Princess Diana, you will lose my friendship'," Arthur claims in his new memoir, Cup of Tea, Arthur?

The consequences were laid out very clearly and the photographer reflects that she was still the mother of his children and "didn't want any of his friends to criticise her". The Royal Family traditionally stick to their trusted "never complain, never explain" approach so commenting on coverage isn't really an option for King Charles.

Friends have more freedom to speak out and can often turn the tide of public opinion. Criticism of Princess Diana could potentially have boosted the King's image, but from what Arthur says, he wasn't remotely interested in this and did his best to prevent it.

Sadly, Arthur adds that "some did" comment negatively about Diana, so presumably that cost them their place in the inner circle. According to the photographer, King Charles "recovered by letting his work do the talking" after the split.

William and Harry were clearly the monarch's priority and as someone who was raised in the public eye, he would've known how easy it would be for his sons to hear negative remarks about their mum. Princess Diana also understood the impact and was apparently "adamant" that royal author Ingrid Seward should know "how much she and Charles had once loved each other."

In Catherine & Diana, Ingrid recalls sitting down with her at Kensington Palace in the summer of 1997 and claims she was told, "It is so important the boys know that. It's very hurtful to our children when people say we didn't love each other."

She and King Charles were married for 11 years before they separated in 1992. Prince Harry has spoken about the toll the split had on them, saying in the Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy documentary that it felt like they "never saw [their] mother enough or [they] never saw [their] father enough".

Meanwhile, his older brother has said that a "feeling of warmth, security, love" was part of his childhood but things got more difficult after the divorce in 1996.

"My parents got divorced at 8, so that lasted a short period of time but you take that and you learn from it, and you try not to do the same mistakes as your parents," Prince William said on The Reluctant Traveler.

King Charles and Princess Diana's marriage was heavily scrutinised from the very beginning and the interest went into overdrive following his admission of adultery in 1994 and her controversial Panorama interview in 1995. These painted a certain picture of their relationship and many people came to a conclusion that Diana found "hurtful".

Over the years reports have claimed that King Charles in particular was never truly in love with his former wife, but in Catherine & Diana Ingrid Seward describes a conversion she had with the Princess just a few weeks before her death.

"When I sat with her for the last time in 1997 on that sultry summer day in the drawing room of apartments 8 and 9 Kensington Palace, she was adamant I should know how much she and Charles had once loved each other," the royal expert claims.

According to Ingrid, the late Princess told her, "It is so important the boys know that. It's very hurtful to our children when people say we didn't love each other."

"As the loving mother she was, Diana said she always considered her sons' feelings," the royal author adds.

King Charles and Princess Diana were married for 11 years before they separated and Ingrid Seward describes a particularly romantic gift he got her when they were engaged. He bought a charm bracelet, which he apparently "started off" with a koala.

The expert reflects that he added to it for "each birthday or special moment in their first years together" and "even commissioned a solid gold powder compact, an item of great beauty". Other charms reportedly included their sons' initials and St Paul's Cathedral where they tied the knot.

Details like this probably aren't the first thing that springs to people's minds when they think of Charles and Diana and yet they are no doubt treasured by their sons.

The Princess's wish for William and Harry to "know" how much she and their father once loved each other is heart-wrenching and whilst they rarely discuss their parents' relationship publicly, William has spoken about their happy times as a family.

"I think it's really important that that atmosphere is created at home, you have to have that feeling of warmth, security, love that all has to be there," he said on The Reluctant Traveler last year. "And that was certainly part of my childhood. My parents got divorced [when he was] 8, so that lasted a short period of time but you take that and you learn from it."

He even tries to recreate certain experiences he had with Princess Diana and King Charles for Prince George, Charlotte and Louis, like the trips they took to the Isles of Scilly off the coast of Cornwall.

"I used to come here a lot when I was younger. My parents brought us down here and it is a place like no other," William said on Heart Breakfast in May. "The children can go where they want, it's completely safe. It's beautiful. The water is crystal clear. There's so much to do down here for a family. It's fantastic."

From walking fields filled with active landmines to helping challenge prejudices against those living with HIV/AIDS, Princess Diana’s legacy is one of charity and shining a light on important causes.

And while many of these causes were widely discussed at the time, it turns out that the late Princess of Wales would find even more ways of helping those in need - and they weren’t always conventional, or something you’d expect to see in the papers.

Dickie Arbiter, a former press secretary for Diana and King Charles, has revealed that she would leave Kensington Palace unannounced and drive around the streets of London, handing out money to sex workers and the homeless - partly because she was lonely each night and partly because she felt it was "something she had to do".

Speaking to the Daily Mail's Palace Confidential, Dickie - who worked with the late Princess from 1988 up until her death in 1997 - claimed, "She would try to escape, telling her protection officer: 'I'm not going anywhere tonight. You can have the night off.'

"Lo and behold, the car would come anyway and she'd drive around Paddington. Not just to hand money to sex workers, but to drive past and see how the homeless were coping.

"It was something she felt she had to do, but it was also something that she was doing out of boredom."

He added that, while Diana would have things to do during the day, she’d find herself "desperate" for something to do at night, especially as any friends would face a "rigmarole" trying to visit her at the palace.

"All she had was a telephone to phone friends," he said. "Her friends were reluctant to go through the security hoops. She had to give security her friends’ names, addresses, car numbers, what time they were coming, and when they were leaving. It was a bit of a rigmarole."

It wasn’t just this new insight into Diana’s less-publicised movements that Dickie revealed to the outlet - he took aim at several allegations made in Earl Spencer’s book, Swan Song.

Written by Diana’s brother, the book includes several accusations that have since been contested by supporters of King Charles, and His Majesty released a rare statement questioning the accuracy of some of the more damning suggestions, including him supposedly telling Earl Spencer that Diana would soon be forgotten after her death.

Dickie, who worked with the late Princess and the now King, refutes a lot of the book’s claims.

"It’s just not in Charles’s DNA to be the sort of person Spencer is portraying. I saw him the day Diana returned, which was hours after she had died," he recalled

"He got off that plane, and I don’t think I’d ever seen him that distraught since the death of his great uncle, Lord Mountbatten. The man was a wreck. So for Spencer to suggest that he was like somebody who had won the lottery is just make believe. It’s la la land."

Both women have held the same title, but Catherine, the current Princess of Wales has one “striking contrast” from the woman who held it before her, Princess Diana - Diana had to face it on her own.

This is the claim made by royal biographer Ingrid Seward, who suggested that “it’s one of the tragedies of Diana’s story that she was adored by millions, yet emotionally denied by the few who mattered most.”

Her opinion is that, despite both women having to deal with their own hurdles and burdens holding such a senior title in the Royal Family, Kate has the support of both Prince William and the Middleton family, whereas “Diana faced it alone”.

Ingrid made the claims on HELLO!’s A Right Royal Podcast, sharing that she believes “that is where the contrast” between Diana and Kate “is most striking”.

While acknowledging that Kate’s “life is not perfect, it is rooted in a shared understanding with William, her husband, Diana’s son.” And it’s not only having the support of her loving husband that has helped Kate comfortably take on the senior role.

From her closeness to her parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, to her supportive siblings Pippa and James, Ingrid believes Kate has “something that Diana didn’t have: an incredibly close-knit family, and a very ambitious mother”.

Then, of course, there’s also the benefit of hindsight. Ingrid suggests that Kate has also cleverly learnt what not to do by observing what Diana went through so publicly.

“Catherine took lessons from Diana,” the royal author said. “She saw that Diana gave so much of herself to people, but it exposed her too much. Catherine learned from that: just give enough, but don’t give too much, because you’re too vulnerable that way, and people are going to strip you bare if you do that.”

“Being a Princess of Wales is not just about acting as a decorative accessory,” she added. “The title and rank can be a force for good, employed by both Diana and Catherine to champion big issues, using their celebrity to shine a light on often overlooked but critical challenges”.

A shared title is one thing, but the one thing that truly connects the two, per Ingrid, is their shared affinity for children.

“They both absolutely had [and have] a magic with children, and I think they would have talked about that,” she said. “Diana’s legacy is her sons and the way she changed the face of royal engagements, and Catherine has completely taken up the mantle [on that].”

Comparisons to Princess Diana - her late mother-in-law who passed away tragically young in 1997, before Kate had ever met her - were always going to be inevitable. And it's why she was reportedly reluctant to accept the Princess of Wales title to begin with.

"Kate found all such talk stressful,” royal author Robert Jobson wrote in Catherine: The Princess of Wales: A Biography of the Future Queen.

"Indeed, it got to the point where she felt she might follow Camilla (who opted to become Duchess of Cornwall) in refusing - when the time came - to be known as HRH Princess of Wales.”

Ultimately, when the time came in September 2022, Kate accepted the title "with good grace, out of respect for her husband and the king. Enough time had passed to make the title more palatable, and Catherine had been on the world stage long enough to be appreciated for her own qualities."

Fifteen years after the magical scenes from their royal wedding gripped the world, Princess Diana and King Charles finalised their divorce in August 1996. At the time Prince William was 14 years old and Prince Harry only 11 and Diana's oldest son was determined to comfort her after she lost a prestigious royal honour.

Even though she and Charles were no longer married, she was known as Diana, Princess of Wales but she didn't keep her HRH style. After seeing his mother's "distress" over this, William apparently stepped in.

Referencing this moment in Catherine & Diana, royal expert Ingrid Seward writes, "She didn't have her HRH style, but former royal butler Paul Burrell recalled the moment when William, seeing his mother's distress, offered the only reassurance he could: 'Don't worry, Mummy, I will give it back to you one day when I am king."

The author suggests that the "innocence" of the teenager's words "undid" Princess Diana in that moment. She allegedly "wept, knowing the gesture was both loving and futile". It's a promise that Prince William has tragically never been able to keep, as his mother died just over a year later.

His thoughtfulness clearly meant a lot to Diana in the aftermath of her divorce and losing her HRH style, though it's also something William could actually have done for her. The monarch can remove or bestow HRH style, like King Charles did by signing Letters Patent to strip Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's last year.

So Prince William could have given his mother's HRH style back to her when he ascended the throne and fulfilled his teenage promise. Whether the Princess would've wanted this at that point, we'll never know, but her brother Earl Spencer alleges he turned down Queen Elizabeth's offer to restore it after her death.

In his controversial memoir, Swan Song, Charles Spencer describes the moment he was informed about this and writes, "She had been dreadfully hurt by the removal of that title as she exited her marriage. It had seemed so petty and vindictive. While she was no longer to be married to one future king, she would always be mother to another."

After thinking about it, he says he "knew in [his] bones" how his sister would see "this posthumous award" and turned it down. The Earl later claims he "had no doubt that the consolation prize was hollow, however well-meaning the Queen's gesture". In his view, it should never have been removed so shouldn't have needed to be offered.

Prince William hasn't publicly commented on his uncle's book, though Buckingham Palace released a statement ahead of its release, declaring, "His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss."

There are, of course, many royals who either don't have or use an HRH title, including Prince Harry and Meghan who gave up using theirs in 2020. Prince William could also still technically restore his mother's HRH style in the future, though after so many years since his promise, he might find other ways to honour her instead when he's King.

Prince William and Harry's royal upbringing couldn't have been more different to their father's experience, despite being high up in the line of succession too. King Charles was raised in an era where royal nannies were relied upon and traditions dominated, but Princess Diana took steps to change things when they became parents.

Her modern approach involved giving their sons treats like trips to theme parks or McDonald's, but it sometimes sparked disagreements with Charles. According to royal author Ingrid Seward, the monarch "did not like" William and Harry to watch TV whenever they liked.

"Being exposed to their parents' marital disharmony, even if they didn't witness the actual disagreements, affected both boys," she claims in Catherine & Diana. "Charles, for instance, did not like his sons watching television during the day."

Princess Diana seemingly didn't share her husband's view and Ingrid goes on to allege she "would let them sneak up the back stairs to watch in her bedroom" instead. Whilst young William and Harry might've enjoyed sneakily watching their favourite programmes, Diana's actions supposedly "only added to the arguments" between their mother and father.

The expert describes the quarrels concerning "such trivial things as what to eat and where" too. Perhaps the King wanted his sons to be playing or exploring outdoors more during the day, but it was surely inevitable that William and Harry would want to watch TV like other children their age.

Princess Diana's reaction helped encourage this down-to-earth approach and even though the Prince and Princess of Wales are strict about their kids' screen time, we know they watch things together. The sporty family tunes into football and rugby matches from home and at the BAFTAs this year Kate said films can provide a way into discussing certain topics.

"The children are starting to get interested in films and it's a really great way to have some of the hard conversations with them," she explained.

This is something they can all do as a family and the couple have admitted they're "strict" about their children's screentime and about them not having mobiles. Now George is at boarding school, he reportedly doesn't have unlimited access to screens there either.

As reported by The Telegraph, research by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has revealed that Eton College has provided new guidance to parents of first-year students. This apparently states the boys can only use a "specially designed safe browser" on iPads to access approved sites.

Even so, George, Charlotte and Louis are clearly allowed to watch some TV in the daytime and there are other parenting traditions Princess Diana has inspired.

William and Kate are also hands-on with school drop-offs and pick-ups, and he has spoken about how his early childhood and his parents' divorce later on has shaped his approach as a dad.

"I think it's really important that that atmosphere is created at home, you have to have that feeling of warmth, security, love that all has to be there," he said on The Reluctant Traveler. "And that was certainly part of my childhood. My parents got divorced at 8, so that lasted a short period of time but you take that and you learn from it, and you try not to do the same mistakes as your parents. I think we all try to do that."

Charles Spencer, the younger brother of the late Princess Diana, made headlines around the world with the publication of his book, Swan Song and the claims made against the likes of King Charles within.

While the Palace issued a rebuttal and the truth may never be known, the Earl has shifted the attention from what others did to what he might’ve done differently, sharing that he "probably could" have done more for his sister.

In a new interview, he admitted, "Could I have done more to help her with her public life? I probably could. Towards the end of her life, I did help her a bit. I had had some run-ins with the media. I helped her win a big libel case against a British newspaper. I would fight some battles for her quietly."

Speaking to People, the Earl is keen to set the record straight on one of the accusations levelled at him by some - that, despite him pointing the fingers at others, he himself turned Diana away during her time of need.

One persistent rumour claims that Diana came to her brother after she had split from King Charles and that he had refused her request to move into their family estate, Althorp.

Charles told the outlet, "One of the things people are throwing at me totally wrongly is that I wouldn’t give her a home. When she was divorced, she did ask me for the Garden House at the back of the park.

"Diana had loved it because our sister, Jane [Fellowes], lived there with her children, and that was perfect for them."

He adds that Diana was turned down on this request, but there was a reason. He continued, "The local police went around there with me and they said they just couldn’t protect William and Harry.

"She could not have lived at the Garden House. It was not a viable option."

This is not the first time the Earl has put forward his version of events when it comes to this claim. In a BBC Radio 4 interview in 2016, he had repeated this sentiment, adding that he thought Diana “couldn’t see” that it wasn’t the right decision for her.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today, "Diana had a lovely dream that she could live a normal life afterward. But the one house that she set her heart on in the park was three bedrooms and 100 yards from the road. And it was just not possible. The police knew it wouldn’t work.

"I offered every other property that was suitable on the estate. I really felt it was the right decision for her. But she probably couldn’t see it."

In that same interview, he also opened up about still having nightmares about his sister’s funeral.

"It was the most horrifying half an hour of my life. It was just ghastly. And it was far worse than having to deliver a speech at the end of it. It was the worst part of the day by a considerable margin, walking behind, well, my sister’s body, with two boys who were obviously massively grieving their mother.

"The feeling, the sort of crashing tidal wave of grief coming at you as you went down this sort of tunnel of deep emotion, it was really harrowing actually and I still have nightmares about it now."

The news of Prince Harry's birth was met with outpourings of excitement from fans and the waiting press outside St Mary's Hospital in 1984, with his proud father King Charles describing it as "absolutely marvellous". The birth of another son was seemingly a surprise for the monarch, though according to royal author Ingrid Seward, Princess Diana knew it was a boy.

"Oddly, despite the closeness she had felt with Charles before Harry's birth, she never told him she was expecting another boy," the expert alleges in her biography, Catherine & Diana. "She knew he longed for a daughter, and her extreme vulnerability made her keep this piece of intimate information from him."

The suggestion that Princess Diana hadn't felt comfortable sharing their baby's gender with King Charles is heart-breaking. Ingrid writes that Harry's birth "ended one of the brief happy periods" in the couple's marriage and Diana herself spoke about this with Andrew Morton, author of the biography, Diana: In Her Own Words.

As per Today, in recordings made for the book which were included in a documentary, she said the six weeks before Harry was born were the "closest" they'd ever been.

She added, "And then as suddenly as Harry was born, it just went bang, our marriage. The whole thing went down the drain. He wanted two children and he wanted a girl."

Meanwhile, Prince Harry has described a joke his father apparently made about it being "wonderful" Diana gave him an "heir and a spare" after his birth. This could suggest the King was delighted to have a second son to follow him and William in the royal line of succession.

Either way, it was clearly a very difficult time for the couple and Charles has never publicly addressed either of these claims. However, we do know the monarch was especially overjoyed when his first granddaughter, Princess Charlotte, was born in 2015.

At the time The Telegraph reported the King was visiting Poundbury in Dorset when he revealed he'd been "hoping for a girl". He described Charlotte as "beautiful" and said he'd hoped for a granddaughter - "someone to look after [him] when [he is] very old".

The two royals have a close bond, with the King wearing what looked like a homemade friendship bracelet at Trooping the Colour this year. The eleven-year-old has already made Prince William one, so she's likely the one behind her grandfather's sentimental jewellery.

Charlotte's name is also the feminine form of Charles in a sweet nod to her grandfather. Before her older brother George was born, William allegedly also wanted a little girl and was thinking of naming her in honour of Princess Diana.

"William had privately voiced his preference for having a girl, and was keen to incorporate a tribute to his late mother, most likely in the form of a middle name," claimed royal author Russell Myers in William & Catherine, adding that Kate wanted Alexander or Alexandra instead.

Unlike Princess Diana, the couple hadn't found out the gender in advance and when George was born he got Alexander as a middle name. Two years later, Charlotte Elizabeth Diana arrived and was given a name that celebrates three loved ones.

From the moment Princess Diana became a mother for the first time in June 1981 she was determined to do things differently to other royal parents - particularly Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. According to biographer Ingrid Seward in Catherine & Diana, the late Princess felt that her husband had been negatively affected by how he was raised in the royal household.

"Charles was not short of love, which came from his two nannies, Helen Lightbody and Mabel Anderson, but Diana believed his lack of parental tenderness had rendered him incapable of being emotionally open and honest," she claimed. "He had been deprived of crucial early nurturing by the one parent who really mattered: his mother."

Ingrid went on to defend the late Queen's approach, remarking that it's "not fair to lay the blame at her feet". Charles was only four when his mother became monarch and entered a "man's world where women and women's opinions mattered little".

"Her duties prevented her from being the kind of mother she had so wanted to be," the author adds. Shortly after ascending the throne, the Queen set off on an almost six-month Commonwealth Tour, leaving Charles and Anne at home for most of it.

On top of the couple's busy schedule, the Royal Family also traditionally relied on nannies and had a less hands-on style of parenting. In contrast, Princess Diana wanted Prince William to grow up with the "tenderness" she allegedly felt her husband missed out on and "didn't care how many people she upset or how many toes she trod on".

Ingrid continued, "She was not going to surrender her child to the antiquated royal system her husband had been subjected to."

Prince William and Prince Harry received a totally new type of royal upbringing, complete with trips to theme parks and McDonald's meals. Diana was regularly photographed hugging her sons or holding their hands and taking them to school.

Both of the Princes have followed in their mum's footsteps with their own parenting and are incredibly open with the world about their struggles, more so than any royal generation before. Instead of shying away from the question, William directly addressed how awful 2024 was after his wife and father were diagnosed with cancer.

"It's been dreadful. It's probably been the hardest year in my life. So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult," he explained. "I'm so proud of my wife, I'm proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done. But from a personal family point of view, it's been brutal."

Princess Diana would surely be proud of her son's emotional honesty and the Prince and Princess of Wales are focused on giving George, Charlotte and Louis a happy, calm childhood. William has said he knows "drama and stress" when you're young affects you in adulthood and tries to work his duties around family life.

"Most days we're in and out of school doing drop offs and pick ups," he said on The Reluctant Traveler. "Getting the balance of work and family life right is really important, because for me, the most important thing in my life is family."

Even before Earl Spencer's controversial new book, Swan Song, was released it was already sparking some strong discussions and so I was expecting a lot more shocking revelations to emerge now it's published. It definitely has those, but it was actually something more subtle that first caught my attention and made me do a double take.

On Page 5 is Charles Spencer's dedication and it's not to Princess Diana who is, after all, the focus of the book. Instead, he writes, "For all those who have lost a sibling."

He was 33 years old when Diana died and much of Swan Song is about their bond and shared experiences. Because of this, the dedication does make sense but I still think it's surprising that he didn't mention her too. It also got me wondering whether he could be hinting at something equally close to home.

The Earl's nephews, Prince William and Prince Harry, were once incredibly close like Charles and Diana were. Whilst they haven't technically "lost" a sibling like their uncle tragically has, they are living very separate lives and have been estranged for years.

In a very different way, they do seem to have lost each other - or at least lost the treasured place they used to have in each other's lives. Although Prince Harry has been open about wanting a "reconciliation" with his family, he and William aren't believed to have met face-to-face since 2024, even though the Sussexes are back living in the UK.

Their frosty relationship has also affected their children, as it's thought that George, Charlotte and Louis haven't even met five-year-old Lilibet yet. Looking at it from the outside you can't help seeing it as a sad situation so imagine what it must be like for the people involved.

Earl Spencer speaks protectively about his nephews throughout Swan Song and in an interview with the BBC ahead of its release he was directly asked about William and Harry. He said that neither of them would be "surprised" by the book claims and refused to pick a "side".

"I think there is a perception in the media that I am on Harry's side," Charles said. "Well, I'm on my deceased sister's sons' side, both of them. And if either of them wanted anything, then I'd be equally there for them."

Given how he wants to be there for William and Harry and support them "equally", it sounds as if he'd be thrilled if the brothers patched things up at some point. Earl Spencer seems to have sympathy for both and this is why I can't help suspecting that there could've been a secondary meaning to his Swan Song dedication.

It's still possible for his nephews to repair their sibling relationship and regain the closeness they've lost in recent years. Whether it will actually happen remains to be seen, though for now Earl Spencer seems to be giving the Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex their space and doesn't "get involved" himself.

"I never get involved in one camp or the other, except as a benign figure, I hope," he told the BBC.

"I certainly don't know what's been done in the finer detail and so I would feel intrusive if I got more involved than to say of course a mother would want her two sons to be happy together and love each other," Charles added.

Earl Spencer hasn't held back with the revelations in his book, Swan Song, and extracts published so far have painted his former brother-in-law King Charles in a damning light. The pair allegedly disagreed over one of the most divisive elements of Princess Diana's funeral, with the Earl writing that he argued his sister wouldn't have wanted her sons to walk behind her coffin.

As we know, this did end up happening, but Charles Spencer has also claimed Prince Philip stepped in and changed his son's plans. Instead of the King being at the centre, Philip firmly believed Diana's family should be in the middle.

"Prince Charles tried to take charge, having seemingly thought hard about the formation that the five of us chief mourners would adopt behind Diana," he recalled in an extract in the Daily Mail.

The Earl continued, "When he said, 'Now, I will walk in the center, with William on my right and Harry on my left,' Prince Philip overruled him, in an even voice that closed down any possible dissent. 'No, that isn't how we will do it.'

"Then, nodding towards me, he continued: 'Charles is representing his sister and their family, so he will walk in the middle, with William and Harry either side of him, and you and I will be on the outside flanks.'"

This placed Princess Diana's brother and sons at the forefront, whilst her ex-husband and ex-father-in-law were on the outside, which makes sense given the divorce. According to Earl Spencer, the King "looked pained" but gave in to Philip's authority "without a word".

What we've read so far from Swan Song is highly critical of the Royal Family, so it's interesting to see the Earl acknowledging Philip advocating for the Spencers on this.

He also describes how the Duke of Edinburgh's "usual gruffness" was "replaced by a calm and quiet kindness".

"He was clearly determined to help his motherless grandsons in their walk to the funeral, and he did so with grace," Charles Spencer claimed.

Prince William was 15 and Prince Harry 12 at the time and the then-Prime Minister Tony Blair's former government relations director, Anji Hunter, has also described how an "anguished" Philip spoke up for his grandsons earlier on.

"We were all talking about how William and Harry should be involved and suddenly came Prince Philip's voice," she previously alleged to the Evening Standard. "We hadn't heard from him before, but he was really anguished. 'It's about the boys,' he cried, 'They've lost their mother.'"

The night before Princess Diana's funeral at dinner, the late Duke is also believed to have told them both, "I'll walk if you walk."

He was entirely focused on supporting his grandsons at one of the darkest times of their lives and walked on the outside beside William in the procession - as he'd apparently stipulated to King Charles. The monarch hasn't responded to these specific allegations, though Buckingham Palace issued a rare statement when the first extract from Swan Song was published.

"While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss," it declared.

Famous for her withering putdowns and unbreakable stare presiding over The Weakest Link for 11 years, Anne Robinson had a long and celebrated career in television.

As well as presenting the BBC quiz show, she hosted the likes of Watchdog and Countdown, and, in a strange turn of events, this storied showbiz career might have indirectly been a result of Princess Diana and Buckingham Palace.

Before she was on TV, Anne worked as a journalist and an editor. It was a fateful decision to use a provocative front page in the late 1980s implying that Princess Diana had an eating disorder that led to her being dismissed, and as she recalls it, the orders came from “the palace [saying] a head needs to roll”.

Speaking with Lorraine Kelly for the Experience is Everything podcast, Anne recalled how it all came to pass. "I was editing on a Sunday. Diana had gone late to the Albert Hall the night before, after the Queen, unheard of.

"I looked at the pictures, and she was painfully thin. And I called in our wonderful royal correspondent, James Whittaker. And I said, ‘James, this doesn't look right’.

"He said, ‘Give me an hour or two’. And I trusted him completely. And he went away, and he said, ‘She's got an eating disorder'.

Anne’s decision to act on this would lead to serious repercussions. She continued, “So I splashed on it. The Sun [a British tabloid] followed in their second edition. The next week, I looked, and I wasn't on the editing rota

“And I remember going up to the editor. I said, I'm not on the editing rota. He said, ‘You go off and do television, blossom. That's what you're good at.’

"I went home furious. I had a good cry, because you never cried in the office. It took two years for me to find out that the palace said a head needs to roll, and I was the head. I'll never forget it."

Princess Diana, years later, would reclaim the narrative and discuss her eating disorder history on her own terms.

In 1992, Andrew Morton published the book, Diana: Her True Story. The book was sensational for the time as Andrew’s source was Diana herself, who shared with him a series of confessional tapes.

On one, she opened up about her battle with bulimia for the first time. In the book, Andrew wrote that Diana recorded herself saying, "The bulimia started the week after we got engaged and would take nearly a decade to overcome.

"My husband put his hand on my waistline and said: ‘Oh, a bit chubby here, aren’t we?’ and that triggered off something in me - and the Camilla thing."

A few years after the book was published, Diana would once again speak out on the topic, this time allowing viewers to hear it from her own lips. Speaking with Martin Bashir for the famous 1995 Panorama interview, Diana shared, "I had bulimia for a number of years. And that's like a secret disease.

"You inflict it upon yourself because your self-esteem is at a low ebb, and you don't think you're worthy or valuable… You have to know that when you have bulimia you're very ashamed of yourself and you hate yourself - and people think you're wasting food - so you don't discuss it with people".

It's rare that we see the Royal Family publicly responding to the revelations made in books about them but the King made a rare exception when an extract from Earl Spencer's upcoming Swan Song biography was published in the Daily Mail. In it, Princess Diana's brother describes a supposed phone call with King Charles ahead of his sister's funeral in 1997.

The Earl alleges that his former brother-in-law told him "we'll forget her soon enough" - a shocking claim that was followed by a carefully-worded palace statement.

"While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss," it declared.

It's hard to read King Charles's response and not immediately think back to the message shared by Queen Elizabeth in the wake of Prince Harry and Meghan's Oprah Winfrey interview in 2021. In effect, the monarch's reference to how brotherly grief can "colour memory" is his version of her famous "recollections may vary" line.

Perhaps the King was intentionally trying to mirror it but following in her footsteps at a time of reputational crisis is a careful move. It technically upholds the Royal Family's long-held approach of "never explain, never complain" and respects the other person's freedom to give their own version of events whilst still making it clear their own perspective is very different.

Both King Charles and Queen Elizabeth used their statements as a dignified way to dispute the explosive claims being made without entering into a full-scale public argument. Although they wouldn't normally speak out at all, the sensitive nature of the allegations made it important for them to address them in some way.

Charles Spencer's book hasn't even been published yet and when it's released on 22nd September, there are expected to be a lot more shocking revelations.

In the excerpt he claims he was subjected to a "stream of anger" from the King when he suggested Diana wouldn't have wanted William and Harry (then 15 and 12 years old) to walk in her funeral procession.

Speaking to the BBC now, the King's former communications secretary Julian Payne called the new palace statement "highly unusual". He believes it shows the "strength of feeling that there must have been for them to feel that they needed to go out there and correct it".

Whilst King Charles continues to face criticism linked to Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth also received a lot for how she reacted after her death.

The late Queen stayed in Scotland with her grandsons until the day before the funeral instead of returning to London immediately to lead the nation in their grief. This time, she released a video message explaining her choice.

"This week at Balmoral, we have all been trying to help William and Harry come to terms with the devastating loss that they and the rest of us have suffered," she said that evening in a public broadcast. "No-one who knew Diana will ever forget her. Millions of others who never met her, but felt they knew her, will remember her. I for one believe there are lessons to be drawn from her life and from the extraordinary and moving reaction to her death."

It's rare that a royal's outfit surpasses their wedding dress as their most memorable look but Princess Diana's so-called "revenge dress" certainly did that. The late Princess wore the Christina Stambolian design in June 1994 and now, almost 30 years after the royal sold it for £39,098 to raise money for charity, it's going up for auction again.

But first it's being taken on a world exhibition tour worthy of such a historic royal look. Diana's "revenge dress" will start at Sotheby's London during London Fashion Week from 18th-24th September, then go to Hong Kong, Geneva and New York City throughout the autumn and will be sold in December by Sotheby's.

The auction house estimates it's now worth between £110,000 and £220,000 and for fans, it's a precious slice of history and a beautiful frock. For Prince William and Prince Harry, though, the interest around the dress could bring back painful memories.

Princess Diana stepped out in the black strapless dress at the Serpentine Gallery and it got its famous "revenge" nickname from the media because of the timing. That same evening King Charles gave a televised interview in which he confessed his infidelity with now-Queen Camilla.

Asked by Jonathan Dimbleby if he was "faithful and honourable" to his wife, Charles replied, "yes, absolutely" and was pressed on this by the journalist, "And you were?"

It was then that the monarch responded, "Yes. Until it became irretrievably broken down, us both having tried."

Referencing the dual roles of the white and black swans in the ballet Swan Lake, the designer of the "revenge dress" has discussed the meaning behind Diana's choice to wear it that night.

"She chose not to play the scene like Odette, innocent in white," Christina Stambolian claimed to Harper's Bazaar in 2022. "She was clearly angry. She played it like Odile in black. She wore bright red nail enamel, which we had never seen her do before. She was saying: 'Let's be wicked tonight.'"

When King Charles gave his interview and Diana wore this dress, Prince William was almost 12 and Prince Harry 9. This would've been an incredibly difficult time for the couple's sons and new personal revelations like Charles's brought extra scrutiny.

Although they were probably too young to watch their father's interview or appreciate the significance of their mother's dress, they'll now be very aware of the narrative surrounding both.

The dress might represent power and strength for Diana but it also points back to a moment that doesn't have the happiest associations for William and Harry. Now the Princes will inevitably be reminded of all of this again.

Last year on The Reluctant Traveler, Prince William spoke about the importance of a happy home atmosphere during childhood and briefly noted how Charles and Diana's divorce affected things.

"I think it's really important that that atmosphere is created at home, you have to have that feeling of warmth, security, love that all has to be there," he said. "And that was certainly part of my childhood. My parents got divorced at 8, so that lasted a short period of time but you take that and you learn from it."

Princess Diana and King Charles apparently disagreed over something rather important when their sons were born - and Harry's latest podcast interview brought it to mind. The Duke of Sussex recorded a special episode of Joe Mahler Will See You Now during his time in the UK and introduced himself to listeners in an unusual way.

He was asked by retired rugby star Joe to do so and he responded, "Henry Albert Charles David, Duke of Sussex". This is one of the only times we've heard the Prince refer to himself like this and even when he was a child he was always called Harry.

His first name was chosen by Princess Diana and she also picked 'William' for the Prince of Wales after rejecting Charles's options. In Andrew Morton's Diana: Her True Story, she's quoted as saying, "He wanted Albert and Arthur, and I said no. Too old."

According to People, she told Morton in their interview that "there weren't fights" about it - she just said, "No thank you" to those. In the end, Charles and Diana reached a compromise and Arthur and Albert were both used for their sons in another way.

When he gave his full name on Joe Mahler's podcast, the Duke of Sussex could be seen as re-affirming that link with his family and his royal position. Joe's podcast co-host Jake Bhardwaj quipped, "It's a long one" and laughed after hearing Harry's intro.

As Harry just reminded us all, Albert is one of his three middle names, whilst Prince William has Arthur as a middle name. Arthur has obvious Arthurian legend links but Albert is a more traditional British royal name. Perhaps King Charles wanted to honour his grandfather, as George VI changed his name from Albert when he became King.

Albert was also the name of one of Diana's grandfathers. Even so, it seems she wasn't swayed and thought the middle names could pay tribute instead. Harry also has Charles as a middle name as a nod to his dad and David could be after Charles's cousin, David Armstrong-Jones.

Diana and Charles aren't the only royal parents who have initially disagreed over baby names. The Princess of Wales apparently preferred something different for George before he was born, but she ended up being the one who compromised.

In his book, William & Catherine, royal author and editor Russell Myers claimed she "had her heart set on" Alexander for a boy or Alexandra for a girl. Prince George has Alexander as a middle name and William "was keen to incorporate a tribute to his late mother" with a daughter.

Princess Charlotte was later given Diana as a middle name and Harry and Meghan did the same when Princess Lilibet was born in 2024. During his podcast interview, the Duke of Sussex spoke about his late mother and how he's taken her style of parenting on board with his kids.

He's said that Diana used to hug him and William "as tight as possible" and now he hugs Archie and Lili "extra tight" after a difficult day. A few days earlier Harry also revealed the family marks his mum's birthday and the anniversary of her death by making lemon drizzle cake in her honour.

Fashion lovers and royal fans alike, rejoice. A stunning new exhibition honouring the late Princess Diana will become one of London’s hottest tickets later this year.

Fleurs de Villes, an international flower show known for its floral installations with past works including tributes to everything from The Gilded Age and Wicked to Maria Callas, will stage the exhibition at Somerset House in London in support of The Diana Award, the charity established in her memory in 1999.

The exhibition will feature 15 spectacular fresh floral mannequins inspired by some of Princess Diana’s most iconic looks, all created by London’s leading floral designers.

A fitting tribute to the enduring legacy of Diana’s charity and humanitarian work, the 15 mannequins will each represent a moment the late Princess supported a cause close to her heart.

These recreations will span everything from her ground-breaking advocacy for HIV/AIDS and the empathy she showed patients at a tough time, to her defiant walk through an active minefield in support of the HALO Trust - a charity that her youngest son, Prince Harry, continues to support.

The late Princess Diana - who died aged 36 in 1997 - would’ve turned 65 with this birthday, but she remains a popular presence, with her fashion still inspiring the different generations - including the new Princess of Wales, Princess Catherine.

But beyond fashion, Diana's often rule-breaking approach to royal life and her pioneering humanitarian efforts have made her a constant source of fascination and inspiration.

One of the founders of the flower show, Karen Marshall, said in a statement, “Diana’s enduring influence was never simply about what she wore, but what she stood for. We are retelling the stories of the causes she championed and the people whose lives she touched through compassion, courage, and human connection.”

The show will run from September 16 through October 6, and tickets are available now - first going on release on July 1, what would have been her 65th birthday. A portion of every ticket sold will help support The Diana Award, the charity legacy established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Inspired by the Princess’s belief that young people have the power to change the world, the award empowers young people to create positive change in their communities and beyond.

The event organisers will be hoping to recreate the demand that's been shown for the Royal Collection Trust's exhibition in honour of the late Queen Elizabeth.

Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style, on display at The King's Gallery near Buckingham Palace, offers the largest and most comprehensive collection of the late monarch's outfits across her historic 70 year reign.

The demand for tickets has seen the exhibition extended until April 2027, after being slated to close in October 2026.

While taking place just in London for now, it has been reported that the Fleurs de Villes Diana exhibition will go on a wider tour in 2027. Per Town & Country, the exhibition is expected to travel to more locations across the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and the United States.

The late Princess Diana was subjected to endless headlines and tabloid gossip, so one might imagine she wouldn’t have the time of day for them. However, she would reportedly ask for some mags to be "smuggled" into the palace.

Proof that even royalty couldn’t resist the allure of a bit of scandal and tabloid fun, one of Princess Diana’s former hairdressers revealed that she would ask for them to be brought in on the sly.

Richard Dalton, who worked with Diana between 1981 and 1990, told People, "She used to say, ‘Richard, can you bring them in for me?’ Nobody questioned it because nobody knew. Once I’d got through security and into the pantry, it was all plain sailing from there."

He added, "She wasn’t allowed to see the tabloid newspapers" but once they’d been "smuggled" in, the Princess would flick through, only to find herself getting annoyed by the coverage.

He said, "I’d be doing her hair, she’d be flipping through the pages, and she’d go, ‘Ugh… Then another one comes along and then [she'd go], ‘Oh’”. He added that most of the time, despite asking to see them, it would end with Diana throwing them to the side.

While she would find herself the subject of much press attention, there was always one rumour that would affect her the most, according to Richard. And that was questions of Prince Harry’s paternity.

Tabloids were known for running stories insinuating - without merit or credit - that Diana’s youngest son might have actually been the child of Major James Hewitt. One of the reasons for this baseless rumour was Harry’s hair colour - red, like Major Hewitt’s.

However, Richard is quick to add that, having been a hairdresser to other members of Diana’s family, red hair was, indeed, a Spencer trait.

"Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, when I used to cut his hair, his hair was bright red," Dalton remembers. "Lady Sarah, also red," he notes, referencing Diana’s oldest sister. "The Spencers definitely had red hair. But at that time, I wasn't in a position to actually say, ‘Hello, Charles Spencer’s hair was red.'"

For Richard, the answer was definitive. "They always [went] on about, ‘Is Charles the father of Harry?’ Of course he is."

Diana’s reported love of tabloids fits with the picture of the Princess her close friends have painted over the years - a very modern-thinking, social person who loved the trends of the day and a good gossip.

Elton John, a close pal of the late Princess, remembered her as "blessed with social ease" in his 2019 memoir, Me. "She was fabulous company, the best dinner party guest, incredibly indiscreet, a real gossip: you could ask her anything and she'd tell you."

The Princess of Wales's wardrobe is packed full of elegant options for formal occasions so we know when she picks a particular piece that a lot of thought has gone into her look. At this year's Trooping the Colour, the future Queen stepped out in a pale blue Catherine Walker coat dress with white piping along the crisp collar, pockets and cuffs.

Her sculptural hat matched the two tones of her frock perfectly and the rest of her accessories were plain white for a timeless feel. Prince William wore his scarlet Welsh Guards dress uniform for the occasion like we expected, but Kate's Trooping the Colour outfit subtly honoured her husband in a surprising way, as well as more obviously reminding us of Princess Diana.

It's surely no coincidence that Kate's Trooping the Colour outfit for 2026 is unbelievably similar to the blue and white coat worn by Diana in 1987 for the Royal Family's Easter Sunday service. She was pictured walking out of St George's Chapel, holding hands with four-year-old Prince William who matched his mother.

His coat was the same delicate shade of blue and had white detailing too, as well as military-style buttons. Both of these coats were crafted by British clothing brand, Catherine Walker, who also made the Princess of Wales's Trooping the Colour dress.

Clearly, they were a reference point for Kate's new look and because the two women are often compared for their sense of style and royal positions, it's easy to see the new dress as purely a tribute to Diana.

Shop Earrings like Kate's

I think this is definitely a nod to the late Princess and Kate regularly incorporates meaningful links to her mother-in-law into her outfits. However, the original coat was part of that iconic matching mother/son moment and so the Princess of Wales was simultaneously honouring Prince William and his close bond with Diana.

Kate could've chosen to echo one of Princess Diana's other outfits if she'd wanted to, yet she picked this one from that day with him. As soon as he saw his wife's frock for Trooping the Colour, I'd be surprised if the Prince of Wales didn't think back fondly to that Easter Sunday with Diana. This would've been very special and was likely as much for him as it was his mother.

Princess Diana's memory is kept alive by her sons and their families, and we've seen pictures of the Mother's Day cards Prince George, Charlotte and Louis write to "Granny Diana". Meanwhile, in the Waleses' engagement interview Kate described her as "an inspirational woman to look up to".

She reportedly had some "reservations" about taking on the Princess of Wales title, according to royal author Russell Myers in William & Catherine. He writes, "Catherine had also privately expressed to William and to Charles her reservations about taking over the title, conscious of the British public's exceptional feeling for, and connection to, Princess Diana even 25 years after her death."

Kate supposedly took a "bit of convincing" to take on her late mother-in-law's title but then she decided on her approach.

"She felt that while there would be inevitable comparisons with Diana, she could manage it in her own way while having full respect for the way Diana carved out a very different role for herself within the Royal Family," they declared.

A previously unseen letter written by the late Princess Diana is set to go up for auction, in which she spoke of the 'importance' of communication, and her hopes that her sons would always be able to do so.

Part of Reeman Dansie's ‘Royalty, Antiques & Fine Art’ auction taking place on June 9, a letter Diana wrote to a fan after her bombshell BBC Panorama interview is set to fetch thousands.

Per the auction house’s official listing, the key contents of Diana’s letter included thanking the fan for their support after the now infamous interview aired - in which Diana uttered the immortal line about there being three people in her marriage to King Charles - as well as her hopes for her two sons to communicate on a 'deeper level'.

In the letter, Diana revealed she received the letter from the fan after her trip to Argentina. She goes on to say how touched she is by the contents and his profound words, in particular relates to his sentiments of self-knowledge and moving on in life.

Per the auction house, she continued by adding she hoped the Panorama interview would help other women in similar difficulties. Poignantly, she touched on lessons she’d have liked to have shared with her two sons, 'teaching William and Harry the importance of communication on a deeper level'.

Sadly, William and Harry’s communication has, famously, fallen to the wayside as the two brothers continue to be estranged.

Exacerbated by Harry and Meghan’s decision to quit life as working royals and move abroad, the estrangement only deepened after the Sussexes interview with Oprah Winfrey where several claims were made against the Royal Family.

The publication of Harry’s autobiography, Spare, likely didn’t help their communication issues, as Harry detailed physical confrontations with William and referring to him as 'my beloved brother, my arch nemesis' in the memoir.

William and Harry lost their mother when they were just 15 and 12 respectively, following Diana’s tragic car accident on August 31, 1997.

Had she lived, Andrew Morton, who collaborated with the late Princess of Wales for her official autobiography, Diana: Her True Story, believes she would’ve played 'peacemaker'.

'Diana always used to say she had two boys for a reason - the younger would be there to support the older in the lonely task as future king,' the journalist and author shared with People.

'There is no doubt Diana would have tried to act as a peacemaker between them. If she had been around, they would have worked things out in a different way.'

Every parent has their own way of doing things and King Charles and Princess Diana's couldn't have been more different. The late Princess broke the mold as a royal mother and according to former royal protection officer Ken Wharfe, her husband allegedly found this "difficult".

Ken first met Prince Harry when he was three and he opens up on Channel 5's new documentary, Prince Harry in Therapy, about how we were all "witnessing a new style of parenting" with him and Prince William.

"The Prince at that time found that rather difficult," he alleges. "He was a man of tradition. Members of the Royal Family are not very tactile. Diana was the complete opposite of this."

The BBC's former royal correspondent Jennie Bond explains that the King had a "stiff and rather distant upbringing", so it perhaps makes sense that his "own method" was "a little more distant". King Charles was only three when Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne and she and Prince Philip went on an almost six-month Commonwealth Tour afterwards.

Her childhood friend Lady Anne Glenconner has previously said that the Queen was “marvellous” when she was home.

"Charles and Princess Anne were so small when she became Queen and she just had so much to do," Lady Glenconner claimed to OK! "In those days, it took ages to get to countries so she didn't have a great deal of time to be with her older two. When she was with them she was absolutely marvellous, but the Queen Mother looked after them a great deal."

Princess Diana had a very different, though aristocratic, upbringing and she was "tactile" in a way that Ken suggests the royals aren't usually. She was regularly pictured holding William and Harry in her arms, hugging them and holding them close.

Adapting to this "new" style might well have been "difficult" for someone raised as traditionally as King Charles. Diana loved treating her sons to trips to theme parks and the occasional McDonalds meal, giving them a more down-to-earth experience and insights into life outside the palace.

In the documentary, royal author Tom Quinn expresses his belief that "no way" Charles would have given his sons a bath, whilst "Diana did that kind of thing a bit more". However, he noted that she "still employed nannies".

If her parenting was a royal shake-up, then Diana and Charles's sons have taken this further. The Prince and Princess of Wales's children are very high up in the royal line of succession and they only have one nanny, Maria Teresa Borrallo, and she doesn't live-in.

William and Kate regularly do school drop-offs and pick-ups and it's been widely reported that when the kids were small, Carole Middleton would "turn up" at Kensington Palace to help with bath time and bedtime. Prince Harry and Meghan are equally hands-on with Archie and Lilibet and in an echo of Harry's childhood trips to theme parks, they recently took them to Disneyland.

Royal parenting has been forever changed and King Charles's experience of grandparenthood is likely very different. Jennie Bond has previously described his relationship with the Queen Mother as "magical" and thinks his "dearest wish" is to give all his grandchildren "a similar strong and loving relationship".

Prince Harry in Therapy airs at 9pm on Channel 5.

Princess Diana will forever be remembered as a royal icon and her impact on the Royal Family continues to be felt to this day. After decades of things being done a certain way, expert and woman&home correspondent Emily Andrews believes that Diana "forced" the royals to break with tradition and modernise in a way they hadn't before.

She and her co-host Reverend Richard Coles discussed this on their Catching Up With The Royals podcast, with him dubbing Diana "the second most significant person in this game" next to Queen Elizabeth. In his view, she "completely changed the way we looked to royalty."

Emily agreed with him and explained that the way Princess Diana "lived her personal life kind of publicly - or at least seemed to" and her parenting of William and Harry made a huge difference.

"The public narrative of her as a very hands-on mother, which I think was true - I don't think that was fake, it felt very authentic - taking them on the tube, the fairground rides, the holidays, the very hands-on parenting was so different to how royals had parented before," she said.

Royal fans will remember the pictures of Diana, William and Harry looking like they were all having the time of their lives on a trip to Thorpe Park in 1992. The late Princess also treated her sons to McDonalds, trips to the cinema and eating in front of the TV.

All of this might sound quite ordinary to many of us, but she was breaking new ground as a royal mother. Emily reflected, "It did make, I think, maybe forced, the royals to become more hands-on with the general public, so to speak."

In the same discussion in the 23rd April episode, Richard also noted that Princess Diana was a "very potent figure" who "drove" change. He thinks she's one of the reasons why the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign was "so different" to the beginning.

Princess Diana's warmth and down-to-earth nature as a mother and a royal captured the nations' hearts and broke down some invisible barriers between the Royal Family and the public. When the Prince and Princess of Wales are at engagements they're happy to take selfies with people, get down to children's eye height and give occasional hugs.

Decades ago this would be unimaginably personal and yet it's now become the norm for them. They're also equally hands-on as parents, collecting and dropping off Prince George, Charlotte and Louis at school themselves and taking school holidays off as much as possible.

Although royal duties aren't 9-5, Prince William said on The Reluctant Traveler that "getting the balance of work and family life right is really important" because "the most important thing in [his] life is family". He and Kate are adapting their royal roles around this like Princess Diana did and it's apparently the "first thing" the mum-of-three thinks of when trips are planned.

"She likes to do the school run and all those things," royal commentator Katie Nicholl has claimed. "From my conversations with aides, once a royal trip or engagement is planned, the first thing they ask before looking at the itinerary is, 'How does this work for us as a family?'"

The Royal Family has definitely changed over the years and perhaps Emily and Richard do have a point that this is partly down to Princess Diana and her enduring legacy.

The death of Princess Diana on 31st August 1997 sent shockwaves around the world and amid the outpouring of grief many found it bewildering that Queen Elizabeth was nowhere to be seen. At the time she attracted considerable criticism for initially staying at Balmoral instead of immediately returning to London to mourn with the nation.

However, Dame Helen Mirren believes that the Queen did the "right thing" by putting her grandchildren first following this tragedy. Opening up on the BBC documentary, Queen Elizabeth: Her Story, Our Centenary, which airs at 9pm on 17th April, the actor praised her response.

"Difficult for anyone to really know quite how to handle it," Helen said. "I think she did exactly the right thing. I think she was right to stay in Balmoral with the children and I think when she came out and did the very, very difficult walk by all the flowers and everything, that was the right thing to do."

Queen Elizabeth arrived in London five days after Princess Diana died, the day before her former daughter-in-law’s funeral service. She met with mourners and viewed floral tributes, but she was also aware of how the public had reacted to her absence and addressed this choice in a message broadcast to the nation that evening.

"This week at Balmoral, we have all been trying to help William and Harry come to terms with the devastating loss that they and the rest of us have suffered," she declared. "No-one who knew Diana will ever forget her. Millions of others who never met her, but felt they knew her, will remember her. I for one believe there are lessons to be drawn from her life and from the extraordinary and moving reaction to her death."

She delivered these words from her heart as the "Queen and as a grandmother" and had begun her address by paying tribute to Diana personally.

"She was an exceptional and gifted human being. In good times and bad, she never lost her capacity to smile and laugh, nor to inspire others with her warmth and kindness," she said. "I admired and respected her - for her energy and commitment to others, and especially for her devotion to her two boys."

Queen Elizabeth had responded firstly as a grandmother and then led the nation in mourning as their monarch - and it makes sense why Helen Mirren believes these were the "right" choices. Prince William was 15 and Prince Harry 12 when their mother passed away and the older Prince has said how in the "dark days of grief that followed [he] found comfort and solace in the Scottish outdoors".

Prince Harry has also been open about what it was like grieving Princess Diana in the public eye when they were back in London and seeing thousands of strangers crying for his mother.

"I cried once, at the burial, and you know I go into detail [in Spare] about how strange it was and how actually there was some guilt that I felt, and I think William felt as well, by walking around the outside of Kensington Palace," he said in a 2023 interview. "There were 50,000 bouquets of flowers to our mother and there we were shaking people's hands".

"Everyone thought and felt like they knew our mum, and the two closest people to her, the two most loved people by her, were unable to show any emotion in that moment," Harry added.

Queen Elizabeth II: Her Story, Our Century Sunday 19^th April at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.

Prince William marked UK Mother’s Day this year by sharing a previously unseen photograph of himself as a two-year-old alongside Princess Diana in the picturesque gardens of Highgrove House. Surrounded by wildflowers, including poppies which are traditionally a symbol of remembrance, this was a deeply personal snap.

In his message, the Prince of Wales said he was "remembering [his] mother, today and every day" and thinking of those who are remembering someone they love on Mother’s Day. It was a poignant and sensitive caption, acknowledging that this day can be difficult for many people.

This was also the Waleses’ only post and whilst it was special for William’s tribute to Princess Diana to have the moment it deserves, it could be seen as bittersweet in another way too. It seems that the Prince and Princess of Wales have started a new tradition of honouring mothers without involving Kate directly in pictures or videos.

Back in 2024 when she was undergoing cancer treatment but before she’d made her diagnosis public, her Mother’s Day photo with George, Charlotte and Louis was heavily scrutinised. Kate later issued an apology saying, "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day."

Given how much she was going through behind the scenes at the time, this attention was likely especially hard. The next year in 2025 her Mother’s Day post celebrated Mother Nature and now Prince William has shared one for his own mum.

Up until 2024 the Mother’s Day posts had generally either been tributes to Princess Diana and Carole and Kate or just the Princess of Wales herself. Now perhaps the future Queen just prefers to stay out of the spotlight entirely on this day.

It was such a huge and internationally-discussed moment two years ago that it might have taken the shine off the idea of posting with her children for the occasion. Instead, she’s free to enjoy the day privately with her kids and she and Prince William can still post on Mother’s Day, but in recognition of their own mums or Mother Nature without this level of scrutiny.

The last time Princess Diana appeared in the family’s Mother’s Day pictures was back in 2020 when they shared a selection of snaps of each of their mothers and Kate herself. A year later their caption revealed that Prince George, Charlotte and Louis write Mother’s Day cards addressed to their late grandmother for their dad.

"Each year on Mother’s Day, George, Charlotte and Louis make cards remembering their Granny, Diana, for William," they stated. "Whatever your circumstances, we are thinking of you this Mother’s Day."

This is such a sweet tradition and a lovely way to ensure she remains part of the children’s lives. Whilst some fans might be a little sad not to see Kate represented in some way in this year’s post, it was a beautiful tribute to Diana. The picture is understood to have been from the family’s private collection and was taken back in 1984.

The Duke of Sussex is reportedly planning to make his own documentary about his late mother as part of his multi million-pound deal with Netflix. Details of exactly what this might look like have yet to be released, but the idea of such a project comes as no surprise to me.

The Prince has had to sit back while dozens of documentaries have been made about the parent he lost in August 1997 when he was just 12 years old. In 2008, Harry told me how he wished he could write about his own take on his mother’s life, because he understandably hated the way that other people were profiting from her life and tragic death.

He even went as far as saying he wished he could have a day as editor of The Sun, the newspaper I was working for at the time. We were talking as the royal took part in his cousin Peter Phillips’s stag do on the Isle of Wight.

Princess Diana’s six-month-long inquest had just concluded that her death was an accident, a judgement that clearly bothered the prince greatly. At the time, Harry was in the Army and such a project would have been impossible given he was still very much a part of the Royal Family inner circle and bound by the mantra of "never complain, never explain".

But now he is free to do what he likes and Netflix has perhaps given him the platform that he so desperately craved back then to express his views. I hope Harry does make a documentary about his mother, because it’s something that might help him.

It could be a cathartic exercise, allowing him to put some of his demons to bed. The only snag is that such a project is bound to worry his brother, the Prince of Wales, whose hands are still tied by the constraints of being a full-time working royal.

It seems a shame the brothers can’t work on a documentary about their mother together. It would have a much more powerful impact if they were both involved, even though this is out of the question as things stand.

Perhaps the project will force Harry to speak to his brother and sound him out on what aspects of their mother’s life they want covered. Sources tell me, however, that William is likely to have strong opinions about his brother’s project.

He is deeply sensitive about all issues in relation to his mother. He is understandably very concerned by the reports that Harry might be about to wade into Diana territory.

To say that Harry risks touching a nerve is probably an understatement. It will also be a near-impossible task for him to cover the topic without references to his brother.

He will, in effect, be making a documentary about William, something that will likely enrage our future King. As one source put it, "Making a documentary about Diana is bound to upset William. It is such a sensitive subject, it is hard to imagine Harry would do such a thing without at least consulting the Prince of Wales."

However, as we know, Harry is likely to plough on and do his own thing without sparing a thought for his brother. Yet another sign, I would suggest, that shows how far their lives have drifted apart since the Duchess of Sussex came on to the scene.

William is well known to be stubborn and headstrong when he needs to be. It’s going to take a lot more water to pass under the bridge before he is willing to meet his brother, or even talk to him for that matter.

But he does respect his father, who is not only the King, but head of the family. Charles may well get involved and end up pulling rank. I cannot see him ever backing a documentary about Diana. A time that for him he’d surely prefer to stay in the past.

This article appeared first in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

When you think of the royals and food, State Banquets and formal dinners are probably the first things that come to mind. But if there’s anything we’ve learnt from the Royal Family’s favourite foods, it’s that they’re a lot more down-to-earth than you might think at first.

Take Princess Diana’s favourite breakfast, for example. Her former royal chef, Darren McGrady, has suggested that her go-to breakfast was a simple and quick meal and one that was also massively ahead of its time and has now become a healthy staple in many people’s diets.

Forget poached eggs or show-stopping pancakes, he shared, “Her go-to breakfast was something called overnight oats."

Speaking in a recent video on his YouTube channel, Darren explained that while today we know and love overnight oats for being both a healthy no-cook meal you can easily whip up and one of the best foods to eat in the morning, the late Princess of Wales was ahead of her time by enjoying them for breakfast.

"Now, today, overnight oats are really popular. Everybody's eating them. But they date back to 2012. That's when you couldn't even go on social media without seeing a recipe for overnight oats,” he explained. "But Princess Diana was eating overnight oats almost 20 years earlier, in 1993."

According to the former royal chef, she picked up a love for this breakfast after visiting a wellness retreat in Sweden. After this, Darren supposedly made them for her often after she came back home to the UK.

What gives the oats their name is the same thing that makes them a super quick and easy morning meal. All the preparation is done the evening before, Darren shared, by adding even amounts of rolled oats and freshly squeezed orange juice to a bowl and allowing the mixture to blend in the fridge overnight.

Then, the next morning, you simply have to add some flavouring and topping to your mix before enjoying a fresh and filling breakfast. Princess Diana’s favourite toppings reportedly included fresh blueberries, toasted walnuts, or a honey crisp apple, which the former royal chef would grate on top of the oats.

However, Darren explained that he personally likes to add some Greek yoghurt and a drizzle of honey before going in with a splash of lemon juice and some berries and seeds as a garnish.

"I like to use raw honey, and I'd say with the raw honey, just do that to your taste. If you like it really, really sweet, then obviously put a little bit more in, but not too much," he declared.

Princess Diana’s tragic death on August 31, 1997 left people around the world in shock. Fans mourned her in their millions, but no-one felt the loss quite like her two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, who were just 15 and 12 years old respectively at the time.

Despite losing their mother at such young ages, one of Diana’s former employees has shared why he believes the late Princess is still a guiding presence in the Princes’ lives.

Patrick Jephson, the late Princess of Wales's former private secretary, thinks that she left them "important warnings to heed" and an understanding of the "sacrifice" involved in their roles.

He told PEOPLE, "If they study Princess Diana’s life carefully - and I hope they often do - William, Harry and their advisers will know that she left them many good examples to follow and also a few important warnings to heed."

In his view, the Princess showed them that, "Public affection and the rich rewards of royalty must be earned with self-sacrifice and service."

The former royal staff member, who has previously written a book about his time working with Princess Diana, added, "I’m sure they are grateful that every day she can still guide, comfort and inspire them along the difficult path they were born to follow."

"Prince William and Prince Harry keep their mother's memory alive both privately and publically. We've seen how the Wales kids write Mother's Day cards to 'Granny Diana' and both Charlotte and her cousin Lilibet have Diana as a middle name," explains woman&home's Royal Editor, Emma Shacklock. "And you only have to look at the organisations and causes the brothers champion to see how Diana has inspired them."

The Prince of Wales is deeply committed to tackling homelessness and in the 2024 documentary, Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, he specifically referenced how he's being influenced by her example.

"I have taken some guidance from what my mother did," he explained. Prince William also recalled Diana taking him and Prince Harry to The Passage - an organisation which is working to end homelessness, prevent it and advocate for and with those who feel their voices aren't being heard.

"I must have been about 11, I think probably at the time. Maybe 10,” William shared. “I’d never been to anything like that before. And I was a bit anxious as to what to expect."

He continued, "My mother went about her usual part of making everyone feel relaxed and having a laugh and joking with everyone. I remember at the time kind of thinking, ‘Well, if everyone’s not got a home, they’re all going to be really sad.’ But it was incredible how happy an environment it was."

As well as being very supportive of The Passage, Princess Diana was Patron of youth homeless charity, Centrepoint, and the Prince of Wales became their Patron in 2005.

Similarly, Prince Harry has often walked in his late mother's footsteps when it comes to charity and service - sometimes literally. In the summer of 2025, the Duke of Sussex recreated one of his mother's most famous and poignant charitable moments, walking through a former landmine site in Angola to advocate for a mine-free future.

When Princess Diana walked through the minefield in 1997 in support of the HALO Trust, it made headlines around the world. Recreating the work, HALO Patron Prince Harry powerfully declared, "Children should never have to live in fear of playing outside or walking to school."

A time capsule buried by the late Princess Diana in 1991 at the Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in London was confirmed to have been unearthed earlier this year, even though it had originally been intended to be buried for "hundreds of years."

The fascinating time capsule was dug up after only 34 years because construction work is beginning on a new children’s treatment centre at the hospital.

The capsule is full of things that’ll take people right back to the 1990s heyday, and it was originally conceived as part of the BBC’s Blue Peter television show. In 1991, two children named David Watson and Sylvia Foulkes were chosen to pick 10 items to put in the capsule that was to be buried at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

As part of the process, David and Sylvia would be helped by none other than the president of the children’s hospital, Princess Diana. So, just what was inside?

One of the first items unearthed was a CD (children today might need to be told this was how we listened to music, pre-streaming) of Kylie Minogue’s Rhythm of Love album.

It makes sense. Diana was arguably the most famous princess of the 1990s, and Kylie Minogue was one of the most famous pop princesses of the decade.

As for the rest of the contents, it included:

• A solar-powered calculator
• A pocket television
• Five tree seeds
• A snowflake hologram
• A passport
• A collection of British coins
• A copy of the Times newspaper from the date of the capsule’s burial
• A piece of recycled paper
• A photo of Princess Diana.

Per reports, while some of the artifacts had water damage, photos from the unearthing showed that they're largely intact after nearly 35 years.

Describing the process of the capsule’s retrieval, Jason Dawson, who works with the new Children’s Cancer Centre being constructed at the location of the capsule’s burial, called it "really quite moving."

He shared that it was "almost like connecting with memories of things that have been planted by a generation gone by".

By unearthing the box, he also revealed that they plan to take "the hopes and inspirations of 1991" and reflect new beliefs for the future. Another time capsule will eventually be buried under the finished cancer centre, in a nod to the royal tradition.

Diana’s time capsule wasn’t the first. When Alexandra of Denmark, wife of King Edward VII and a former Queen Empress Consort, was still the Princess of Wales in 1872, she laid the foundation stone of the older hospital building and buried a time capsule of her own.

Per several reports, this included a copy of The Times and a photograph of Queen Victoria in a glass jar, but it has actually never been unearthed or found.

The two Princesses of Wales aren’t the only royal to have buried something away, waiting to be unearthed hundreds of years later. In January 2025, King Charles III put a personal letter in a time capsule, which will be buried in Ayrshire and opened in 100 years, in the year 2125.

When the late Princess Diana's funeral service was held in London in September 1997 the streets were lined with mourners and the Royal Family came together to pay their respects to her. Her sons Prince William and Prince Harry famously walked behind their mother's coffin in the procession, accompanied by Prince Philip and King Charles.

However, one royal who didn't attend the Princess's funeral was Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. Now, writing in his new book, Sophie: Saving the Royal Family, royal biographer Sean Smith has presented a possible "thoughtful" reason for this.

According to him, Duchess Sophie allegedly thought it might have been "too upsetting for the crowd" to witness her there, due to the resemblance between her and Princess Diana.

Sean reportedly claimed in his book, "She had an obvious and reasonable excuse, a friend at the Palace explained, 'Sophie decided it would be too upsetting for the crowd if she went. She's well aware that she looks like Princess Diana from a distance and made her decision in a caring and thoughtful way. The Royal Family fully supported.'"

Royal Editor at woman&home, Emma Shacklock, considers this to be a very Sophie decision, if Sean's claims are indeed correct.

"Whilst we don't know for sure this was the reason, if it was, I think it very much reflects Duchess Sophie's personality," she says. "She's a very considerate and empathetic member of the Royal Family and although Princess Diana was family, her funeral was very public. Taking this into consideration would make sense for Sophie."

At the time of Princess Diana’s funeral, Duchess Sophie was still Prince Edward’s girlfriend. During the mid-1990s when both Duchess Sophie and Princess Diana came on the royal scene, the women were often compared, which allegedly eventually led to a sour relationship.

Many will still vividly remember scenes from the funeral of the late Princess of Wales, with the young Prince William and Prince Harry walking with their father, grandfather and uncle behind her coffin. The added emotions of seeing Sophie, with a very similar blunt, blonde bob to the late Princess, might possibly have proven too much for a grieving nation.

The royal author has also suggested that the similarities between the two women were often discussed in the media before Princess Diana’s death - and put forward the idea this might apparently have led to a strained relationship between the would-be sisters-in-law.

He even claims that Princess Diana would voice her frustration at their comparisons, suggesting she'd supposedly say, "Oh look, here comes my double" or "Here comes Miss Goody Two Shoes".

"The two women did not like each other," Sean claimed in his book, as per The Mirror. "The polite description of their relationship, as preferred by the more diplomatic of Sophie's friends, was to say that there was 'no love lost' between them."

While rumors of Duchess Sophie and Princess Diana’s tensions haven't ever been confirmed by the Royal Family, the Duchess of Edinburgh enjoys a close relationship with her nephew, Prince William, and his family.

Duchess Sophie is often seen laughing with Princess Charlotte during occasions like Trooping the Color, and royal experts have often remarked upon how she has formed a bond with Catherine, Princess of Wales over the years.

We know of so many royal nicknames - from Prince Philip calling Queen Elizabeth "cabbage", to Prince Louis being dubbed "Lou Bugs". But royal codenames are, for obvious reasons, much less talked-about and they provide a certain amount of privacy.

The late Princess Diana is said to have had one during a particular time in her life and it ensured a huge royal secret remained unknown to the public until the right moment. According to People, this intriguing revelation apparently emerges in the upcoming Channel 5 documentary, Secrets of Diana’s Wedding Dress.

Airing at 9pm on 28th June, the programme takes royal fans on a trip down memory lane and features Elizabeth Emanuel, who designed the iconic gown with her then-husband David Emanuel. She allegedly explains that Princess Diana was referred to as "Deborah Cornwall".

"When we started to see Diana, we were just very aware of security, so we decided to call her Deborah. We called her Deborah Cornwall. Isn’t that strange?" she says.

It’s been suggested that Princess Diana’s codename was used whenever they mentioned her or when she made phone calls. The choice of name is rather surprising, although it’s possible that the surname was inspired by one of the titles the Princess would go on to have.

Diana became Duchess of Cornwall when she married the now-King Charles, but was referred to by her more senior title, Princess of Wales. In a twist, the reverse is true for Queen Camilla, who was technically Princess of Wales for 17 years and decided against using this title, reportedly out of respect for Princess Diana.

It’s harder to trace the inspiration for Deborah, though it could just be that they decided upon a name which featured her first initial but bore no other resemblance to her name. This might have made Princess Diana’s codename easier for everyone working on the dress (and the royal herself) to remember without giving the game away.

The tight security paid off and the final wedding dress came as a surprise to the world when Princess Diana stepped out in it on 29th July 1981. Her daughter-in-law Catherine didn’t get quite so lucky when she married Prince William 30 years later.

Although no one knew what the style of her gown would be until she arrived at Westminster Abbey, the Sunday Times reported in March 2011 that it was being designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.

On another Channel 5 documentary, Secrets of the Royal Dressmakers, royal expert Katie Nicholl claimed that the leak had upset Kate in the run-up to the big day.

"Behind the scenes, I think that caused tears at the Palace because Kate had done everything she could to keep the wedding dress a secret," she said.

The Princess of Wales wasn’t as successful as Princess Diana was, but Kate is said to have used a codename at one point - and it also connected to one of her titles. In 2012 the Mail reported that the senior royal ended up leaving her name after she forgot her purse whilst attempting to buy a wetsuit at the Funsport store in Wales.

Arranging to reserve the wetsuit and pop back later, a source alleged that she gave her name as “Mrs Cambridge”. This was in tribute to her Duchess of Cambridge title that she still has alongside her Princess of Wales one.

Boden is one of the very best British clothing brands, so I like to keep a keen eye on the new-in section. And among the classic Breton stripe tops, flattering midi dresses and quirky trench coats they do so well, I spotted this adorable knit.

The repeated sheep print brings to mid the iconic 'black sheep' sweater by Muir and Osborne that Princess Diana famously wore, which sold for $1.1 million a couple of years ago. She was pictured in it on two occasions in the early Eighties, both times layering a white collared blouse underneath.

When you think about Princess Diana's best style moments, a few things spring to mind - perhaps pussybows, polka dots and pearls, but her red sheep print jumper has to be one of the most memorable. You can still buy a version of it by Warm & Wonderful (Muir and Osborne's brand), but at just under £80 with a discount code, Boden's fresh take on the trend is certainly very tempting. Especially with Easter just around the corner...

Shop the Boden sheep jumper

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woman&home's Royal Editor Emma Shacklock tells us why this cutesy knit is still talked about four decades on: "Princess Diana’s sheep jumper is one of those royal clothing pieces that has reached iconic status - just like her so-called ‘Revenge Dress’.

"Cosy and retro-feeling, this jumper is one of those pieces that you could easily throw on with jeans to make a put-together daytime look in minutes and Boden’s new season sheep jumper can be styled like this too. I love the aqua colour for spring and the bigger pattern really makes this stand out."

Princess Diana was the ultimate style icon, with legendary fashion and beauty looks ahead of her time.

The former Princess of Wales underwent various hair transformations throughout her time in the public eye. Known for her signature feathered shag, which recently saw a resurgence in popularity after Elizabeth Debicki's portrayal of Princess Diana in The Crown, as well as the iconic pixie crop she opted for in the '90s, Princess Diana's hair inspired the generations after her, proving how glamorous and feminine short hair could be. Typically, the late Princess of Wales would wear her hair with plenty of volume, whatever the cut, and was no stranger to bold hair accessories and hats.

Princess Diana's hair transformation was about much more than the latest hair trends - it also represented her own style evolution and liberation. "When I met Diana, things were changing," Diana's former hairstylist Sam McKnight told Vogue. "We were moving on from the '80s romantic frills and going much sleeker with short, sharp hair to wear with Chanel and Versace suits of the time. It was all about the power woman look."

Here are some of Princess Diana's best hair looks, cuts and styles to inspire your next salon appointment...

Princess Diana's best hairstyles over the years

1. The blonde shaggy crop

Princess Diana is photographed in Argentina wearing her hair in her signature style - a short blonde crop with a feathery fringe and side parting. The former Princess of Wales wore her blonde hair highlighted for a natural sunkissed look. Diana often accessorised her short hair with statement earrings, like these gold knot earrings, which offer an elegant final touch to her formal outfit.

2. The shorter sunkissed crop

As Princess Diana developed her own personal style, her hair became shorter and blonder. She's pictured here at a reception at Christie's in London, looking radiant with bright blonde highlights and glowing skin. Princess Diana often tucked her hair behind her ears and wore statement earrings for a glamorous look.

3. The featured shag haircut

Another signature haircut for Diana throughout the '80s was a feathered shaggy haircut. During this period, she had more natural tones in her hair, opting for a brighter blonde in the '90s. She's pictured wearing a natural and soft style alongside a sapphire, diamond, and pearl choker and diamond and sapphire earrings for a state banquet in Vienna.

4. The crop and beret combo

Princess Diana wore various statement hats, from berets and trilby hats to glamorous wide-brimmed and oversized sun hats. Here, she's pictured wearing a red beret with a matching jacket for a chic look that works well with her blonde cropped hair. A black necktie and bag complete the bold look perfectly.

5. The black beret and wispy fringe

Diana is pictured looking radiant here wearing a tartan dress designed by Caroline Charles and a black Tam o' shanter-style hat for the Highland Games in Scotland in the '80s in Braemar, Scotland. A 'tam o' shanter' hat - or 'tammie' - is a traditional Scottish bonnet, often worn by men - showing Diana's progressive style, even in her early years in the spotlight.

6. The soft crop

In her early years in the spotlight, Princess Diana wore her hair in soft blonde tones with a grown-out, feathery crop with a side-swept fringe and layers. She swapped out this softer look for a shorter pixie crop in the '90s, but the late Princess of Wales largely stuck to this shaggy haircut throughout her marriage to Charles.

7. The side-parting and glossy highlights

Princess Diana's short hair looks saw her opt for lighter and brighter highlights that matched her glowing tan. Diana is pictured here wearing an embroidered dress by one of the late Princess of Wales's favourite fashion designers, Catherine Walker.

8. The voluminous crop

Princess Diana knew how to make an impact with her hairstyles, with her short hair often worn with plenty of volume and texture. She's pictured here wearing her cropped hair big and bold with a voluminous blow-dry for an appearance in Melbourne in the '80s.

9. The deep side parting

As Princess Diana's style developed, her hairstyles became more refined. Power dressing was a huge part of Diana's '80s and '90s style, with shoulder pads and smart tailoring a regular fixture. To match this, Princess Diana's hair became shorter and sharper with brighter highlights. Here, we see the late Princess of Wales opting for a deep side parting and light blonde highlights.

10. The short crop and full fringe

One of Princess Diana's most memorable hair looks is her short crop and full fringe, with bright blonde highlights. She's pictured wearing a bright red dress by fashion designer Jacques Azagury, her blonde crop looking sunkissed and perfectly styled. Statement pearl earrings finish the glam evening look.

11. The shorter textured crop

Princess Diana opted for a shorter pixie crop and fringe in a fresh and modern style during a trip to Canada. During her visit to Ottawa, Canada, the late Princess of Wales teamed her shorter hair with a sapphire and pearl choker to attend a state dinner. Yet again, her incredible jewellery elevates the look.

12. The styled crop and netted hat

Princess Diana looked elegant for an appearance in Paris in the late '80s to attend a service commemorating the 70th anniversary of the armistice at the Arc de Triomphe. The late Princess of Wales teamed her styled blonde crop with a black hat with netting laid over the top designed by Viv Knowland and a remembrance poppy.

13. The '70s-style hair flick

Princess Diana's hair looks striking in a longer style, with the ends flicked out, a bright blonde shade, and a flattering side parting. The late Princess of Wales wore this '70s style to watch a performance of Swan Lake, wearing a dress designed by one of her favourite fashion designers, Catherine Walker.

14. The wavy crop

Princess Diana's voluminous styles were legendary, and she's pictured here in Italy with a softer, wavy blowdry and a lot of volume. The former Princess of Wales wore sunkissed natural blonde highlights in her hair and a celestial Jacques Azagury gown to attend a mayoral dinner in Florence, Italy, in the '80s.

15. The statement headband and blonde crop

Even during active pursuits, Princess Diana still looked incredibly stylish and put together. In this iconic picture, Diana wore a bright plaited headband in bright colours to match her pink ski suit, keeping her head warm and her blonde crop away from her face during a holiday in Klosters, Switzerland.

16. The shorter pixie crop

Another stylish ski look saw Princess Diana opt for a shorter, spikier style with shorter laters instead of her longer layers and softer waves. The former Princess of Wales looks effortlessly cool with this understated look and oversized black sunglasses while hitting the slopes on a skiing holiday.

17. The glossy crop with lowlights

For a night out at the Costume Institute Gala Honorus for Christian Dior, Princess Diana looked chic in a glossy bob with a side parting and fringe swept to one side. The Princess' sparkling jewellery finishes the stylish look perfectly. Diana's hair is slightly darker here, with the Princess opting for a mix of dark and light blonde shades.

18. The dark blonde soft crop

One of the late Princess of Wales's earliest looks showed her with a natural dark blonde shade and a soft shag hairstyle with long layers. Diana wore her fringe pushed to the side with elegant jewellery to complement her striking red dress for an evening out.

19. The high-volume side sweep

Another signature longer hairstyle for Princess Diana is a side parting with plenty of texture and volume through the roots. This powerful look matches the late Princess of Wales's statement blazer in a check style, with a chic patent clutch to finish the outfit - a much edgier look than some of Diana's earlier styles.

20. The statement hat and blonde waves

Princess Diana's blonde hair is set into gentle waves here, with the style finished off with a pink hat to match her pink polka dot dress. The former Princess of Wales was no stranger to a statement hat, often pairing her hairstyles with a hat or a fascinator.

21. The dark blonde layered crop

Princess Diana looks radiant and elegant in this early photograph, with her hair styled simply with long, soft layers and a full fringe. Before the Princess of Wales went down the highlights route, she wore her hair in a natural dark blonde shade with a few natural highlights throughout the fringe.

22. The wavy crop

Diana looks stylish and put together wearing a beige coat dress with a white collar designed by Catherine Walker and statement sunglasses for a visit to the Karnak Temple Complex in Luxor, Egypt, in the '90s. Sporting a shorter crop, the Princess created texture with some waves and wore the style with plenty of volume.

23. The blown-out wavy bob

One of Diana's sleeker looks in the '80s was a glossy bob with subtle waves; her hair kept soft with a healthy-looking shine. Diana wore this stunning hairstyle for a visit to the St Mary Abbots Church Christmas concert in Kensington, London, teaming the elegant beauty look with a sheer blue dress with gold accents.

24. The natural shag hairstyle

Princess Diana's naturally dark blonde colour was also a striking look, putting the 'shag hairstyle' - typically a short, choppy hairstyle with layers around the crown with a parted fringe - on the map and inspiring future generations. Princess Diana opted for a natural look while attending a performance at the Royal Opera House in the '80s, wrapped up in a sumptuous white coat.

25. The curly short crop

Along with her incredible hats and hair accessories, Princess Diana was often pictured wearing stunning tiaras that suited her shorter styles perfectly. Here, she's opted for an embroidered evening dress by Catherine Walker and the Spencer tiara, her short hair styled in curls, to attend a state banquet hosted by South Korean President Roh Tae-woo at the Blue House in Seoul, South Korea.

26. The short and textured pixie crop

As we moved into the '90s, Princess Diana's hair was often cut shorter, in more daring styles. The Princess became famous for her signature pixie crop with short layers and a full fringe. She's pictured here with the wind blowing through her textured and volumised 'do during a visit to Seville in Spain.

27. The oversized beret and sweeping fringe

The Princess of Wales matched her caramel-toned hair with a suede beret by John Boyd and a coatdress by Arabella Pollen for a polished look. The late Princess of Wales' cropped hair is brushed into a side parting with volume through the fringe - a signature style of Diana.

28. Gentle curls and a volumised fringe

For a royal appearance in Kent, Princess Diana wore her hair in soft curls with plenty of volume through the fringe and a boxy pink hat to finish the look. Her hair is worn with lighter sections throughout the front. True to form, the late Princess of Wales finished the elegant look with statement earrings with a twist detail.

29. The side-sweep crop with silk flowers

Princess Diana often dressed up her short hair with different accessories to show her style and add some personality to her looks. During a visit to Thailand, she styled a pink and red dress with silk flowers in her short crop for an elegant and fun look.

30. An elegant pinned back style with a longer bob

Princess Diana's long bob looks stylish in one of her earlier appearances, pinned back with volumised sections through the fringe and side sections. The Princess' blonde hair is set in loose waves and has lighter blonde highlights that pop with Diana's bold pink jacket. Simple pearl earrings finish the look perfectly.

31. The volumised blonde bob with shorter roots

Princess Diana looked radiant for a dinner and dance event in Sydney, wearing her blonde pixie crop with plenty of volume, highlights and a slightly darker root on show. Ahead of her time, Diana wore early iterations of the balayage trend with graduating highlights throughout her time in the public eye.

32. Slicked back hair

Princess Diana pioneered 'wet-look' hair, slicking back her cropped blonde hair for special occasions, offering a smooth, sleek finish and an edgier look than classic curly styles. Bold statement earrings and an incredible pearl choker complete the look, which the late Princess of Wales wore to a dinner in the '90s.

Princess Diana’s lookalike nieces, Lady Amelia and Lady Eliza Spencer, have convinced us that micro bags are a must-have for summer after the Chelsea Flower Show.

It’s essential to have timeless handbags in your summer capsule wardrobe that fit everything you could ever want for a sunny day-trip or evening out, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a few more statement pieces too. Micro-bags aren’t ever going to be the most practical but Princess Diana’s lookalike nieces Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia Spencer have proved that they can really elevate a look to new heights.

Stepping out at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show the Spencer twins went for a similar colour palette with their very different outfits and added a playful touch with their bags. Lady Eliza opted for a gorgeous navy blue wrap dress with a tailored collar and angled cap sleeves designed by one of the Princess of Wales’s go-tos, Edeline Lee.  

Shop Colourful Micro Bags Like Lady Eliza

Shop Neutral Micro Bags Like Lady Amelia

The dress fell elegantly to her knees and she kept things simple with her footwear and went for a pair of subtle nude-beige sandals. Although navy is often overlooked as a neutral, it’s incredibly wearable and a great alternative to black and white with a lot of warm undertones to it.

This staple, easy-to-wear base for Lady Eliza’s outfit is something that can easily be dressed down with a pair of the best white trainers or up with heels, making it a great day-to-night piece. For special occasions or evenings you might even be tempted to follow in her footsteps and add a pop of colour with a micro bag to enhance your favourite navy dress. 

Hers was a quilted Chanel bag in a vibrant jade green that looked stunning against the lush greenery and magnificent floral displays of Chelsea. The design was something a little different from the often-seen classic flap bags and the colour was a lovely choice for summer and one that can easily brighten up a simple outfit.

Lady Amelia mirrored her sister’s green and blue tones with her £1,200 Edeline Lee dress which is still available on Harrods right now. With a fabulous waist belt that accentuated her waist, this sophisticated midi dress incorporated white, navy and teal tones. The ruffle along the skirt was a beautiful detail and she kept things more minimal with her white micro bag.

This was a luxurious £650 Jimmy Choo Bonny bag and a white micro bag with gold hardware is always a timeless choice. Whilst it might not seem like the most practical colour for a much-used accessory, a white bag is neutral and can be effortlessly styled with so many other shades. The twins took a very different approach with their micro bags, from colourful to neutral, but they showed how effective these accessories can be.

A micro bag is one of the spring/summer handbag trends for 2024 and has been increasingly popular in recent years. It’s a lovely choice for a special event or evening occasion in particular where you don’t need to carry a lot of things with you. They add a sense of fun to any look and although there are so many alternative styles available on the high street, Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia Spencer both carried their micro bags by the top handle strap. This gave their bags an even more contemporary edge and make them a stunning focal point of the outfit. 

Whilst we might have been tentative before, Princess Diana's lookalike nieces' Chelsea Flower Show looks have got us inspired to try out the micro bag trend for ourselves this summer.

Royal brides' "something blue" aren't always noticeable but plenty of royal weddings have included sweet blue details.

Royal weddings are always iconic occasions with plenty of special moments, from the first sight of the dress to the spectacular floral arrangements. In recent years fans have been treated to multiple royal weddings as many of the late Queen Elizabeth’s grandchildren have tied the knot. Each of these ceremonies was incredibly personal and it seems that several of the royal brides wanted to uphold the tradition of having something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. 

This saying can be traced back to an Old English rhyme from the Victorian era which has another detail - a sixpence in your shoe. Whilst it’s not surprising that the Princess of Wales probably didn’t stick to that one, she and other royals are understood to have incorporated "something blue" into their days. If you’ve ever been curious about royal brides’ "something blue", then here’s all you need to know about these largely unseen details.

The Princess of Wales

Everything from who Kate’s bridesmaids were to who designed her magnificent wedding dress has attracted interest from fans over the years, but her choice of "something blue" is just as intriguing. According to British Vogue, the now-Princess of Wales reportedly had a secret blue ribbon sewn into her Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen dress. 

This wasn’t something that we could have seen on the wedding day but if this was the case, then it was also a lovely tribute to her late mother-in-law Princess Diana who took a similar approach when it came to her something blue. Equally, Kate’s engagement ring with its iconic deep blue sapphire could also have counted as another "something blue" - and as it was once Princess Diana’s ring, this would also be a sweet nod to her.  

Meghan Markle

Meghan Markle’s wedding dress designed by Clare Waight Keller also had a hidden "something blue" and this was something that the Duchess of Sussex herself later confirmed. Speaking on the 2018 ITV documentary, Queen of the World, Meghan explained that they had sewn in a piece of blue fabric from a dress she’d worn on her first date with Prince Harry.

"Somewhere in here, there’s a piece of blue fabric that’s stitched inside - it was my something blue," Meghan shared. "It’s fabric from the dress I wore on our first date."

She didn’t specifically reveal where it was sewn in but later on in 2023, Clare Waight Keller claimed to Vanity Fair that it had been stitched into the hem of Meghan’s wedding dress, ensuring that she was the "only one" that knew it was there. 

She added that the dress the fabric had been taken from had a "little blue gingham check" design. Just like her sister-in-law, the choice to add blue material as her "something blue" could be seen as a tribute to Princess Diana and Meghan also went on to wear her late mother-in-law’s stunning aquamarine ring to her wedding reception.

Zara Tindall

Interestingly, Zara Tindall’s "something blue" is something that seems to have broken royal protocol - but in the best way! She tied the knot with Mike Tindall in Scotland just a few months after the Prince and Princess of Wales’s wedding and although fans didn’t get a glimpse of her feet underneath her Stewart Parvin wedding gown, she apparently had "bright electric blue" nail polish on her toes for her special day. The equestrian royal revealed this fun detail during an interview with The Times a month afterwards when she was still wearing the same colour.

"Yeeess," she said, apparently "wiggling her toes" in her brightly coloured Havaianas flip-flops. "I got married with them this colour. It was my ‘something blue’." 

Having electric blue toenails might not be many royal brides’ "something blue" of choice and it seemingly goes against a royal beauty protocol. During the late Queen Elizabeth’s reign she supposedly favoured pinky-nude shades of nail polish with a more natural finish. Although it wasn’t necessarily an official rule that had to be followed, her preferences are something that many other royal women tended to stick to as well. 

Zara’s choice to wear bright blue polish on her toes brought a playful and personal touch to her wedding day, whilst she opted for a soft pinky shade on her fingernails, having the best of both worlds.

Princess Eugenie

For her autumn wedding in 2018, Princess Eugenie’s "something blue" appears to have been the blue thistles in her bouquet. These bold blooms made an instant statement as soon as she arrived at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle for the ceremony and a thistle was the biggest flower in Jack Brooksbank’s buttonhole for their wedding too. Surrounded by otherwise all-white flowers in Princess Eugenie’s bouquet, the blue thistles stood out all the more and were the only obviously blue detail in her wedding day look. 

Although it’s possible that she also had a more subtle or secret "something blue" included in her dress or another part of her outfit, the blue flowers seem the most likely candidate to fit in with this part of the rhyme. Thistles are also the national flower of Scotland, whose national flag is blue and white, and her choice could’ve been a lovely nod to her family’s Scottish heritage.

Princess Diana

Like both of her daughters-in-law, Princess Diana went down the blue fabric route when it came to her "something borrowed". She is said to have had a blue bow sewn inside the bodice of her Elizabeth and David Emmanuel dress which was her "something blue".

Her "something old" was the antique lace from Queen Mary that also featured on the gown and as another little good luck charm, Princess Diana apparently had a 18 carat gold, diamond-studded horseshoe trinket sewn into her dress too.

Did Queen Elizabeth have something blue at her wedding?

Unlike so many other royal brides, Queen Elizabeth isn’t believed to have had a "something blue" at her wedding to Prince Philip in 1947 and there was certainly nothing obviously blue in her outfit. However, whilst she might not have had a blue good luck charm incorporated into her wedding look, as per the BBC she did have a secret detail embroidered on to her coronation dress. The designer, Norman Hartnell, secretly added an extra four leaf clover on the skirt for good luck.

Queen Elizabeth also used to favour wearing shades of blue to the weddings of her nearest and dearest. This included Princess Margaret’s wedding to Antony Armstrong-Jones, Princess Anne’s first wedding to Captain Mark Phillips, King Charles’s wedding to Princess Diana, Prince Andrew’s wedding to Sarah Ferguson and then the weddings of Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice.

Known for her timeless style, down-to-earth humour, and humanitarian work Princess Diana inspired from the get-go. Thrust into the spotlight at the tender age of 19 she fast learned how to navigate life on a global stage, but her royal duties also afforded her to delight in one of her favourite pastimes - travel.

During her 15-year marriage to Charles, Diana undertook numerous royal tours, travelling the world to meet with communities and well-wishers the world over. Yet once the ill-fated marriage came to an end, Princess Diana’s wanderlust only amplified. As well as taking exotic holidays, visiting Europe's hidden gems and heading off on whirlwind city breaks, she also discovered places like Angola and Bosnia as part of her work with The British Red Cross and The Halo Trust, where she worked to highlight the catastrophic issue of unexploded landmines. Here are some of the places Princess Diana enjoyed visiting.

32 places Princess Diana loved to spend time at

Nevis Island, Caribbean

The volcanic landscape of Nevis, surrounded by translucent waters and powdery white sand interspersed with just a handful of luxurious hotels and no international flights ensured the low-key island was pretty much a paparazzi-free haven for the late Princess. Her 1993 Caribbean hideout of choice was Montpelier Plantation Beach, a rugged, mostly undiscovered place that not only Diana loved but according to her former bodyguard, her boys cherished too. Ken Wharfe notes in his book, Diana: Closely Guarded Secret, "Harry particularly loved the place. It was not a five-star venue, but unique in so many ways. Rugged beaches and journeys in an open-top battered Toyota truck". It’s no surprise then, that Prince Harry later returned to Nevis during his tour of the Caribbean in 2016.

Lech, Austria

This skiing hotspot is not only Diana’s but also one of the royal family’s favourite holiday destinations. Diana frequented the alpine village numerous times throughout the 90s, often opting for Hotel Arlberg as her lodgings of choice. Diana loved to ski alongside William and Harry, and in his book Spare Prince Harry fondly writes about the family trips to Lech, even recalling a time as an adult when he was considering moving to the Austrian village more permanently. 

Taj Mahal, Agra, India

While marriage breakdown rumours were swirling at the time, Princess Diana said her experience of the monumental Taj Mahal was "fascinating and very healing". The resulting image of Diana sitting alone in front of the epic ivory-white marble mausoleum became one of the most memorable photographs of the Princess's seven-day trip to India if not one of the most famous images of all time. Diana spent over an hour contemplating the Taj’s beauty before writing, "A beautiful monument" in the visitors' book. Though she visited India multiple times, her first visit in 1992 when she also visited Delhi, Hyderabad, and Kolkata is perhaps her most known.

Enugu, Nigeria

Known as a major coal mining centre, Nigeria’s Enugu captured Princess Diana’s heart when she visited in 1990. Wearing a pale blue Catherine Walker dress with white pumps and her trademark gold earrings the people’s princess talked with the local community after watching a show performed especially for her visit. During her time in the West African country, Diana particularly enjoyed the company of Maryam Babangida, the First Lady of Nigeria, and the pair were seen laughing and chatting on many occasions throughout the trip. 

Giza, Egypt

Diana visited the pyramids on the Giza Plateau in Egypt in 1992 as part of a solo trip a few months after her separation from the then Prince Charles was confirmed. She declared the pyramids "breathtaking" and looked relaxed at the ancient site, despite claims by photographer Kent Gavin that she had initially been reluctant to pose in front of the pyramids. The Egyptian jaunt also saw the princess visiting the Cairo Institute for Polio Rehabilitation before her trip to the Pyramids and Sphinx on the Giza plateau.

Huambo, Angola

In her own words, Diana had an “intense four days in Angola” where she got to see a great deal and meet with people affected by landmines. Of the trip - one of her most important as a humanitarian outside of the Royal Family, she said, “Angola is an example of what the Red Cross can achieve around the world.” She also noted a kind of freedom she’d not witnessed on tours before revealing to ITN that she’d been able to have “more contact with people and fewer formalities” concluding that it was the type of programme she’d been looking for. Diana was “very happy” with what she and The Red Cross had achieved in her plight to bring awareness to the campaign for a worldwide ban on mines.

Khyber Pass, Pakistan

The set of images from Diana’s time at Pakistan’s Khyber Pass exode pure joy as she jokes around with military police from the Khyber Rifles Regiment, part of the Frontier Corps. The mountain pass that links Afghanistan and Pakistan was a stopping point during her 1991 trip but the Princess of Wales loved Pakistan so much she travelled to the country twice more in 1996 and 1997.

Sydney, Australia

At just 22 years old, Australia marked Princess Diana’s first royal tour in 1983 where the royal spent over a month in Australia and New Zealand with the then Prince of Wales and a baby Prince William. While the trip has been cemented in time in Netflix’s The Crown, the iconic tour down under wasn’t all doom and gloom. The young royal loved spending time exploring the wildlife and nature of the country and engaging with crowds who were enthralled by the fashionable princess. It was this tour that really highlighted Diana’s popularity, overshadowing the future king and thrusting her into the spotlight even more.

Kolkata, India

Princess Diana loved spending time at Mother Teresa's home in Kolkata which she first visited in 1992 as part of her seven-day tour to India with Prince Charles. During this visit, she didn’t get to meet the Nobel laureate herself since she was in Rome recovering from heart trouble. Still, Diana did get to spend time with Mother Teresa's second-in-charge, sister Lynne Frederick, and said of the visit that it was “a deeply spiritual experience”. Diana later flew to Rome to see the then 82-year-old missionary, who had been too ill to attend their scheduled meeting in Kolkata and the pair formed an unwavering bond until they reunited once more in the Bronx, New York just a few months before Diana’s and then Mother Teresa’s death.

Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Diana’s time in New Zealand was historic for many reasons but the most notable was the moment she took a ride in a Māori Waka (canoe) as she was transported to Te Tii Waitangi Marae, next to the Waitangi River mouth in New Zealand’s magical Bay of Islands. Situated at the top of the country’s north island, the area is known for its wild dolphins and alluring landscapes. Diana visited New Zealand with Charles and William in 1983, while Prince Edward was also visiting the country to teach history at Whanganui Collegiate School. This was Diana’s only trip to New Zealand but it didn’t stop her from falling in love with the awe-inspiring place, upon returning to England she told royal biographer Andrew Morton that she was a "different person".

Necker Island, Caribbean

This private island paradise owned by Sir Richard Branson is a stunning and unspoiled area part of the Caribbean that Diana adored. Sitting in turquoise waters surrounded by coral reefs and fringed with beautiful white sandy beaches it’s no surprise that Diana visited Necker Island at least twice over the years, taking her young family with her in 1990. 

Flat 60, Coleherne Court, London

Documented as the place Princess Diana was most content, flat 60 in a large apartment block on London’s Old Brompton Road was the princess's home for two years, between 1979 to 1981. Before she married into the Royal Family Diana bought the flat using inheritance money, renting out the spare rooms to friends. according to Andrew Morton’s book Diana, In Her Own Words, Diana described her time at the flat as “the happiest time of her life”.

Mallorca, Spain

With no shortage of incredible things to do in Mallorca, Diana relished spending time on the quaint Spanish Isle visiting numerous times over the years. Before she married the then Prince Charles she visited as a teenager with friends, then later with Charles and her two young sons, William and Harry. During this trip, the royals spent time with the Spanish royal family, King Juan Carlos I of Spain, his wife Queen Sofia, and their children, Elena, Cristina, and Felipe. Following her separation from Charles, Diana returned once more where she stayed at Hotel La Residencia in Deya, then owned by her close friend, Sir Richard Branson.

Uluru, Australia

Majestic Uluru marked one of the first stops on Diana and Charle’s month-long tour of Australia where the couple climbed the sacred site. Since Diana was wearing a dress it was reported that she hesitated during the climb, but according to the Sydney Morning Herald it was “because she knew that coming down would expose her knees and petticoat to the world’s press.” Princess Diana spent a lot of time in Australia before her marriage to Charles since her mother had a beach house on the coast in New South Wales. The scenic Australian outback and endless coastline always held a special place in Diana’s heart. 

Rajasthan, India

The day before Valentine’s Day in 1992, Diana loved spending time in Nalu village in Rajasthan, India as part of her royal tour with the then Prince Charles. Diana was welcomed to the village by dancers before a puppet show was put on for the Princess. Diana became enamoured with India during the seven-day tour where she visited the awe-inspiring Taj Mahal, Kolkata, and the country's bustling capital Dehli. The couple also attended a polo match in Jaipur and Diana was spotted wearing a selection of dresses and suits by Catherine Walker, the designer also favoured by Duchess Kate.

Florida, USA

Princess Diana visited Florida twice during her lifetime, with the first taking place in 1985 when she presented prizes at a polo match in Wellington, Palm Beach County. The then Prince Charles competed in the match and the jaunt marked the final stop of the couple’s stateside trip. Visiting once again in 1993 alongside Princes William and Harry, the royal family members famously took a special trip to Disney World opting for the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa as their base, the large hotel that is said to be one of Disney World's most luxurious.

St Tropez, France

Undoubtedly, one of Princess Diana's best fashion moments is when she sported that iconic acid green one-piece aboard Mohamed Al Fayed's Yacht. Docked on the shores of France’s St Tropez Diana, Dodi, William, and Harry spent idyllic days swimming and sunbathing. In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry notes, “There was much laughter, horseplay, the norm whenever Mummy and Willy and I were together, though even more so on that holiday. Everything about that trip to St. Tropez was heaven. The weather was sublime, the food was tasty, Mummy was smiling."

Doha, Qatar

Diana took a shine to Doha in 1986 when she spent time in the Persian Gulf visiting the city’s gardens, museums, and schools before being whisked off to the desert. It was here she became deeply interested in the ancient art of falconry, a popular pastime in Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries. After enjoying tea, the Princess attended her first camel racing event which she loved. 

Tuzla, Bosnia

Diana’s trip to Bosnia was her last ever official engagement, undertaken just a few weeks before her death. The late Princess arrived at Sariavo airport on August 8, 1997, before visiting victims of landmines in her crusade to ban the savage remnants of Bosnia's three-year war. As part of the visit, Diana made a surprise visit to the Suljkanovic family near Tuzla to meet with Muhamed Suljkanovic, the father of the family, who had lost both his feet after stepping on a land mine in a forest near his home. While the nature of the trip was sad, Diana enjoyed her time in Bosnia immensely, having been consumed by her humanitarian work, a part of her life that brought her so much joy. 

Venice, Italy

Like many travel lovers, Diana was mesmerised by the waters of Venice and her fascination leading her to the Italian islands many times throughout her lifetime. Talking about her first time in the city Diana remarked on “how kind and wonderful” the Italian people she met had been to her, commenting, “We’ve felt so much at home, it’s the most beautiful place.” Years later, Diana returned to Venice once again to attend the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice for a reception as part of the Biennale exhibition in 1995.

Terathum, Nepal

The Princess visited Nepal between the 2nd and the 6th of March 1993 on her first official solo visit abroad since her separation from Prince Charles. Staying at the British Embassy rather than the Palace with the Nepalese Royal Family the visit was part of a partnership with the British Red Cross Youth and the Leprosy Mission. While in Nepal Princess Diana held leprosy patients' hands and sat on their beds, something the British media at the time were advising against. When talking to Nepal's minister-in-waiting, Ram Hari Joshi, before boarding her flight home talked about how she had thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

Islamabad, Pakistan

Surrounded by a group of young women at a university students' lunch at the hilltop garden of Daman-e-Koh, this marked Diana’s first time visiting Islamabad, a place she would return to in the years that followed. During the trip, Diana fell in love with the city of Islamabad, visiting schools and the Norpoor Family Welfare Centre in the capital, where she was also given an ornate garland. 

Thumamah, Saudi Arabia

Wearing a blue-and-white silk kameez with a white silk salwar designed by Catherine Walker, Diana visited a Bedouin camp in the Thumamah area of Saudi Arabia in 1986. Enthralled by the culture and hospitality of the country the Princess enjoyed a desert picnic as part of the same trip which she took alongside the then-Prince Charles. While the country was much hotter than the princess had been led to believe she styled it out in a selection of stunning outfits and timeless fold jewellery. 

Patagonia, Argentina

The wild beauty of Argentina’s Patagonia enthralled the princess as she spent her time whale-watching in the south before heading back to the buzz of the city where she stunned royal fans by stepping out in a bright red halterneck dress for an evening watching tango in the country’s capital, Buenos Aires. The trip was undertaken by Diana in her newly-defined role as a goodwill ambassador for Britain. The visit, which was the Princess of Wales' first international engagement since her controversial Panorama interview, was seen as an important step in the warming of relations between the UK and Argentina.

The Vatican, Rome, Italy

Princess Diana met with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 1985 alongside Prince Charles. The princess wore a calf-length black lace dress by Catherine Walker and, in keeping with Vatican protocol, a black lace veil to cover her head. Enthralled by the impressive surroundings Diana and Charles returned later the same day to absorb the atmosphere and beauty of the Sistine Chapel. It’s reported that a request by the couple to attend a papal Mass was overruled by Buckingham Palace.

Kyoto, Japan

A traditional Japanese tea ceremony with Prince Charles at Nijo Castle marked the start of a long Japanese love affair for Diana as she returned to the country twice more during her life. On this trip, in May of 1986, Diana sipped green tea and was gifted a peach-coloured kimono that took six months to craft. She also enjoyed visiting the Shugakuin Imperial Villa and taking a stroll in the colourful gardens. 

Cape Town, South Africa

Diana was extremely familiar with Cape Town since her brother Charles had relocated to the South African city to escape media attention in 1995. She loved spending time in Cape Town and is seen here on one of the more memorable trips where she met with the late South African President Nelson Mandela. Diana visited Nelson Mandela at his home where this image was captured in 1997. It’s a moment that creates warm memories for Prince Harry, who later said of the image which hangs on his wall, "When I first looked at the photo, straight away what jumped out was the joy on my mother’s face. The playfulness, cheekiness, even. Pure delight to be in communion with another soul so committed to serving humanity."

Rio de Janero, Brazil

As part of a trip to Rio in 1991, Diana became just like any other tourist milling around and managed to get a quick snap of her standing in front of the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue that watches over the city. The princess visited several hospitals caring for abandoned street children and was given a rose by a little girl as she left her Rio hotel. 

Hong Kong, China

It’s been said that Diana loved Hong Kong so much she was about to make her third trip to the city before her untimely death. Seen here on her first trip to the bustling metropolis, she was presented with garlands on a visit to Has Tamar, a British Forces shore base. During her second visit, the princess checked into a suite on the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and later attended a dinner in aid of the Leprosy Mission at The Peninsula Hotel.

Ontario, Canada

Diana took her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, on a private ride aboard the 'Maid of the Mist' sightseeing boat to get up close to Niagara Falls in 1991. A Director of Public Relations for the Niagara Parks Commission said of the time, “It was 3 hours that I would not forget. Even though there was damp and cold with a heavy mist in the air that didn’t prevent any of us from having a great time. While they were here they mingled with the large crowd at the edge of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls at Table Rock, enjoyed a private lunch at the Commissioner’s Quarters of the Victoria Park Restaurant (now Edgewaters) followed by a private ride aboard the Maid of the Mist. This seemed to be the highlight of the day, especially for the children, and almost on cue the rain stopped and the sun came out as we began our 25-minute ride to the base of the falls.” 

Salamanca, Spain

As one of the most beautiful World Heritage cities in Spain, it’s easy to see why Lady Di enjoyed stunning Salamanca with its pretty cobbled streets and important historical architectural heritage. For her visit, the people of the town held a special party and threw down capes for the Princess to walk across after being serenaded with typical Spanish music in 1987. 

Lahore, Pakistan

Since Diana was good friends with Jemima and Imran Khan who were both based out in Pakistan at the time, Diana spent a lot of time in Lahore across three separate visits where she would visit hospitals and places of interest around the city. During her final visit to the stunning country in 1997 she spent more time with Imran Kahn and was also dating Imran’s cousin, surgeon Hasnat Khan. The love affair was so special that allegedly Diana said she "wanted to marry him, even if that meant living in Pakistan."

Hawaii, USA

Diana found a haven in the tropical island paradise of Hawaii staying at the beachfront Kahala Hilton Hotel in Honolulu in 1985. It was her very first visit to the United States but she returned many times finding the island’s botany fascinating. Official lei greeters for the state presented the princess with a five-strand pikake lei, made with flowers that represent romance and love, having been brought to the Hawaiian islands in the 1800s. But the gifts didn’t stop there as Diana was also given two aloha t-shirts for William and Harry. 

Away from the red carpet and royal engagements, Princess Diana's off-duty outfits show off her innate sense of style to a T. In fact - forget the glamorous ballgowns and sleek skirt suits - the looks the mother-of-two wore in her downtime are some of her most memorable.

From gym workouts to the school run and polo days to the ski slopes, the Princess of Wales ensured her attire was always on point - and her looks were some of the best royal off-duty outfits. While she loved to make a fashion statement - with her 'black sheep' jumper, Philadelphia Eagles varsity jacket and pink gingham trousers being three of her most iconic wardrobe items - she was also a fan of the classics. Her go-to items included blue Levi jeans, black oversized blazers and chunky white trainers.

Prince William and Prince Harry's mother may have been a princess, but she sure knew how to mix things up - and the outfits she wore away from royal engagements enshrined her as the queen of cool. What's more, many of the looks we've rounded up for you here, are so good they'll simply never fall out of style...

32 of Princess Diana's off-duty outfits

1. Virgin Atlantic sweater

One of Princess Diana's best fashion moments was rather unexpected. The royal mother-of-two was snapped wearing a navy sweater - branded with her friend Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic company - while departing the Chelsea Harbour Club gym in London in 1995. She paired it with orange cycling shorts and white trainers in a look that has become iconic.

2. 'Black sheep' jumper

Many speculated that the then-Princess of Wales was trying to make a point when she wore a 'black sheep' jumper to the Guards Polo Club in Windsor in 1983 - two years after her royal wedding. She paired the Muir and Osborne piece with a pair of white trousers and tan-brown ballet flats.

3. Philadelphia Eagles jacket

Princess Diana brought serious style to the school run. In 1991, she dropped off Prince Harry at Wetherby School in London in a green Philadelphia Eagles varsity jacket, which she dressed up with a black pencil skirt and gold belt.

4. Leopard print swimsuit and sarong

Princess Diana looked chic holidaying on Sir Richard Branson's island of Necker in the British Virgin Islands in 1990. She was seen playing barefoot on the sand with her sons in a leopard print swimsuit and matching sarong.

5. Blazer-over-sweater combo

As the years passed, Princess Diana became more confident with her sense of style. She swapped floral tea dresses for a cooler look at Guards Polo Club in Windsor in 1988 - wearing a black blazer over a white British Heart Foundation sweater with a navy baseball cap, blue jeans and brown boots.

6. Tie-dye strappy mini-dress

Just weeks before she was tragically killed in a Paris car crash in 1997, Princess Diana was seen on holiday in St Tropez, France. The royal mother-of-two looked stunning in a green and purple tie-dye effect mini-dress that was perfect for the hot weather.

7. Pleated blue midi-dress

Princess Diana may have been off-duty, but she was the epitome of elegance in a pale blue midi-dress - featuring large gold buttons and pleating - at the Cartier International Polo match in Windsor in 1989. She paired the Catherine Walker design with white heels.

8. Sweatpants and boots combo

For the school drop-off in London in 1989, the Princess of Wales opted for a particularly head-turning ensemble. She wore a white sweater beneath a black blazer, which she paired with white sweatpants tucked into brown boots - sweeping up her blonde hair into a baseball cap.  

9. Red varsity jacket

Princess Diana looked sharp as she dropped off her youngest son Prince Harry at Wetherby School in London in 1992 - the year she separated from Prince Charles. She paired a red and black varsity jacket with a pair of blue jeans, and added gold hooped earrings and brown boots.  

10. Belted pink midi-dress

For a summer's day in London in 1989, the Princess of Wales kept cool in a pale pink button-through midi-dress - cinched in with a tan-brown belt. She accessorised the look, for collecting Prince Harry from nursery, with a pair of gold ballet flats.

11. Suede brown skirt

In a seriously stylish autumnal look, Princess Diana did the school drop-off in 1988 in a slouchy cream turtleneck tucked into a brown suede A-line skirt - a look that is the essence of quiet luxury. She accompanied Prince Charles to Prince William's London school, and the then-couple departed with Prince Harry.

12. Cobalt blue scarf

Princess Diana knows the power of a carefully chosen accessory. In 1986, she was spotted dropping Prince William off at nursery in London in a black jacket with polka dot-print trousers and knee-high black boots. However, she added a dash of colour in the form of a cobalt blue scarf.

13. White pleated skirt

We love the elegant but relaxed ensemble that Princess Diana wore to the polo in 1987. She was seen guiding her youngest son across the grass in a white and navy printed sweater over a long pleated white skirt, which she dressed up with gold ballet flats.

14. Straight-leg floral trousers

While it may not have been the most practical attire for hanging out with horses, Princess Diana looked stunning while leading a Shetland pony on the grounds of Highgrove House in 1986. She paired a pale pink ruffled-neck blouse with a pair of floral trousers and wore a cream jumper tied around her waist.

15. Knitted v-neck jumper

Princess Diana first introduced the world to her wardrobe of quirky jumpers shortly before her 1981 wedding to Prince Charles. She participated in a photocall with her fiancé near Balmoral wearing a bright pink printed number with green corduroy trousers, red socks and Wellington boots.

16. Polka dot-print skirt

We loved Princess Diana's stylish look for a polo match at the Guards Polo Club in Windsor in 1986. She pushed fashion boundaries in a white sweater, complete with red detailing, along with a white and red polka dot-print A-line skirt by Mondi.

17. Denim shirt and florals

If you're after a fresh way to wear a denim shirt, then take inspiration from Princess Diana's 1990 trip to Cirencester Hospital where her husband Prince Charles was being treated for an arm injury. She wore the wardrobe essential over a white T-shirt and tucked it into a floral midi-skirt which she cinched in with a tan brown belt. 

18. Stars and stripes sweater

Princess Diana headed to the Chelsea Harbour Club gym in London in 1994 in a stylish workout look. She paired a sweater that seemed to be inspired by the US flag - printed with blue and white stars as well as red stripes - with navy cycling shorts and finished off the relaxed look with white trainers and ankle socks. 

19. All-red jumper and skirt

For Prince Harry's first day at Wetherby School in London - where he was joining his brother Prince William as a pupil - Princess Diana opted for an eye-catching all-red look. She paired a sweater, featuring gold detailing, over a long red skirt and finished off the smart ensemble with matching ballet flats.

20. Chanel striped cardigan

Princess Diana invested in good-quality classics for her off-duty wardrobe. To visit Prince William's school in 1989 with then-husband Prince Charles, she wore a striped black Chanel cardigan - which she paired with a cream pleated skirt and white heels.

21. 'Polo player' jumper

Given the numerous occasions Princess Diana watched polo, it is perhaps unsurprising that she nodded to the sport in a navy jumper she wore for a 1986 flight. She paired it with a cream pleated skirt and black heels for the journey up to Scotland where the family were heading to Balmoral.

22. Dusky pink accessories

Accessories can make or break an outfit, as Princess Diana proved time and again. The royal made an appearance at the Guards Polo Club in Windsor in 1983 in a printed jacket and pleated white skirt. However, she elevated the ensemble with a dusky pink handbag and a pair of matching kitten heels.

23. 'Koala' print sweater

Princess Diana did maternitywear in style. The expectant mother was seen in 1982  - while seven months pregnant with Prince William - watching the polo at Windsor in a comfortable but eye-catching ensemble. Her koala-print jumper and red trousers were quite the combo. 

24. Double-denim skiwear

Few loved denim quite like Princess Diana - who even wore it on the slopes. The royal mother-of-two wowed in a denim shirt and matching jeans combo while on a skiing holiday with her sons in Lech, Austria in 1993. She kept cosy in a black jacket and white snow boots. 

25. Cream pussy-bow blouse

Princess Diana had a particular knack for smart-casual, a dress code she nailed with aplomb at the polo over the years. She visited Cowdray Park Polo Club in West Sussex in 1983 in a cream pussy-bow blouse tucked into a pair of striped blue and white trousers.

26. Coral bicycle shorts

We loved the gym look that Princess Diana wore to exercise in at the Chelsea Harbour Club in London in 1994. She looked effortlessly cool in a place blue sweater and coral cycling shorts, which she paired with white ankle socks and white trainers - finishing off the ensemble with tortoiseshell sunglasses. 

27. Yellow denim dungarees

Princess Diana looked colourful in lemon-yellow dungarees and a floral top the year she married Prince Charles in 1981. She was seen enjoying the action at Cowdray Park Polo Club in Gloucestershire with her friend Sarah Ferguson, who would go on to marry Prince Andrew.

28. Monochrome puff-sleeved blouse

It was the era of power dressing, and Princess Diana put on a strong look while watching a polo match in Cirencester in 1983. She wore a white and black puffed-sleeved blouse with a white pencil skirt, which she cinched in at the waist with a black belt.

29. High-waisted Levi jeans

You can't go wrong with a pair of classic blue Levis, as Princess Diana proved on the school run in 1992. She twinned in denim with Prince William, while pairing her jeans with a white T-shirt emblazoned with blue stars and a dark brown belt.

30. White sailor blouse

Princess Diana looked elegant in a white sailor-style blouse tucked into a blue floral midi-skirt at the polo in 1985. She accessorised the ensemble, for the sporting event in Cirencester, with a large brown belt.

31. Red puffer jacket

Whatever the climate, Princess Diana was always dressed to impress. Her wardrobe of skiwear was particularly chic, as can be seen from a day on the slopes in Lech, Austria in 1994. She paired a red puffer jacket with black slim-fit salopettes and finished off the chic look with black sunglasses.

32. Pink gingham trousers

One of Princess Diana's most iconic looks was an all-pink ensemble for a photocall at Highgrove with her sons in 1986. The royal mother-of-two paired a fuchsia pink cardigan over a white blouse, which she tucked into a pair of pink and white gingham trousers - adding a pair of white loafers to finish. 

You need only glance at the best royal moments in the snow to know that this is a family that loves winter fun of all kinds. From skiing down the mountains and sledding off-piste to throwing snowballs and riding on snowmobiles, they have passed a passion for cold-weather activities down through the generations.

While their palaces at home may receive snowfall only occasionally - which the late Queen Elizabeth made the most of with picturesque horse rides - the royals have often jetted off to some of the world's most exclusive slopes. It is upon these that the more senior royals like Prince Charles and Princess Diana would show off their skills, and teach their young sons how to follow in their tracks.

For some family members, jetting off to a real-life winter wonderland is particularly meaningful. Prince William and Kate Middleton first confirmed their romance with a kiss on the cheek during a Klosters ski trip, while the Yorks were regulars at their Verbier chalet and the Sussexes launched their 2025 Invictus Games in the resort of Whistler. Strap in for some family fun...

Best royal moments in the snow

1. Double-dating on the slopes

In 1987, the future King Charles and his then-wife Princess Diana enjoyed a ski holiday with Prince Andrew and his then-wife Sarah Ferguson. The two couples were pictured together before a day in the mountains in Klosters, Switzerland.

2. Wrapped-up for the Invictus Games

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made a trip to the Canadian ski resort of Whistler in British, Colombia in 2024 to launch the Invictus Games which will be held there in 2025. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex kept warm in style as they sweetly walked hand-in-hand through the snow.  

3. Travelling off-piste by sled

Without a horse-drawn carriage in sight, it seems a young Princess Beatrice was happy to be pulled along off-piste by her mother Sarah Ferguson on a sled. The York family was on a ski trip to Klosters, Switzerland in 1991 - a year before the duchess split from Prince Andrew.

4. Love on the mountains

In 2006, Prince William and Kate Middleton were spotted kissing on the slopes of Klosters in Switzerland, which confirmed their blossoming romance to the world. Several years before their engagement, the pair were seen in 2008 riding a ski lift together in the same resort.

5. In pole position

Some of Prince Harry's formative snowy experiences were in Lech, Austria a resort which was beloved of Princess Diana. The future Duke of Sussex was pictured ready and eager for a ski lesson there in 1991.

6. On a wintery escape

In 1935, a year before King Edward VIII abdicated from the throne, he went on a skiing holiday to Tyrol, Italy with Wallis Simpson. He would eventually step down from duties in order to marry the American divorcée and move with her to France.

7. Braving new wintery pursuits

While Prince Harry may be used to strapping on a pair ski boots when surrounded by snow, he tried his hand at another cold-weather activity while at Canada's Whistler resort in 2024. The duke took part in the fast-paced 'skeleton', watched by Meghan Markle, which will be one of the events at his Invictus Games 2025.

8. Catch-ups in the cold

While Princess Diana had married into the royal family in 1981, her friend Sarah Ferguson - who married Prince Andrews two years previously - was still a relative newcomer when the pair visited Klosters, Switzerland in 1988. They were seen chatting on the slopes during a day of skiing.

9. Romantic mountain getaway

It can be hard to look stylish in ski gear, but the slopes provided the backdrop to some of Princess Diana's best fashion moments. She matched her headband with a red ski suit while skiing with then-husband Prince Charles at Klosters, Switzerland in 1986. 

10. Mother-daughter ski time

Sarah Ferguson was often seen on annual ski trips with her teenage daughters. This included in 2007, when she was pictured at Verbier, Switzerland in full gear with her eldest child Princess Beatrice.

11. Skiing with an audience

The royals were often surrounded by onlookers at various points during their ski expeditions. Princess Diana was photographed trying to get some momentum in her skis during a holiday to Malbun, Liechtenstein with then-husband Prince Charles in 1985.

12. Volunteering in the snow

While Prince Harry first became acquainted with snowy conditions on family holidays, he got stuck in while volunteering with the organisation Walking With The Wounded. The Duke of Sussex joined the military veterans' charity during an expedition in Spitsbergen, Norway in 2011.

13. Cozy with a view

Princess Margaret and her then-husband Anthony Armstrong-Jones may have been more used to vacationing in hot-weather destinations, but the couple seemed to enjoy their ride up a ski chairlift in 1965. They were visiting the Cairngorms in Scotland, close to Balmoral Castle.

14. Having a snowball fight

We're used to seeing Zara Tindall on horseback, however Princess Anne's daughter is also a fan of skiing too. The royal was seen having a snowball fight while attending the Chivas Snow Golf Championships near St Moritz, Switzerland in 2008.

15. Horse rides in the snow

The late Queen Elizabeth was known to ride horses throughout her life. She was pictured spending New Year in 1979 on a hack through Sandringham in Norfolk - which had been treated to a generous sprinkling of snow.

16. Wrapped-up for official duties

Prince William and Kate Middleton came suitably dressed for an official engagement in Oslo during a visit to Norway in 2018. The then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wrapped up warm in hats and gloves.

17. Learning the slopes

Mike and Zara Tindall are avid skiing fans and often take their children with them on trips. It seems Princess Anne's daughter first got the bug on holidays with her mother - including one to Morzine, France in 1989.

18. Suited and booted

The royals often participate in photocalls during their skiing holidays. Prince Charles, along with his sons Prince William and Prince Harry, looked ready for action on the slopes in Klosters, Switzerland in 1994.

19. A cool fashion statement

Princess Diana became known for her head-turning ski looks over the years. The royal mother-of-two hit the slopes of Lech, Austria in an eye-catching turquoise blue ensemble with her children in 1993.

20. Cousins having snow fun

The royals have often enjoyed ski trips together as a big extended family. This was the case in 1995 in Klosters, Switzerland when Prince William, Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were all pictured together.

21. Style on the slopes

Princess Diana always ensured her ski looks were on point. In Lech, Austria in 1994 - two years after her separation from the then-Prince of Wales -  she paired a red puffer jacket with classic black sunglasses.

22. Whizzing through the snow

As a change from skiing, Prince Charles looked delighted to be travelling by snowmobile during a tour of the Northwest Territories of Canada in 1975. He was hardly recognisable at the engagement in a furry hat and black sunglasses.

23. Quality time on the ski lift

Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex were seen catching up on a ski lift in St Moritz, Switzerland in 2003. The couple, who welcomed their first child Lady Louise Windsor later that year, were in town for The Alpine World Ski Championships.

24. Exploring the mountains

Ever the adventurer, Prince Philip tried his hand at skiing in Malbun, Liechtenstein in 1965. Queen Elizabeth's husband was seen walking through the village with their two eldest children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne. 

25. Father-son bonding time

Prince Charles took Prince William and Prince Harry with him on a skiing holiday in 2000. The trio smiled as they prepared to hit the slopes for the day in Klosters, Switzerland.

26. Family winter wonderland

The Prince and Princess of Wales seem keen to pass their love of snowy holidays down to their children. In 2016, they headed to the French Alps with Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

27. High-vis day out

It was impossible to miss Sarah Ferguson and her young daughters during a ski trip in 1997. The trio shone bright in citrus-hued gear on the slopes in Verbier, Switzerland.

28. At great heights

During Prince William and Prince Harry's first-ever ski trip in 1991, they were seen riding a chairlift with their mother Princess Diana. The family was vacationing in Lech, Austria - which became her go-to snowy destination.

29. Sandringham white Christmas

On Christmas Day in 1985, much of the UK enjoyed a significant dusting of snow. This included at Sandringham, where the royal family headed out together for their traditional church service on the estate. 

30. Travelling by snowmobile

When the skiing had got a bit too much, it seemed that Sarah Ferguson and her daughters - Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie - were glad to travel a different way through the snow. They hopped on a snowmobile in Verbier, Switzerland in 1999.

31. Ski lift smiles

In 1998, the year after Princess Diana tragically died, her youngest son Prince Harry spent time with family in Klosters, Switzerland. He was seen riding a ski lift with his cousin Zara Phillips.

32. Sunny ski day

In 1996, Prince Edward was in the middle of his courtship with Sophie Rhy-Jones - who would one day become Duchess of Edinburgh. Queen Elizabeth's youngest son hit the slopes on a particularly sunny day in St Moritz, where the couple would one day bring their children. 

If you're after some inspiration for your next getaway, then the royals' favourite holiday destinations may be a good place to start. While the family's official duties may take them all over the world, certain stunning locations have become their go-to places to unwind.

From Princess Margaret's love of Mustique in the Caribbean and Prince Harry's secret date with Meghan Markle in Botswana, to King Charles' ocean dips in Perth, Australia and Prince William's honeymoon with Kate Middleton in the Seychelles, the royals are a well-travelled bunch. However, you'll also find them kicking back in locations closer to home - including on Greek islands, in the Swiss Alps and even up in the Scottish Highlands.

So, whether you want to kick back on a beach during a romantic getaway or whizz on skis down a mountain with your family, the royals have already done the legwork for you. We'd sure love to see their holiday snaps...

The royals' favourite holiday destinations

1. Mustique, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

The island of Mustique in the Caribbean became associated with the royals after Princess Margaret was given land as a wedding gift by its former owner Colin Tennant in the 1960s. She built a private villa, named Les Jolies Eaux, where she stayed twice a year for three decades - and would often host family, including her older sister Queen Elizabeth.

2. Botswana

Prince Harry and Prince William stopped off in Botswana during a 2010 royal tour of southern Africa. The Duke of Sussex went on to build a special bond with the country, taking Meghan Markle there on their third date where they camped out under the stars near the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park.

3. Nassau, The Bahamas

The Bahamas was a favourite of Prince Margaret and her former husband Antony Armstrong-Jones. They had passed through the Caribbean during a six-week honeymoon in 1960, and made a special trip back to Nassau for a holiday in 1967. When Prince William and Kate Middleton visited the country on a 2022 royal tour, they expressed their wish to one day bring their children back.

4. Lech, Austria

The royals are united in their love of skiing - however, over the years, they have each had their preferred destinations for enjoying the winter sport. Princess Diana was a particular fan of the village of Lech in Austria, and would often take her sons along with her.

5. Necker, British Virgin Islands

One of the more relatable peeks into royal parenting came when Princess Diana was spotted playing with her sons on the sands of Necker. She was staying on the private island in 1990 as a guest of its owner Sir Richard Branson, along with her sisters Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale and their children.

6. Mallorca, Spain

Back in 1987, the future King Charles took his then-wife Princess Diana and their sons to stay on the island of Mallorca with the Spanish royal family. During the trip, they were spotted on the steps of Marivent Palace, which is positioned on a clifftop overlooking Palma. The mother-of-two was such a fan she returned the next year.

7. Scottish Highlands

It is well known that every summer the royal family travels up to stay at Balmoral Castle in the Scottish Highlands. Queen Elizabeth traditionally spent the whole of August there and would host relatives at different times of the month - where they would enjoy activities such as horse riding and grouse shooting on the estate's 50,000 acres.

8. Greece

Given that Prince Philip was born in Greece in 1921, it is perhaps unsurprising that the royal family often visits the country. Princess Margaret and her ex-husband Antony Armstrong-Jones made a special trip to see the Acropolis in Athens, while King Charles and Queen Camilla often travel to the island of Corfu for their summer holidays.

9. Klosters, Switzerland

King Charles was a big fan of the Swiss skiing destination, Klosters. So much so that they even named two chairlifts after him. He would often take his sons on trips with him - and it is where his eldest Prince William was spotted on the slopes kissing Kate Middleton publicly for the first time in 2004, alerting the world to their romance.

10. Isles of Scilly

While the royals love jetting abroad, they have also frequently vacationed closer to home. This includes the Isles of Scilly, an archipelago off the coast of Cornwall, where King Charles and Princess Diana visited in 1982 when she was pregnant with Prince William. The monarch might have been inspired by his trip there in 1967 with Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip and Princess Anne. 

11. Malta

The late Queen Elizabeth spent her 1947 honeymoon with Prince Philip in Malta, where he was stationed with the Royal Navy. At the time, the then-Princess Elizabeth and Duke of Edinburgh were living in the Villa Guardamangia on the outskirts of Valetta - and the newlyweds remained at the property until 1951, a year before she acceded the throne. 

12. Montego Bay, Jamaica

Jamaica is another country with links to the royals that span decades - with Queen Elizabeth visiting on an official tour in 2002, and Prince William and Kate Middleton following in her footsteps in 2022. Several members of the family have checked into the 400-acre Half Moon resort, which boasts beautiful beaches, a golf course and an equestrian centre. 

13. Nevis, Caribbean

A year after her 1992 separation from Prince Charles, the first holiday newly single Princess Diana took was to the Caribbean island of Nevis. She stayed with her sons in a boutique hotel on the Montpelier Plantation Estate, and a decade later her youngest Prince Harry returned to raise awareness of the island's conservation work.

14. Gibraltar

To kickstart their three-month-long honeymoon in 1981, Prince Charles and Princess Diana boarded the Royal Yacht Britannia in Gibraltar - a British Overseas Territory, located on the tip of Spain. The Mediterranean cruise provided an opportunity, according to the royal bride, to catch up on sleep after all the wedding celebrations.

15. Egypt

The then-Prince and Princess of Wales wrapped up their three-month-long honeymoon in Egypt. They travelled into Port Said aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia to have dinner with the president and his wife. The couple flew back to the UK from Hurghada International Airport.

16. Zambia

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited Zambia on a 1979 royal tour that also saw them visit Tanzania and Malawi. It was during another African trip that included Kenya, in 1952, that she found out her father King George VI had suddenly passed away and that she would be acceding to the throne.

17. St. Tropez, France

In the weeks before her 1997 death, Princess Diana holidayed off the coast of St Tropez in the south of France - part of the time with her sons. At one point, she was pictured riding on a jet ski with Prince Harry. Her trip, which saw her stay on businessman Mohamed Al Fayed's yacht with his son Dodi, came around a month before the pair would tragically die in a Paris car crash.

18. Perth, Australia

King Charles has visited Australia well over a dozen times - and Perth is one of his favourite spots. He has reminisced about his early morning swims at Cottesloe Beach during his 1983 visit - where he was famously kissed on the cheek by model Jane Priest in front of cameras - and he celebrated his 67th birthday there with wife Queen Camilla with a barbecue in 2015.

19. Costa Smeralda, Sardinia

While Princess Margaret had a special place in her heart for the Caribbean, the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth also holidayed closer to home. The Countess of Snowdon visited the Costa Smeralda on the Italian island of Sardinia in 1967, where she was seen swimming in the sea. 

20. Gold Coast, Australia

Princess Anne's daughter Zara Phillips famously met her husband Mike Tindall in Sydney during the Rugby World Cup in 2003. In recent years, the couple have departed the UK after Christmas at Sandringham to soak up the sunshine on the nearby Gold Coast with their children.

21. Florida, US

Growing up, Prince William and Prince Harry were fans of theme parks, including Thorpe Park and Alton Towers. In 1993, a year after her separation from their father, Princess Diana took them on their first-ever trip to the United States. They travelled down to Florida, where they went to Disney World and were seen enjoying the Splash Mountain ride.

22. Deauville, France

There are some who love to lounge around on holiday, while others can't sit still. Prince Charles seemed to fall into the latter camp while vacationing and particularly liked to try his hand at watersports. The future king was seen windsurfing during a 1978 trip to Deauville, a French seaside town off the coast of  Normandy.

23. Whistler, Canada

The royals often try to squeeze in some downtime between duties on official trips. Prince Charles took time out for some skiing with his teenage sons in Whistler, British Colombia during a visit to Canada in 1998. The family time was even more important given it was less than a year since their mother Princess Diana had died.

24. Petra, Jordan

Ahead of their appearance at Sandringham in 2021, the Cambridges had surprised fans with a portrait of the family in the ancient city of Petra, Jordan on their official Christmas card. The duchess may have been keen to show her children where she spent three years growing up in the 1980s, with her father Michael Middleton's British Airways job taking them to Amman.  

25. Verbier, Switzerland

Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York loved skiing in Verbier, Switzerland so much with their daughters - Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie - that they owned a chalet there for a time. The skiing destination is also where the latter first met her future husband Jack Brooksbank. 

26. Cyprus

Many royals have visited Cyprus on official visits over the years, including the Prince and Princess of Wales in 2018 and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2022. However, the island was also host to Mike and Zara Tindall's 2011 honeymoon, with the couple staying at the Columbia Beach Resort near Limassol.

27. Comporta, Portugal

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are believed to have visited his cousin Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank at their Portugal home near the upmarket beach area of Comporta. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were spotted in Melides, on the Alentejo coastline.

28. Seychelles

After their 2011 royal wedding, Prince William and Kate Middleton jetted to the Seychelles for a ten-day honeymoon. They stayed on the private North Island at the Desroches Island Lodge - a resort which only has 11 luxury villas, which are reported to cost £5,000 a night.

29. Costa Rica

In one of their first big family holidays, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle travelled with their children to Costa Rica in 2023. They are believed to have visited Zapotal, Nandayure and Guanacaste during their vacation to the tropical destination. 

30. Italy

Prince Charles and Princess Diana visited Italy together on a number of occasions - including a royal tour in 1985 and a yacht holiday with their sons in 1991. The country has also been favoured by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who stayed with friends George and Amal Clooney at their Villa Oleandra in Lake Como in 2018 shortly after their wedding.

31. South Africa

It was in South Africa that Prince Harry met his ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, who grew up on a game reserve in the country but boarded at Cheltenham College. They crossed paths in Cape Town during his gap year, before he started at Sandhurst. Many years later, in 2019, the Duke of Sussex would visit with his wife Meghan Markle and son Archie on a royal tour. 

32. French Riviera

The French Riviera has long been a go-to place to vacation for the royals. Following his abdication, King Edward VIII and his wife Wallis Simpson would leave Paris to unwind in their holiday home, Villa La Croe, in the Cap D'Antibes in Cannes. Decades later, in 2019, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stayed with Elton John and his husband David Furnish at their villa in Nice.

From the excitement of starting school to theme park fun, Princess Diana's cutest moments with Harry and William are numerous. The royal mother-of-two took a playful and supportive approach to parenting that seemed to bring out the best in her young sons.

Outside of palace doors, the princes' childhood was captured on camera. They were pictured with the Princess of Wales on a variety of occasions over the years, both before and after her split from their father Prince Charles. She was seen giggling with them at official engagements and getting up to mischief on holiday.

The result has been a heart-warming insight into the princess' special bond with her sons before she tragically passed away in 1997. Their tender moments - including plenty of silliness - are ones every parent can probably relate to. We've rounded up some of the most adorable, which you can't fail to smile at... 

Princess Diana's cutest moments with Harry and William

1. All smiles at the theme park

Princess Diana didn't seem to mind getting drenched with her sons on a water ride at Thorpe Park in 1993. The royal mother-of-two - who had separated from Prince Charles the year before - took their sons Prince William and Prince Harry on what appeared to be a very fun day out.

2. Throwing a palace concert

One of the earliest joint photocalls between Prince William and Prince Harry was at Kensington Palace in 1985. Their mother, Princess Diana, looked every bit the doting parent as she helped the young brothers learn to play the piano.

3. First day of big school

Princess Diana couldn't hide her delight as she arrived with Prince William on his first day of secondary school - the iconic Eton near Windsor in Berkshire - in 1995. They were accompanied by Harry, who would go on to also become a pupil in 1998.

4. Loving the beach life

In 1990, Princess Diana took her sons on holiday to Necker Island, in the British Virgin Islands, which is owned by Sir Richard Branson. She was spotted getting stuck in as the princes dug up the sand along with some of their cousins - the children of her older sisters Jane and Sarah.

5. Mischief on the balcony

As is a rite of passage for royal children, Prince Harry could be seen playfully sticking his tongue from the balcony of Buckingham Palace while in the arms of an alarmed-looking Princess Diana. The pair - who were beside Prince William, Lady Gabriella Windsor and Lady Rose Windsor - were taking part in Trooping the Colour in 1988.

6. Holidaying in sunny Spain

Princess Diana, dressed in a chic yellow jumpsuit, was spotted cuddling up with her young sons in Palma de Mallorca, Spain 1987. The trio were holidaying, along with the future King Charles, on the invitation of the Spanish royal family - and Harry seemed to be faring in the hotter weather a little better than William. 

7. First day of little school

Every parent will relate to how Princess Diana seemed to be bursting with pride on Prince Harry's first day of primary school in 1989. Her youngest son posed for photos on the steps of Wetherby School in London, and looked adoringly up at his older brother who was already a pupil - with their matching uniforms adding to the cuteness. 

8. Travelling like a prince

The royal family may be more used to travelling by carriage than most, but Prince William and Prince Harry looked especially delighted to be using the novel mode of transport during a holiday to Lech, Austria in 1993. The trio, who were accompanied by the boys' nanny Olga Powell, grinned as they wrapped up warm in fur.

9. Action-packed garden playtime

Before her 1992 separation, Princess Diana raised her sons between an apartment at Kensington Palace in London and also on the country estate of Highgrove House in Gloucestershire. In 1986, she was pictured playing in the garden of the latter with William and Harry - who were dressed up in army costumes and taking turns on the slide.

10. Sledging through the snow

While it may not have had an official royal family holiday home, Princess Diana was a big fan of Lech, Austria for skiing. She could be seen laughing while sitting in between her young sons as they took a sledge ride through the snow during a trip in 1994, along with her friends Kate Menzies and Catherine Soames.

11. Taking in the sights

During an official visit to Canada in 1991, Princess Diana took her sons to see Niagara Falls in Ontario while the then-Prince Charles carried out engagements in Toronto. She was spotted, along with an inquisitive-looking William and Harry, wearing matching raincoats while riding on the 'Maid of the Mist' boat as they viewed the world-famous waterfall. 

12. Jetting up to Scotland

When visiting the late Queen Elizabeth at her Scottish home of Balmoral Castle, the royals would often travel by plane to Aberdeen Airport. On one occasion in 1986, Princess Diana could be seen holding her sons' hands and carefully guiding them across the tarmac. 

13. Wearing matchy-matchy outfits

Princess Diana was known to love dressing William and Harry in identical outfits as youngsters. During a trip to Scotland in 1986, the brothers could be seen wearing matching white sweaters and yellow shorts along with white socks and black shoes as they disembarked the plane with their mother. 

14. Looking smart for VJ Day

A year before her divorce was finalised, Princess Diana attended the official VJ Day 50th anniversary celebrations in London in 1995 with her sons. William and Harry walked close to their mother, whose white striped skirt suit - which she accessorised with a hat and pearls - was one of Princess Diana's best fashion moments.

15. Horsing around in the country

Prince William looked chuffed to be having a riding lesson from his mother Princess Diana on the grounds of Highgrove House, Gloucestershire in 1986. Her eldest child was pictured sitting atop their pony, called Smokey, while his younger brother seemed to be waiting his turn.

16. Making new furry friends

While the royal corgis may have been important to his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth, it seems a young Prince Harry wasn't quite so sure himself when it came to four-legged creatures. His mother Princess Diana could be seen encouraging him to get acquainted with a small dog while on holiday to the Spanish island of Majorca in 1987.

17. Learning the family business

Princess Diana was often seen helping her young sons feel at ease during some of their first royal outings as children. She was spotted giving Prince Harry a squeeze on his shoulders during a trip to Niagara Falls - his first official engagement abroad - on a visit to Canada in 1991. Meanwhile, Prince William appeared to be receiving words of encouragement.

18. Practicing the royal wave

At Trooping the Colour in 1989, a stylish Princess Diana beamed as Prince William and Prince Harry eagerly waved at crowds gathered near Buckingham Palace. The trio travelled in a horse-drawn carriage alongside the late Queen Mother, while their father rode on horseback as part of the annual royal event.

19. Thrills at the theme park

Princess Diana looked relaxed in a varsity jacket as she rode on a water ride with her sons and another youngster during a visit to the Alton Towers theme park in 1994. As is every parent's nightmare, she could be seen urging the giggling passengers to sit down as they all whizzed along.

20. Enjoying the sun in Spain

Clearly in a reflective mood, Prince William and Prince Harry were spotted calmly sitting beside their mother Princess Diana beneath the sunshine during a family holiday to the Spanish island of Majorca in 1988. They were staying at Marivent Palace, just outside of Palma, as guests of the then-King Juan Carlos and his wife Queen Sofia.

21. Fun on the slopes

Princess Diana was known for her love of skiing and clearly relished passing down the wintery hobby to her sons. She was seen riding a chairlift with Prince William and Prince Harry - both all adorably kitted out - during a holiday to her favourite resort of Lech, Austria in 1991.  

22. Twinning for the evening

Princess Diana sweetly loved putting her young sons in matching outfits where possible. At the Royal Tournament in London in 1988, she dressed them in particularly striking outfits - which included a shirt and tie, as well as bright green shorts.

23. Riding in Scotland

Every summer, Prince Charles and Princess Diana would stay up in Scotland with the late Queen Elizabeth at her country residence of Balmoral Castle. During one trip in 1988, Prince William was photographed gazing lovingly at his mother during a pony ride, as the family posed for photos.

24. Windy on the runway

While Princess Diana is famed for her sense of style, it's perhaps less well-known the influence she had on two other wardrobes - namely those of Prince William and Prince Harry as children. The pair looked adorable in matching red jumpers and stripey shorts on the windy runway of Aberdeen Airport in 1989.

25. Fidgeting during photos

Every parent has experience of trying to get their child to sit still for a nice photo. Prince William seemed to be struggling not to fidget while posing with Princess Diana and Prince Charles in the gardens of Kensington Palace in 1984. He pointed curiously at the camera while his mother - pregnant with his younger brother - held his toy.

26. Cuddles at the show

Princess Diana was spotted receiving eager hugs from Prince William while watching the International Horse Show in Olympia, London in 1990. The youngster had just begun the Christmas holidays and seemed keen to be back in his mother's arms from boarding at Ludgrove School in Berkshire.

27. First day of nursery

Prince Harry couldn't seem to contain his excitement on his first day at nursery in London in 1987. He enthusiastically greeted his new headmistress, while Princess Diana, Prince Charles and Prince William sweetly looked on.

28. Muddy by the river

An attentive Princess Diana was spotted watching over her sons as they played on the banks of the River Dee in wellies during a family trip to Balmoral Castle in 1987. The Scottish estate is made up of 50,000 acres - including mountains, forests and lochs - making it a paradise for children who love to get their hands dirty.

29. Dressed up for VE Day

To mark the 50th anniversary of VE Day in London in 1995, the royal family sat front row at a ceremony in Hyde Park. While Prince Charles appeared thoughtful, Princess Diana sat in between their sons Prince William and Prince Harry - and appeared to share a private giggle with the pair.

30. Chatting after church

The royal family famously attends a church service near Sandringham House in Norfolk on Christmas Day. In 1993, Princess Diana - who had separated from Prince Charles the previous year - could be seen chatting with her youngest son outside the chapel as other relatives filed out.

31. Cuddles in Italy

At just seven months old, Prince Harry was seen in the arms of his mother during a family trip to Italy in 1985. She smiled as she hugged her youngest child, while her husband Prince Charles grinned at the crowds while holding Prince William.

32. Waves from the balcony

Prince Harry was the star of the show on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in London for Trooping the Colour in 1986. The youngster could be seen waving at the crowds while in the arms of his mother Princess Diana. Meanwhile, Prince William was spotted peeking over the red and gold draping to get a good view.

A royal expert and author has accused the Duchess of Sussex and Princess Catherine of Wales of 'Diana cosplay' in their fashion choices.

In Omid Scobie's new book, Endgame, the author who wrote Finding Freedom, made some interesting claims about the fashion choices Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton were encouraged to make. The author claimed that the firm, 'shamelessly leverages' the popularity that Princess Diana had in her lifetime by encouraging the two young royal women to style themselves as she did.

The author suggested that as wives of Prince Harry and Prince William, Catherine and Meghan were encouraged to replicate her fashion triumphs in an attempt for 'some of Diana's shine to rub off on them'. 

"Diana cosplay has become a royal staple," the author then claimed.

The author added that Prince Harry and William are aware of this 'Diana cosplay' and the source who spoke to Omid said that these decisions are 'always discussed' with Diana's sons.

The author then added that while the royal women dressing in homage to Diana could be seen as a 'sweet gesture' he added that it's 'slightly queasy' as the move is "orchestrated" by the palace. The author then added that the Palace were at fault for contributing to Diana's "living misery."

While many of Kate Middleton's best style moments have been entirely unique, it's not difficult to see the times where she and Meghan seem to have been influenced by fashion choices made by Princess Diana several decades ago.

The similarities between the way that Princess Diana dressed and the way that Catherine, the new and current Princess of Wales, dresses have been highlighted many times in the past. 

Bethan Holt, Fashion News and Features Director of The Daily Telegraph, previously told PEOPLE that the 'cosplay' was actually a positive tribute."I think we have seen lots of examples where the reference is very intentional and I think that Kate uses fashion to pay tribute to Diana in a very positive way," she said.

"What's really key about these times when Kate references Diana, it's not like a costume. She brings it right up to date so she makes it look relevant for now," Bethan added. "She's not doing an '80s power shoulder or a puffball skirt, she's making it look sleeker and more contemporary. She makes it her own without looking like she's playing 'dress up as Diana.'"

One of Princess Diana's most iconic beauty products is currently on sale, and we love this fantastic deal!

Princess Diana's makeup was legendary, from wearing the best mascara to her signature blue eyeliner in her waterline, the Princess was known for having a flawless and stylish look. However, her fabulous makeup looks were only possible because of her attention to her skincare.

Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Skincare range was the Princess's go-to for skincare and she loved using this range on her lips in particular. It is this product that gave the Princess silky soft lips at every engagement and it's a timeless product that has been popular for nearly a century.

According to the brand, the "Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant is a skincare classic that restores, calms and helps relieve chapped, cracked and dry skin. It works efficiently to soothe roughness, redness and minor skin irritations."

The product was actually created in 1930 and now there are numerous variants of this product, such as the hand cream and the lip balm, that are for specific areas, unlike the general cream. Luckily for savvy shoppers, various Elizabeth Arden skincare products have been included in the Black Friday Beauty deals which means that right now, you can buy one of Princess Diana's most iconic beauty products for a steal!

If you're thinking this skincare item sounds familiar, it might be because Prince Harry referenced this product in his autobiography, Spare. In the book, he revealed that while taking part in the 'Walking with the Wounded' 200-mile expedition in March 2011, when he trekked across the North Pole with four former servicemen who were injured in Afghanistan, he was reminded of his mother when he used this product.

In Prince Harry's autobiography Spare, the Prince wrote that he used the Elizabeth Arden cream on his frostbitten penis. "My penis was oscillating between extremely sensitive, and borderline traumatized, the last place I wanted to be was Frostnipistan," he wrote. "I'd been trying some home remedies including one recommended by a friend. She urged me to apply Elizabeth Arden cream."

"‘My mum used that on her lips, you want me to put that on my todger?’" The Prince wrote, "'It works Harry, trust me.' I found a tube, and the minute I opened it, the smell transported me through time. I felt as if my mother was right there in the room and I took a smidge and applied it . . . down there."

While this isn't necessarily the intended use of this cream, this story only highlights the intense moisturising capabilities of this product. 

We love Princess Diana's Versace sunglasses that can be seen in season 6 of The Crown, and here's where you can buy the exact pair, as well as some lookalikes. 

The first few episodes of season 6 of The Crown just hit Netflix, and we've been drawing a lot of sartorial inspiration from the show - particularly from the looks of one Princess Diana. Needless to say, Princess Diana has been and will always be a style inspiration to us all, having given us iconic looks in all fashion categories from formalwear (hello, revenge dress), to more casual looks. 

The first half of season 6 of The Crown takes a look at the final weeks of Diana's life, and in this time, Diana was exploring what life post-divorce from then-King Charles looked like with her boys, William and Harry. Although she was always fashionable, during this time, she debuted some of her most undoubtedly memorable outfits and accessories of all time - one of which being her stunning Versace sunglasses. 

Let's be transparent here - no one wore sunglasses the way Princess Diana did. They acted as a shield for the Princess, especially after her divorce from Charles, and she always wore them with intentional style. 

In The Crown season 6, this becomes even more apparent, especially in the first episode of the season when Diana is on a yacht in Saint Tropez with the Fayeds. She wears the slim, round, semi-cat eye shaped sunnies often throughout this season, including in the scene when Diana wears that ever-inspiring leopard print bathing suit that sent the presses ablaze. 

The Crown impeccably recreates the outfits Diana wore in the final few weeks of her life, with Elizabeth Debicki looking the true spitting image of the late Princess. During her time in Saint Tropez with the Fayeds, she continually wears her Versace sunglasses, as well as some bright and fashionable one-piece bathing suits. 

The real-life paparazzi photos from this 1997 trip reflect exactly what the show depicts - Diana traveling to the French riviera with with sons Prince William and Prince Harry to holiday with Mohamed Al-Fayed. During this trip, Princess Diana reunited with Mohamed's son Dodi, sparking the start of their romance. The pair initially met briefly over a decade before at a 1986 polo match, but didn't see each other again until the St. Tropez get together.

Prince Harry, who was 12-years-old at the time, detailed the luxurious trip away in his memoir Spare. He wrote, "There was much laughter, horseplay, the norm whenever Mummy and Willy and I were together, though even more so on that holiday.

If you've delved into season six of The Crown following the release of the first part of the final series, it's likely that a certain leopard print swimsuit worn by Princess Diana in the show caught your eye. And if you're wondering, yes, she did wear it in real life. 

The final series of the Netflix royal drama portrays the late Princess of Wales, played by Elizabeth Debicki, in the final months of her life, with the moments before the tragic Paris car crash that ended her life in 1997 also being played out on screen. 

She was known for her humility, kindness and charity work along with her iconic fashion sense - and Princess Diana's best style moments not only feature some of the most incredible dresses, but also some pretty epic one-piece swimsuits, including that leopard print cozzie featured in The Crown. 

Princess Diana wore the leopard print swimsuit during a trip to St. Tropez in France in July of 1997, just months before the car accident that killed her and boyfriend Dodi Fayed on August 30th. 

Paparazzi photographs of the Princess of Wales on the summer trip to the French Riviera show her enjoying herself during a day spent at sea and on the beach, sporting a glowing suntan in her animal print swimming number. 

Diana had travelled to St. Tropez with sons Prince William and Prince Harry in order to holiday with Mohamed Al-Fayed, nicknamed Mou Mou, and his wife Heini Wathen-Fayed who welcomed them onto their yacht, as depicted in The Crown.

During this trip, Princess Diana reunited with Mohamed's son Dodi, sparking the start of their romance. The pair initially met briefly over a decade before at a 1986 polo match, but didn't see each other again until the St. Tropez get together.

Prince Harry, who was 12-years-old at the time, detailed the luxurious trip away in his memoir Spare. He wrote, "There was much laughter, horseplay, the norm whenever Mummy and Willy and I were together, though even more so on that holiday.

"Everything about that trip to St. Tropez was heaven. The weather was sublime, the food was tasty, Mummy was smiling."

The episode of The Crown portraying Diana and her sons in St. Tropez depicts her approaching the swarms of photographers surrounding Mohamed Al-Fayed's villa on boats to confront them and ask to be left alone, sporting her leopard print swimsuit. 

"We’re having a lovely time, apart from one little thing, you lot," Diana tells the paparazzi in the scene, adding, "How long are we going to have the pleasure of your company? The attention is starting to freak out the boys."

It's thought that a similar interaction did happen in real life, when reporters approached the group on the yacht. According to Vanity Fair, Diana told them that she had plans to move abroad, saying, "You will have a big surprise coming soon, the next thing I do."

Season 6 part one of The Crown has just been released and much of these episodes focus on the relationship between Princess Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed. 

But how much of their relationship which was portrayed in The Crown is an accurate portrayal of real life? Of course, the show tries to stick to the facts and recreate events as they happened, but for many parts of this show, surely some conversations and events must have been imagined for the sake of the plot? Here's what we know...

Was Dodi engaged to another woman when he began dating Diana?

Yes. Dodi was engaged to Kelly Fisher (played by Erin Richards in The Crown) from February 1997 until August 1997 - when images of Dodi and Diana kissing on a yacht were released by the press. 

In August 1997, Kelly did try to file a lawsuit against Dodi for cancelling their engagement. At a press conference, per The Independent, her lawyer read a statement that read, Dodi had "led her emotionally all the way up to the altar and abandoned her when they were almost there. He threw her love away in a callous way with no regard for her whatsoever." 

Her lawyer added that Kelly had found out about her fiance's infidelity through the press. "To compound matters, Miss Fisher learnt about Mr Fayed's betrayal, not from Mr Fayed but instead from the `kiss photo' that was published and circulated around the world to Miss Fisher's utter dismay, shock and shame," her lawyer said.

Did Mou Mou encourage Dodi to chase Diana?

A major plot point in this season was 'Mou Mou' Mohamed Al Fayed's involvement in Dodi and Diana's relationship. It was heavily implied that Dodi only pursued Diana because of his need to gain his father's approval - but how accurate is this?

Various historians have agreed that it was Mohammed who engineered the initial relationship between Dodi and Diana. "Mohamed Al Fayed engineered the romance with Dodi," biographer Sally Bedell Smith told Vanity Fair. "And Dodi basically did whatever his father told him to do. He was engaged, left his fiancée, and went over to his father’s boat. That’s when the romance began."

She added, "He was really the puppet master behind Dodi and Diana’s very brief, barely more than a month, romance."

In Tina Brown's The Diana Chronicles, it was also confirmed that Mohammed was closely monitoring Dodi's behaviour with Diana. The author explained that the bodyguards, Trevor Rees-Jones and Alexander 'Kez' Wingfield, "reported not to Dodi but to his dad. 'If Dodi did something that was contravening what his father wanted, I had to report it to his father,' Rees-Jones said."