DIANA’S LEGACY 20 YEARS ON
AS WE APPROACH THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNTIMELY DEATH OF DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES, ROYAL CORRESPONDENT ROYA NIKKHAH SPEAKS TO THOSE WHO KNEW HER WELL
A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR SUE JAMES REMEMBERS THE PRINCESS.
I FIRST MET PRINCESS DIANA IN 1992 WHEN I WAS INVITED TO HER PRIVATE QUARTERS AT KENSINGTON PALACE. I WAS INCREDIBLY NERVOUS – AS I SIGNED THE VISITORS’ BOOK, I SPOTTED RONALD REAGAN’S NAME AT
THE TOP OF THE PAGE! BUT I NEEDN’T HAVE WORRIED – DIANA WAS SOMEONE WHO INSTANTLY PUT YOU AT EASE AND COULD MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN THE ROOM. WE HAD CHILDREN OF A SIMILAR AGE, AND SWAPPED STORIES ABOUT BEING MOTHERS. SHE WAS GIGGLY, RELAXED, VERY COMMITTED TO HER CHARITIES. AND DESPITE BEING 5FT 10IN, YOU DIDN’T FEEL AS IF SHE TOWERED OVER YOU – THERE WAS NO FORMALITY. HER HOME FELT THE SAME. WHAT STRUCK ME WAS THAT THERE WERE PHOTOS OF THE BOYS EVERYWHERE – ON THE SHELVES, ON TOP OF THE PIANO. THERE WAS A HOMELY WARMTH TO THE PLACE.
LIKE MANY PEOPLE, I WAS ENTHRALLED BY THE UPS AND DOWNS OF DIANA’S LIFE FROM THE MOMENT SHE BECAME CHARLES’ GIRLFRIEND IN 1980. WHEN THEY MARRIED THE FOLLOWING YEAR, THE PRINCESS HAD BECOME THE MOST RECOGNISABLE WOMAN IN THE WORLD AND A TRUE FASHION ICON. AT
THE TIME I WAS FASHION EDITOR ON Woman’s
Own MAGAZINE AND I WOULD OFTEN SEE HER AT FASHION SHOWS AND FILM PREMIERES. EVERYONE WANTED THE DIANA LOOK – THE FRILLY COLLARS, THE GLAMOROUS EVENINGWEAR, THE HAIR; LOOK AT MINE IN THAT PHOTOGRAPH! THAT’S HOW I ENDED UP WRITING TWO BOOKS
ON HER UNIQUE STYLE – The Princess Diana Fashion Book AND Princess Diana’s Maternity Fashion and Nursery Handbook – WHEN THE WORLD FELL IN LOVE ONCE MORE WITH THE TWO NEW LITTLE PRINCES.
HER LEGACY, UNDOUBTEDLY, ARE THOSE TWO BRILLIANT SONS WHO CLEARLY FOLLOW IN HER FOOTSTEPS. IF SHE WAS THE PEOPLE’S PRINCESS, THEN THEY ARE THE PEOPLE’S PRINCES – THEY WEAR THEIR HEARTS ON
THEIR SLEEVES AND, AS WILLIAM RECENTLY SAID, WANT TO BRING AN END TO THAT STIFF UPPER-LIP CULTURE. HE ALSO SAYS OF HIS OWN CHILDREN, GEORGE AND CHARLOTTE, “I WILL FIGHT FOR THEM TO HAVE A NORMAL LIFE.” DIANA WOULD HAVE BEEN SO PROUD.
“Diana made you feel you were the only person in the room”
THE DESIGNER BRUCE OLDFIELD CREATED MANY OF THE PRINCESS’ GOWNS. WE FIRST MET IN 1981,
WHEN DIANA WAS BACK FROM SCOTLAND AFTER HER HONEYMOON. SHE CAME TO OUR SHOP FOR SOME SUITS AND WAS CHARMING, SELF-EFFACING, NOT PUSHY. LATER ON SHE BECAME VERY RELAXED – SHE’D WANDER AROUND BAREFOOT, GOING INTO THE CUTTING ROOM AND PULLING OUT
ROLLS OF FABRIC THAT SHE LIKED. WHEN WE DID FITTINGS AT KENSINGTON PALACE, THE CHILDREN WOULD RUN IN AND OUT, AND THE PRINCE OF WALES WOULD APPEAR. SHE WAS NOT LIKE ANY OF THE OTHER ROYAL LADIES OF THAT TIME, WITH THAT LOVELY SMILE AND CHEEKY EYES. DIANA WAS AMAZING WITH PEOPLE, AND PARTICULARLY KIND WITH MY STAFF. IN 1985, FOR A HUGE GALA FOR BARNARDO’S, WE MADE HER A SILVER LAMÉ BACKLESS DRESS. SHE WAS MY DATE AND WE DANCED THE NIGHT AWAY. THE DANCE FLOOR WAS PACKED BUT THERE WAS ALWAYS A 2FT SPACE AROUND US, AS PEOPLE JUST WANTED TO STAND BACK AND LOOK AT HER. THE MORNING AFTER, SHE CAME INTO THE SHOP WITH A TRAY OF HYACINTHS FOR THE WORKROOM. SHE COULD HAVE JUST SENT THEM, BUT SHE INSISTED ON COMING IN HERSELF AND WALKING ALL THE WAY UP THE STAIRS TO DELIVER THEM. WE ALSO HAD QUITE AN ELDERLY FITTER CALLED JUDITH, AND I LATER FOUND OUT THAT DIANA CONTINUED SENDING JUDITH CHRISTMAS CARDS WELL AFTER SHE STOPPED SENDING THEM TO ME. THAT WAS WHO DIANA WAS –
SHE WAS SOMEBODY’S GOOD DAUGHTER.
DESIGNER CAROLINE CHARLES DRESSED DIANA IN HER EARLY ROYAL YEARS.
I FIRST MET PRINCESS DIANA IN 1981. SHE’D JUST GOT ENGAGED TO CHARLES, AND HER MOTHER – WHO WAS A CUSTOMER OF OURS – THOUGHT SHE SHOULD GET SOME NEW CLOTHES. SHE CAME TO OUR BOUTIQUE IN KNIGHTSBRIDGE AND WAS VERY FRIENDLY. ON SUBSEQUENT VISITS, SHE WOULD ALWAYS HAVE ANNE [BECKWITH-SMITH], HER LADY IN WAITING, WITH HER, AND THE TWO OF
THEM WOULD HAVE A REAL LAUGH. SHE WAS TREMENDOUSLY PROFESSIONAL – SHE ALWAYS KNEW THE IDEAL GARMENT TO WEAR TO A PARTICULAR OCCASION. IN THOSE DAYS, THERE WERE NO STYLISTS OR WARDROBE ADVISORS.
I REMEMBER ONCE SHE WAS VISITING A SCHOOL FOR BLIND CHILDREN, AND ASKED FOR SOMETHING IN VELVET SO THE CHILDREN COULD FEEL HER SKIRT. I THOUGHT THAT WAS REMARKABLE, FOR A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL FAMILY AT THAT TIME TO THINK LIKE THAT. SHE HAD A VERY GOOD HEART. AND I THINK THAT IS HER LEGACY – HER SONS HAVE THE SAME SWEETNESS. WITH DIANA, HER FEELINGS WERE ALWAYS EVIDENT.
PHOTOGRAPHER JOHN SWANNELL SHOT ONE
OF THE MOST FAMOUS PICTURES OF DIANA AND HER SONS IN 1994.
ANNA HARVEY [PRINCESS DIANA’S FRIEND AND STYLIST], WHO WAS AT Vogue, CALLED AND ASKED IF I’D PHOTOGRAPH ONE OF HER FRIENDS AND THEIR TWO KIDS. NEARER THE TIME, I REALISED I HAD NO IDEA WHO I WAS PHOTOGRAPHING, SO I CALLED ANNA AND SHE SAID, “IT’S PRINCESS DIANA AND THE BOYS.” IT WAS FOR HER CHRISTMAS CARD THAT YEAR.
TO TRY AND MAKE IT AS RELAXED AS POSSIBLE, I GOT A TABLE-TENNIS SET IN
FOR THE BOYS. WE LAUGHED A LOT, AND I CAUGHT ONE OF THOSE WONDERFUL MOMENTS OF HER, HEAD BACK, LAUGHING WITH THE BOYS. SHE WAS JUST THE GIRL-NEXT-DOOR, SO NORMAL AND LAID BACK.
DIANA PHONED ME A WHILE LATER AND ASKED ME TO DO A SHOOT WITH HER BY HERSELF, BUT I WAS ALREADY COMMITTED TO ANOTHER PROJECT SO I HAD TO SAY NO. THE NEXT YEAR, SHE CALLED TO ASK IF I COULD DO ANOTHER CHRISTMAS CARD, AND UNBELIEVABLY I WAS TIED UP AND HAD TO SAY NO TO HER AGAIN. I FELT AWFUL AND WROTE HER A LETTER, AND SHE WROTE SUCH A SWEET NOTE BACK, APOLOGISING FOR NOT HAVING BOOKED ME EARLIER. A YEAR LATER, SHE WAS DEAD.
DIANA HAD THE MOST AMAZING STRUCTURE – TALL AND SLIM. SHE ALWAYS LOOKED BREATHTAKING ON THE RED CARPET. >>
“She’d walk around the store barefoot” “She had a good heart – and that legacy is carried on by her sons” “Diana was just the girl-next-door”
“Diana had flaws like any of us”
ELIZABETH EMANUEL IS THE DESIGNER WHO, ALONG WITH HER THENHUSBAND DAVID, CREATED PRINCESS DIANA’S WEDDING DRESS IN 1981. DIANA FIRST HEARD OF US THROUGH Vogue MAGAZINE. THEY WERE SHOOTING HER
AND SHE SPOTTED ONE OF OUR BLOUSES, ASKED WHO THE DESIGNERS WERE, AND MADE AN APPOINTMENT AT OUR STUDIO.
DIANA WAS A BIT YOUNGER THAN US – DAVID AND I HAD JUST LEFT COLLEGE SO WE WERE NEW TO IT ALL TOO. AS A PERSON, SHE WAS TRUE TO HERSELF – THERE WERE NO AIRS AND GRACES. SHE MADE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU WERE THE ONLY PERSON IN THE ROOM. AND IT WASN’T JUST DAVID AND ME – SHE WOULD CHAT AWAY TO ALL THE SEAMSTRESSES.
WHEN HER ENGAGEMENT WAS ANNOUNCED, SHE CALLED AND ASKED, “WOULD YOU DO ME THE HONOUR OF MAKING MY WEDDING DRESS?” WE HAD CROWDS OUTSIDE THE STUDIO EVERY DAY HOPING TO SEE DIANA DURING ONE OF HER FITTINGS. I THINK SHE FOUND OUR STUDIO A SANCTUARY FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD. ONE TIME SHE BROUGHT THE BRIDESMAIDS ROUND FOR THEIR FITTINGS AND THEY CAME IN HOLDING THEIR ROLLERSKATES AS THEY’D JUST BEEN SKATING ROUND THE PARK. WE TOOK A PHOTO OF THEM IN THEIR SKATES WITH THEIR DRESSES!
ON THE DAY OF THE WEDDING, DAVID AND I WENT TO CLARENCE HOUSE TO HELP GET DIANA DRESSED. AFTER THE CEREMONY, WE WENT TO BUCKINGHAM PALACE TO ARRANGE THE DRESS FOR THE OFFICIAL
PHOTOGRAPHS. BY THE EVENING, WE WERE BACK AT OUR STUDIO, SLIGHTLY DEFLATED AFTER ALL THE EXCITEMENT WHEN DIANA RANG TO PERSONALLY THANK US. THAT WAS WONDERFUL.
DIANA WAS A ONE-OFF. SHE HAD FLAWS AND VULNERABILITIES LIKE ALL OF US TOO. SHE WAS VERY HUMAN.
“William and Harry are following in her footsteps”
W&H ASTROLOGER
PENNY THORNTON WAS ALSO THE PERSONAL ASTROLOGER TO DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES.
I WAS WORKING IN MY STUDY ONE MORNING IN 1986 WHEN OUT OF THE BLUE DIANA RANG ME. “HELLO”, SHE SAID, “IT’S THE PRINCESS OF WALES.” SHE WAS BUBBLY AND FRIENDLY, AND ASKED IF SHE COULD SEE ME, BUT I EXPLAINED I WAS FINISHING A BOOK AND COULD ONLY FIT HER IN WHEN IT WAS DONE. “OH DEAR,” SHE SAID, “I JUST WANT TO KNOW IF THERE IS LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL.” REALISING THERE WAS A PROBLEM, I OFFERED TO SEE HER IMMEDIATELY, AND FOUR DAYS LATER I FOUND MYSELF WALKING UP TO KENSINGTON PALACE.
DIANA CAME RUNNING OUT OF THE FRONT DOOR TO GREET ME, AND WHEN I TRIED TO CURTSEY AND ADDRESS HER FORMALLY, SHE TOOK ME BY THE ARM AND INSISTED I CALL HER DIANA. IT WAS AS THOUGH WE’D KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR YEARS. I SPENT FOUR HOURS WITH HER THAT DAY: THE FIRST OF MANY MEETINGS AND EXCHANGES OVER THE YEARS.
EVEN TO AN EXPERIENCED ASTROLOGER, THE EXTENT OF DIANA’S UNHAPPINESS IN THE
MARRIAGE WAS A REVELATION. YET SHE SAW GREAT IRONY IN HER SITUATION AND SOUGHT ONLY TO FIND A WAY THROUGH.
SHE, OF COURSE, TURNED HER OWN SUFFERING INTO HELPING THOSE WHO SUFFERED, AND SHE LEAVES A LIVING LEGACY IN WILLIAM AND HARRY, WHO’VE INHERITED HER GREAT COMPASSION AND PEOPLE SKILLS.
“She made the Royal family seem accessible”
CAROLYN ROBB WAS DIANA’S CHEF FOR FOUR YEARS FROM 1989.
I FIRST MET PRINCESS DIANA WHEN I WENT FOR AN INTERVIEW AT KENSINGTON PALACE. I WAS WAITING IN THE KITCHEN
WITH THE OTHER CHEFS, AND SHE CAME IN FROM AN OFFICIAL ENGAGEMENT, KICKED OFF HER SHOES AND STARTED CHATTING.
SHE WAS COMPLETELY INFORMAL, AND ALWAYS MADE ANYONE FEEL AT EASE
– IT WAS ONE OF HER GREATEST GIFTS.
ABOVE ALL, SHE WAS AN AMAZING MOTHER – SHE ABSOLUTELY LOVED THOSE BOYS. WHEN HARRY WAS SMALL, HE LOVED TREACLE TART SO I MADE LOTS OF SMALL TARTS AND STORED THEM IN THE FREEZER. ONE MORNING, HE CAME INTO THE KITCHEN AND ASKED IF HE COULD HAVE ONE. I SAID HE’D BETTER CHECK WITH MUMMY, AND THE NEXT THING, HARRY CAME BACK INTO THE KITCHEN WITH A POST-IT NOTE FROM DIANA THAT READ, “MUMMY SAYS IT’S OK.”
WHEN PRINCE CHARLES BROKE HIS ARM PLAYING POLO, AND WAS BEING TREATED IN HOSPITAL IN NOTTINGHAM, I WENT TO COOK FOR HIM AND HIS GUESTS IN THE HOSPITAL. DIANA CAME TO VISIT WITH THE BOYS, AND JUST GOT STUCK IN, HELPING ME IN THE KITCHEN WITH THE WASHING AND DRYING. SHE ALSO QUIETLY TOOK THE BOYS AROUND TO THE CHILDREN’S WARD TO MEET PEOPLE. I ADMIRED HOW SHE GENTLY INTRODUCED THEM, FROM A YOUNG AGE, TO THE LIFE THAT LAY AHEAD.
I THINK SHE IS NOW BEING REMEMBERED FOR HOW SHE CHANGED THE ROYAL FAMILY, AND THE PUBLIC’S PERCEPTION OF THEM.
SHE MADE THEM SEEM MORE ACCESSIBLE WITH HER HUMAN TOUCH. W&H