Princess Diana

Diana, Princess of Wales.

Diana, Princess of Wales was the first royalty I was exposed to as a child. She shot to fame when she got engaged and for her shapely legs shown (in silhouette of course) in a series of pictures taken at the then kindergarten she was working in, Young England.

Married at 19 years old. No wonder we were all mesmerised by Diana, she was at her peak of beauty and it certainly helped that she was very photogenic and came across as shy and innocent. I bought many books on Diana. This was before the time of internet being readily available and no gorgeous titbits of gossips like those in the Royaldish forum. We relied on magazines. New Idea was my go-to for information. Her tour of Australia shortly after she got William was a copy I read and reread many times, even bringing the magazine to school. Her dresses were striking and she had lovely hats some with plumes of feathers and some with striking shapes tilted at the back of her head all in gorgeous matching colours.

Here is an earlier shot of Diana with her original hairstyle which was copied widely by many.

The iconic wedding dress

Every girl's fairy tale princess. Large puffy sleeves, a big veil, a tiara ( she wore her Spencer tiara) and a very long train which looked amazing from the aerial view inside the cathedral. Designed by David and Elizabeth Emmanuel, husband and wife team ( who have since split-up) relatively unknown at that time, they were given the herculean task of designing the wedding dress of the wife of the future king of England. No pressure of course.I think they did a great job. This shot was taken after the wedding, so at closer range we see the intricate design. This was missed when she exited the carriage, it was a grand scene marred slightly by the creases from the carriage ride. Those bridesmaids ( Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones and Indian Hicks ) had to work hard at getting the train out, arranging it and making sure the creases weren't obvious.