‘MY LADY DI HAIR TUTORIAL WENT VIRAL’
Rose van Rijn: @70srose, 530.2k followers
‘I wanted to do it for the longest time, but never had the courage until I watched a documentary on Diana late at night. I felt so impulsive the next morning that I chopped off all my hair,’ says Rose van Rijn, 20, of her decision to copy Diana’s early 80s hairstyle. The video went on to rack up over ten million views.
As her TikTok fans will attest, the Netherlands native is a big fan of the 70s and frequently posts hair tutorials featuring tongs, flicks and other hallmarks of the decade. But she was 13 when she fell in love with Princess Diana. ‘My dad took me to Paris, and we drove through the tunnel where Diana’s car crashed. My dad told me about how she wasn’t just a princess, but an icon. I love that she went from this shy girl to a
‘SHE APPEALS TO YOUNG PEOPLE BECAUSE SHE WAS SO AHEAD OF HER TIME’
confident woman who cared so much about important issues. She went out in the world and showed love to people. Of course, she had a sense of fashion and style, and was incredibly beautiful. But what made her really iconic, in my opinion, was her kind and caring soul.’
On TikTok since 2019, Rose has chronic Lyme disease which forces her to spend a lot of time in bed. ‘But on the days I feel good, I love making content for my followers that transports them back in time.’ Unsurprisingly for a 70s aficionado, it’s Diana’s early 80s style, which bore many hallmarks of the previous decade, that Rose loves most. ‘It was so sweet, with the midi skirts and dresses, cute collars and floral prints. She was so sophisticated — never tacky. I would wear every single thing she wore in those years.’
She says her Diana hair tutorial is the most successful post she’s ever done. ‘Lots of my followers already used to tell me I looked a bit like Diana, but its popularity was a total surprise,’ she says. ‘I think Diana appeals so much to younger people because she was so ahead of her time.
‘And then when [season four] of The Crown came out, they discovered what she went through
and what an icon she was.’