diana travel photos

A Look Back At Princess Diana's Travels Around The World

The People's Princess made an impact across the globe.

In remembering the late Princess Diana, it's clear to see she left an impact well beyond the country of Britain. The "People's Princess" touched lives across the entire globe—leaving her mark everywhere from the Americas to Africa, Europe, Asia and even the Land Down Under. As we remember Princess Di nearly 20 years since her tragic death, take a look back at the late royal's well-dressed travels around the world.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana by The River Dee in Wales during their honeymoon.

In a pink Belville Sassoon suit and hat while on her first official overseas visit to Australia.

On a stagecoach ride with Prince Charles in Ballarat, Australia.

Standing in front of Ayers Rock with Prince Charles during the royal visit to Australia.

Driving through Sydney, Australia with Prince Charles in a floral pink dress and wide-brim hat.

In a belted yellow dress while visiting schoolchildren in Alice Springs with Prince Charles.

Riding in a Land Rover during the Hands Oval sportsground in Bunbury, Australia.

Waving goodbye in a red dress and blue feathered hat as she and Princess Charles leave Melbourne, Australia.

In an Edwardian-inspired look for a Klondike evening barbecue at Ford Edmonton during the Royal Tour of Canada.

Receiving a gift of gloves from the Mic Mac Indians in Charlo, Canada.

In a John Boyd yellow suit and hat while riding in a Maori canoe at the Bay Of Islands, New Zealand with Prince Charles.

Meeting a Maori woman with a traditional hongi nose rub at the Eden Park Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand.

In a red and white dress and matching hat while on a royal visit to Canada with Prince Charles.

In a royal blue dress by Bruce Oldfield while on a boat ride in Venice, Italy.

In a blue jacket and hat while riding in a gondola with Prince Charles in Venice.

Meeting The Pope with Prince Charles at The Vatican.

In a camel coat and hat while on a royal flight to Australia with Prince Charles and their staff.

Arriving in Australia in a camel coat and matching hat.

In a pink and black suit by Victor Edelstein and a hat by Frederick Fox while on a two-day visit to the Royal Hampshire Regiment in Berlin, Germany.

Jennifer Algoo is the Visuals Director at Harper's BAZAAR.  She is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts and has previously worked at Patrick McMullan Co. as well as completing internships at Martha Stewart Weddings, Vogue and CosmoGirl! Magazine.   Jennifer covers royal, celeb and art content as well as overseeing all visual assets on BAZAAR.com.  When she's not obsessing over the royals you can find her attempting to solve cold cases as an armchair detective, traveling and experimenting with new recipes.  

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The 30 Most Iconic Photographs of Princess Diana

By Elise Taylor and Gia Yetikyel

Every July 1—the birthday of Diana, Princess of Wales —photographs of the late royal emerge across the news, social media, and pop culture platforms, a visual ode to the royal and public figure who touched the lives of so many. After all, during her life, Diana was known for her impactful image-making: a photo of her shaking hands with an AIDS patient in London, for example, helped de-stigmatize the disease during the height of hysteria around it, while a picture of her walking through a landmine field in Angola helped raise worldwide awareness for the human rights issue. Then, there are the pictures that epitomize glamour and, well, scandal: take the little black frock Diana wore out after Prince Charles admitted to an affair on national television, cemented now in pop culture as the “revenge dress.” (It even has its own Wikipedia page .) Or consider her wedding dress, complete with puff sleeves and a 25-foot train.

Even 26 years after her death, new photos of Princess Diana continue to emerge: on March 4, 2022, two white-gloved curators hung a rarely-seen portrait of the late Princess of Wales , by David Bailey, on the walls of Kensington Palace. The black-and-white portrait is striking in its minimalism, showing simply the profile of Diana staring steadfastly ahead. A new view of the Princess, added to the cultural canon.

Now, with the sixth and final season of The Crown airing on Netflix, viewers have been brought up to the early 21st century of the royal family’s history, including the tragedy of Diana’s death. Split between two volumes, this season continues to follow Queen Elizabeth II’s reign while exploring Prince Charles’s relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles following his divorce from Diana, as well as the latter’s romantic involvement with Dodi Fayed. (The second half of the season, to be released in December, will also introduce the early days of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s romance.)

Beyond being a style icon, Diana was known and loved for her ability to connect with the public. The people’s princess remains adored through her fashion ensembles, public service, and steadfast strength. Below, in addition to Bailey’s portrait, we revisit some of the most famous snaps taken of the late Princess of Wales.

Lady Diana Spencer at age 19, the age she was when she and Prince Charles started dating .

Lady Diana Spencer in November 1980, two months after her relationship with Prince Charles was revealed by the press.

Lady Diana Spencer, startled after stalling her new red Mini Metro outside her Earls Court flat in London just days before her engagement to Prince Charles was announced. 

Prince Charles III and Lady Diana Spencer at Buckingham Palace on the day they announce their engagement in February 1981.

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Princess Diana's life in 17 legendary pictures

Twenty-five years after her tragic death, Diana, Princess of Wales , remains a topic of public fascination.

The late royal died on August 31, 1997 , following a car accident in Paris, France. Though her untimely death prompted reports, speculation, documentaries , and books , it was the life of the late royal that truly captivated the public.

Throughout her life as a face of the British royal family, Diana enthralled the world with her sense of style , personal relationships and her public efforts and charitable work. Given her status as the People's Princess, a figure of adoration, the world reeled at the news of her sudden death , and continues to mourn her loss to this day.

On the 25th anniversary of Diana's death, take a look at some of her life's defining photos.

A young Diana

Before she became engaged to Princes Charles, Prince of Wales, she was Lady Diana Spencer. Diana was born into the aristocratic Spencer family and, upon her birth, became The Honourable Diana Frances Spencer. She became Lady Diana Spencer in 1975 at the age of 14 after her father inherited the title  Earl Spencer .

Diana, a princess in the making

In the late 1970s, before her marriage to Prince Charles, Diana  worked as a kindergarten assistant at the Young England School . Here she is pictured in September 1980, a little over four months before she became engaged to Prince Charles in February 1981.

On a royal path

Four months after the announcement of their engagement, Diana posed alongside her fiancé at Craigowen Lodge, located in the Scottish countryside near the royal family's Balmoral estate. For the photo op, Diana wore a pink alpaca jumper  purchased from a London shop called Inca, The Peruvian Shop.

On the cusp of princess-dom

A few months shy of her wedding to Prince Charles in July 1981, a lineup of Diana look alikes met with the Prince of Wales. The above picture is a snapshot of the rising sensation Diana had become and only peek into what public obsession with her would become .

Diana, Princess of Wales

Upon her marriage to the prince, 19-year-old Diana gained a new title: the Princess of Wales.

On July 29, 1981, Diana rode to St. Paul’s Cathedral in a carriage. The bride wore an extravagant ivory silk gown designed by husband-and-wife team David and Elizabeth Emanuel so famous it has its own Wikipedia page. The dress had a train that measured 25 feet, large puff sleeves, antique lace and 10,000 pearls.

To top it all off she wore a  Spencer family heirloom, the Spencer tiara .

A mother in the making

On June 22, 1982, one day after giving birth, Diana appeared alongside Charles and their newborn son Prince William – whose full name is William Arthur Philip Louis — for the first time in public. Together the family left the Lindo Wing St. Mary’s Hospital.

Lady in pink

Nearly two years into her marriage, Diana wore a pink dress designed by Victor Edelstein for a state reception in Brisbane, Australia. The photo of her in the Edelstein dress was captured during her  April 1983 tour  of Australia, in which her documented penchant for the color pink was on full display .

Prince Harry makes his debut

Two years after the birth of her first child, Diana gave birth to Prince Harry — whose full name is Henry Charles Albert David — on Sept. 15, 1984. Like his older brother, Harry was born at St. Mary’s Hospital.

Twirling with Travolta

During an official dinner at the White House on Nov. 9, 1985, Diana famously tore up the dance floor with “Saturday Night Fever” actor John Travolta in Cross Hall. The off-the-shoulder midnight blue gown by Victor Edelstein has since been called the “Travolta dress.”

A look at her playful sense of humor

In June 1991, Diana and her son Prince William enjoyed a laugh over snacks and drinks at Windsor Great Park.

During a service on the 10th anniversary of Diana’s death in 2007, Buckingham Palace, Harry spoke about what his mother meant to him and his brother. "She will always be remembered for her amazing public work, but behind the media glare, to us, just two loving children, she was quite simply the best mother in the world," he said.

Diana at the races

In June 1991, Diana participated in field day activities at Wetherby School, where her son Harry was a student. The fashionable royal showed off her competitive streak by slipping out of her shoes to run barefoot in a race against other school moms. She didn't win , but she came close.

Shepherding her sons through royal duties

The princess carried out official royal duties in an appearance alongside her sons Prince William and Prince Harry at the Heads of State VE Remembrance Service in London, England. This photograph was taken in Hyde Park on May 7, 1995, a year before she and Charles officially divorced.

Princess Diana's walk on minefields to raise awareness

In January 1997,   Diana actively campaigned for the end of landmine use . Her walk across a minefield in Angola raised awareness for the issue.

Diana a modern-day 90s icon, spends time with another 90s hit

Diana met Mother Teresa during a visit to a hospital in the Bronx, New York, in 1997. At the time, Diana was in the United States to take part in a charity auction of 79 of her dresses. According to  Associated Press , Diana changed her schedule to meet with the nun.

Mother Teresa died several months after the above photo was taken on Sept. 5, just days after Diana’s death on Aug. 31. of the same year.

Before tragedy struck, Diana rang in her birthday and soaked in the sun with her sons

A little over a month before her death, Diana celebrated her 36th birthday on July 1, 1997. She carried out her last official engagement on July 21 with a visit to the children’s accident and emergency unit of Northwick Park Hospital in London.

That month, the royal also holidayed throughout the Mediterranean. The photograph above shows Diana with her son Harry while riding a jet ski on the beaches of Saint-Tropez one month before her death.

Diana leaves Westminster Abbey for the last time

On August 31, 1997, Diana’s untimely death at 36 shocked the world. The mother of two was involved in a high-speed accident that occurred Place de l’Alma underpass in the early morning hours of Aug. 31, 1997.

Seven days later, on Sept. 6, the late princess was carried in a casket from Kensington Palace to Westminster Abbey. A floral arrangement of white flowers adorned her coffin with a tribute from her sons that read “Mummy.” 

Alex Portée is a senior trending reporter at TODAY Digital and is based in Los Angeles.

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The 22 Most Iconic Photographs Of Diana, Princess Of Wales

By Elise Taylor

On 4 March this year, two white-gloved curators hung a portrait of Diana, Princess of Wales on the walls of Kensington Palace. While photos of the late royal aren’t rare – in the 1990s, she was one of the most photographed women alive, and 30 years later, her image is all over the internet – this one had never been on public display before. 

Taken by David Bailey in 1988, the black and white portrait is striking in its minimalism. A simple image of the princess in profile, staring steadfastly ahead, it lacks the formality and grandeur of royal portraits past, like those by Cecil Beaton. Whereas several other photos from the same shoot were acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in the ’80s, this one remained for years in Bailey’s private collection. The Historic Royal Palaces, a non-profit committed to maintaining Kensington Palace, secured the photo for the Life Through A Royal Lens exhibit, which focused on portraits of the Windsor family.

And so, a new view of Diana was added to the cultural canon. The late royal was known for her impactful image-making: a photo of her shaking hands with an AIDS patient in London, for example, helped destigmatise the disease, while a picture of her walking through a landmine field in Angola helped to raise global awareness for a pressing human rights issue. Then, there are the pictures of her that epitomise glamour and, well, scandal: take the little black dress Diana wore to a high-profile party as her estranged husband Prince Charles admitted to an affair on national television, cemented now in pop culture as the “revenge dress” . (It even has its own Wikipedia page .)

Below, in addition to Bailey’s portrait, we revisit some of the most famous photographs ever taken of the late Princess of Wales.

By Ellie Pithers

Lady Diana Spencer at age 19, the age she was when she and Prince Charles started dating .

Lady Diana Spencer in November 1980, two months after her relationship with Prince Charles was revealed by the press.

Lady Diana Spencer, startled after stalling her new red Mini Metro outside her Earls Court flat in London just days before her engagement to Prince Charles was announced. 

Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer at Buckingham Palace on the day they announced their engagement in February 1981.

Lady Diana Spencer wearing her “Black sheep” wool jumper by Warm and Wonderful to Windsor Polo, June 1981. Forty years later, the distinct print has once again made a fashion comeback .

Lady Diana Spencer arrives at St Paul’s Cathedral on her wedding day, revealing to the world the wedding dress which had been carefully guarded during its design.

Princess Diana falls asleep during an appearance in 1981, which gave her the nickname of “Sleeping Beauty”. She would announce her pregnancy with Prince William shortly after.

The Princess of Wales, wearing a tartan dress designed by Caroline Charles and a black Tam o’ shanter-style hat, attending the Braemar Highland Games on 5 September 1981 in Scotland. 

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A Look Back At Princess Diana's Travels Around the World

In remembering the late Princess Diana, it's clear to see she left an impact well beyond the country of Britain. The "People's Princess" touched lives across the entire globe—leaving her mark everywhere from the Americas to Africa, Europe, Asia and even the Land Down Under. As we remember Princess Di take a look back at the late royal's travels around the world.

We'll never forget the iconic photos of her in front of the Taj Mahal. ❤️

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The 23 most iconic photographs of Princess Diana

By Elise Taylor

Look back on the most iconic pictures of Princess Diana, who continues to captivate us.

In the 1990s, Princess Diana was one of the most photographed women alive, and even 30 years later, depictions of her abound daily on the internet—this one was taken by David Bailey in 1988, the black-and-white portrait is striking in its minimalism, showing simply the profile of Diana staring steadfastly ahead. 

Lady Diana's simplicity does not detract from her beauty 

It lacks the formality and grandeur of royal portraits past, like those done by the famed Cecil Beaton , and it has also never been seen before: whereas several other photos from the shoot were acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in the ’80s, this one remained for years in Bailey ’s private collection. The Historic Royal Palaces, a non-profit committed to maintaining Kensington Palace, secured the photo for a new exhibit, “Life Through A Royal Lens,” which highlights portraits of the Windsor family.

By Rachel Garrahan and Eniola Dare

And so, a new view of the Princess is added to the cultural canon. Diana was known for her impactful image-making: a photo of her shaking hands with an AIDS patient in London, for example, helped de-stigmatize the disease during the height of hysteria around it, while a picture of her walking through a landmine field in Angola helped raise world-wide awareness for the human rights issue. Then, there are the pictures that epitomize glamour and, well, scandal: take the little black frock Diana wore out after Prince Charles admitted to an affair on national television, cemented now in pop culture as the “revenge dress.” (It even has its own Wikipedia page.) Or consider her wedding dress, complete with puff sleeves and a 25-foot train.

This article was originally published on Vogue.com

Lady Diana Spencer at age 19, the age she was when she and Prince Charles started dating .

Lady Diana Spencer in November 1980, two months after her relationship with Prince Charles was revealed by the press.

Lady Diana Spencer, startled after stalling her new red Mini Metro outside her Earls Court flat in London just days before her engagement to Prince Charles was announced. 

Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer at Buckingham Palace on the day they announce their engagement in February 1981.

Lady Diana Spencer wearing her 'Black sheep' wool jumper by Warm and Wonderful to Windsor Polo, June 1981. 40 years later, the distinct print has once again made a fashion comeback .

Lady Diana Spencer arrives at St. Paul's Cathedral on her wedding day, revealing to the world the wedding dress which had been carefully guarded during its design.

Princess Diana falls asleep during an appearance in 1981, which gave her the nickname of “Sleeping Beauty.” She would announce her pregnancy with Prince William shortly after.

The Princess of Wales, wearing a tartan dress designed by Caroline Charles and a black Tam o' shanter style hat, attending the Braemar Highland Games on September 5, 1981 in Scotland. 

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Princess Diana's Life in Photos: From Young Girl to People's Princess

Princess Diana's stunning transition from young girl to royal mom to global humanitarian

Diana Frances Spencer was born on July 1, 1961 (she would've been 60 this Thursday) to John Spencer, the 8th Earl Spencer and his first wife, Frances (later, Frances Shand Kydd). She was the fourth of five children, but her brother, John, died in infancy. She had two older sisters, Sarah and Jane, and one younger brother, Charles, who is now the 9th Earl Spencer.

In 1969, when she was 7 years old, Diana's parents divorced. Her brother, Charles, told PEOPLE that the split , which saw her mother leaving the family home, was hard on her. "[It] was tough on Diana," he said. "She used to sit on the doorstep at Park House and wait for her to come back."

Both her parents remarried — her mother wed Peter Shand Kydd, a businessman, in 1969, and her father wed Raine, who was the Countess of Dartmouth before her marriage to Diana's father in 1976. When John inherited the Earldom following his father's death in 1975, the family relocated to Althorp, the Spencer family seat.

Though school was not Diana's strong suit (Charles said she found schoolwork "tricky"), she did do well in other areas, such as piano and dance.

After graduating from school, she moved to London, where she worked as a nanny and a nursery school teacher.

She first met Prince Charles in 1977, when he was dating her sister, Sarah. They reunited in 1980, and the two began dating. After spending time with the royal family at Balmoral, the Queen's Scottish residence, and on the royal yacht Britannia, Queen Elizabeth and other members of the royal family expressed their approval of Diana. It wasn't long before Prince Charles proposed in 1981.

Diana and Charles made their first joint public appearance in March 1981, at a ball in London, where she met Grace, Princess of Monaco .

They married on July 30, 1981, at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, in a wedding watched by over 750 million people around the globe.

The ceremony, which was dubbed a "fairy tale" by the press and public, catapulted Diana to global-level stardom.

After the ceremony at St. Paul's, the whole family came together on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, where Charles and Diana kissed for the crowds below.

The couple honeymooned on Brittania and in Balmoral. It has since been revealed that the cracks in the foundation of Charles and Diana's relationship were apparent even then: Sally Bedell Smith, author of Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life , said that the two clashed during the first few weeks of their marriage — and Diana used the honeymoon to "catch up on sleep."

Charles and Diana announced they were expecting their first child on November 5, 1981, and Prince William was born at St. Mary's Hospital in London on June 21, 1982.

She and Charles took then 9-month-old son Prince William with them on an official visit to Australia and New Zealand in March 1983, a decision that was unprecedented at the time. On the trip, Diana and Charles posed in front of Ayers Rock in Australia — a photo that William and his wife, Kate Middleton , recreated on their 2014 trip to the country with their son, Prince George .

As the Princess of Wales, Diana traveled the world. Here, at the White House in 1985, she dances with John Travolta in a now-iconic photograph.

Their second child, Prince Harry , was born two years later, on September 14, 1984. Here, the family gathers for a photo after Harry's christening at the Music Room in Buckingham Palace, while William steals the show at the front.

Diana was committed to giving her children as normal a life as possible, something both William and Harry still praise her for today. Here, she and Harry sit together during a summer vacation to Mallorca in 1988.

That also included dropping them off at school when she could, as she did here for Harry's first day in 1989.

In 1989, Diana attends a polo match with William.

In the documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy , Harry said of Diana: "Our mother was a total kid, through and through. When everybody says to me, 'So she was fun, give us an example,' all I can hear is her laugh in my head. That sort of crazy laugh of where there was just pure happiness shown on her face." That memorable laugh is seen here, during a family trip to Thorpe Park, an amusement park.

Diana wears the Cambridge Lover's Knot tiara — one of her favorites — in Hong Kong.

By 1992, tensions between Charles and Diana were at an all-time high. In November, they took what would be their final trip together, to South Korea. In December, Prime Minister John Major announced their separation.

Charles's affair with his ex-girlfriend Camilla Parker-Bowles was revealed to the public in 1994 , as was Diana's own affair with her riding instructor, James Hewitt. Shortly after Charles's admission, Diana wore this black stunner to a party at London's Serpentine Gallery, which became affectionately dubbed the "revenge dress."

Though they were separated, Charles and Diana continued to attend events together on occasion, like this VJ Day commemoration in August 1995. That same year, Diana gave a bombshell interview to BBC's Panorama where she discussed Charles's affair with Camilla and her feelings about the royal family.

On August 28, 1996, Charles and Diana divorced. She lost her "Her Royal Highness" style, but retained the title of Princess of Wales. She dated a few men in the years after her divorce, most notably heart surgeon Hasnat Khan and businessman Dodi Al-Fayed. She visited Pakistan in the year of her divorce.

Diana's often remembered for her charity work, and her fearless activism in support of several causes. One of the most notable was HIV/AIDS. She made waves by shaking hands with people who were suffering from AIDS, a move seen as revolutionary in a time when worries about "catching HIV" were at a high.

She also was a strong supporter of the homeless. In 1995, she made a speech in defense of the charity Centrepoint. Her sons continue to work with the organization today.

In January 1997, she visited Angola with the Halo Trust, continuing her advocacy against land mines. A cause Harry champions today.

In 1997, just a few months before she died, Diana held an auction of her clothes at Christies in N.Y.C., which raised over $3 million. At the auction, she chats with her stepmother, Raine, Countess Spencer.

In August 1997, Diana visited Sarajevo, Bosnia, where she met with victims of land mines and continued her advocacy against the use of land mines worldwide.

Just a few weeks later, Diana was in Paris with her then-boyfriend, Al-Fayed. They were in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma on August 31, 1997, that killed both her and Al-Fayed, as well as the driver, Henri Paul.

After her death, there was an outpouring of public mourning and sympathy. Flowers, cards and photos covered every inch of space outside of Kensington Palace, Diana's London home.

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Princess Diana’s Most Iconic Style Moments

Revisit some of princess diana’s best fashion moments—from royal tours in custom evening gowns and diamond tiaras to off-duty athleisure looks..

Where protocol and image were prioritized within the British royal family, Princess Diana focused on creating a genuine connection with people from the start. Whether serving as a patron to artistic organizations like the English National Ballet, helping to end the stigma around HIV/AIDS by removing her gloves to shake hands with a patient, or participating in a barefoot race with other parents at her son’s school, Diana brought a refreshing approachability to the royal family. It was this break from rigidity and formality, in fact, that helped to cement the Princess of Wales as the “people’s princess.”  

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In many ways, that authenticity was reflected in Princess Diana’s wardrobe, too. Just 20 years old when she married Prince Charles (now King Charles III ) in a televised ceremony viewed by more than 750 million people around the world, Diana’s earliest looks mirrored the frills and the ruffles of the early ‘80s. But even then, there were glimmers of her personality in her royal wardrobe. The Princess of Wales would often repeat gowns from royal engagements to red carpet events (and vice versa), and she found inventive ways to accessorize with her jewelry—from wearing an emerald necklace as a headband to redesigning a sapphire brooch into her most memorable pearl choker.

She also took into consideration the cultures of the countries she was visiting during official royal tours to places like Japan and Pakistan. “My wife and I spent a great deal of time researching what she wore for official visits abroad, even visiting countries in advance to make sure we had it right,” recalled Said Cyrus , the husband of Diana’s go-to designer Catherine Walker . “We tried to ensure that our designs bridged her ambassadorial role for her own country and also paid respect to each destination.”

Following her separation from Prince Charles in 1992 (the pair finalized their divorce in 1996), Princess Diana’s style shifted to reflect her newfound independence. Bright colors were still a part of her wardrobe, but she also added more neutrals, most often turning to Gianni Versace for tailored suits and sleek evening gowns. Her handbag of choice also became a focal point, with several fashion houses later renaming popular bags in her honor. There was the Gucci tote with bamboo top handle, that would officially be renamed the Gucci Diana when then-creative director Alessandro Michele reissued the bag in 2021, and Tod’s renamed one of its leather totes the Di bag as well. Most famous of all was the Dior Chouchou bag, which was first gifted to Diana by France’s first lady Bernadette Chirac in 1995, and became such a constant accessory for the Princess of Wales that within a year, the French fashion house changed its name to the Lady Dior.

And then, there was her off-duty style. While polo matches and school runs often meant pairing denim with blazers and flats, it’s Princess Diana’s workout wear, which combined oversized sweatshirts, bicycle shorts, crew socks and sneakers, that continues to be emulated today. Ahead, revisit some of Princess Diana’s best fashion moments—from royal tours in custom evening gowns and diamond tiaras to off-duty athleisure looks.

1981, Buckingham Palace

To officially announce their engagement, a 19-year-old Lady Diana Spencer wore a blue skirt suit that matched her sapphire and diamond engagement ring as she posed alongside Prince Charles in the gardens of Buckingham Palace. Before she suddenly found herself in the spotlight, she had been working as a teacher’s assistant at a nursery school in London.

1981, Cowdray Park Polo Club

One of the earliest examples of Diana’s off-duty style, the princess-to-be attended a polo match just weeks before her wedding in buttercup-yellow overalls that she wore with a floral print blouse, espadrille sandals and sunglasses.

1981, Royal Wedding

In a ceremony more extravagant than any fairytale, Lady Diana Spencer became the Princess of Wales when she wed Prince Charles at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. For her walk down the aisle, which would make history as the first televised royal wedding, Diana wore a silk-taffeta design by David and Elizabeth Emanuel . The very ‘80s gown included oversized sleeves and a full skirt, with nearly 10,000 mother of pearl sequins hand-sewn along the bodice and sleeves (and the 40-foot-long veil). An impressive 25-foot detachable train trailed behind the princess, who also wore custom slippers by Clive Shilton, the Spencer family diamond tiara and diamond drop earrings.

1981, Victoria & Albert Museum

To attend an exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum, Diana wore a shimmering pastel gown by Bellville Sassoon that was accented with tiny pale blue ribbons and a larger version at the waist. The off-the-shoulder silhouette also proved to be the perfect way to show off her multi-strand pearl and diamond choker necklace, which was complemented with a matching pearl bracelet and diamond drop earrings.

1982, Scilly Isles

Breezy dresses in bright colors were a staple for Diana throughout her pregnancy with her first son, Prince William , with this long-sleeve design being a prime example. Princess Diana would wear a green polka-dot gown a few months later when she and Prince Charles were pictured leaving the hospital with their son, and just over 30 years later, Kate Middleton would follow suit in her own light blue polka-dot dress while leaving the very same hospital with her and Prince William’s newborn son, Prince George.

1983, in Australia

Diana wore this floral print pink dress with a matching hat during her first overseas engagement—a six-week tour of Australia and New Zealand.

1983, in Canada

A few months later in Canada, Diana wore a blue gown with lots of frills by Bruce Oldfield, which she paired with a metallic belt and clutch. As she was attending a formal dinner, the Princess of Wales accessorized with her Spencer family tiara and the Royal Family Order pin that was given to her by Queen Elizabeth II .

1983, Guards Polo Club

Princess Diana wore this wool sheep jumper by Warm & Wonderful to two polo matches: first in 1981 and then again, pictured here, in 1983. For her Guards Polo Club appearance, Diana wore the sweater, which included one black sheep among the knitted white sheep, over a white blouse with a large collar and black ribbon. The sweater has since been renamed by the company in her honor, and in 2023, Diana’s original sheep jumper sold for $1.14 million at Sotheby’s auction house in New York.

1984, Visiting Odstock Hospital

Adding suits to her maternity style, Princess Diana wore this blue set by Jan Van Velden to meet with patients and staff at the Odstock Hospital in Salisbury, England, while pregnant with Prince Harry . Her look included a blue hat with mesh veil by milliner John Boyd, and Diana matched her accessories to the white square collar on the suit with white pumps and clutch bag.

1985, The La Scala Opera House

Princess Diana had many memorable fashion moments during her 17-day tour of Italy with Prince Charles in 1985 (including a black-veiled ensemble during her audience with Pope John Paul II), but this pink Victor Edelstein gown was most fit for a royal. The sleeveless design, with its fitted bodice and flowy skirt, was just right for a night at the La Scala opera house, and Diana accessorized with a pearl necklace, pearl drop earrings and the Lover’s Knot tiara; a collection of diamonds and hanging pearls that was originally made for Queen Mary in 1913. This particular tiara would eventually prove to be a favorite of Kate Middleton’s . 

1985, in Australia

For a gala event in Australia, Diana wore a custom one-shoulder satin evening gown by David and Elizabeth Emanuel. But it was her emerald and diamond headband that really stole the show; it was originally an Art Deco style choker that was given to Queen Mary by the Maharani of Patiala in 1911.

During her 1985 Australian tour, Princess Diana also attended the Melbourne Cup horse race, where she donned a white and black suit by Bruce Oldfield. Milliner Frederick Fox created a matching hat, and Diana added black gloves, a clutch bag, pumps and seam tights with tiny bows at the ankle.

1985, in the U.S.

During an official visit to the U.S., Princess Diana attended a dinner at the White House, where she met with President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan (and famously danced with John Travolta ). For the formal event, Diana wore a velvet off-the-shoulder gown in midnight blue by designer Victor Edelstein, which she paired with evening gloves, sapphire and diamond earrings, and a massive sapphire and diamond necklace (the latter was originally gifted by the Queen as a brooch before Diana had it converted into a seven-strand pearl choker).

1987, Cannes Film Festival

At the Cannes Film Festival , the Princess of Wales channeled another royal—Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco—when she wore this strapless powder-blue gown by Catherine Walker. The custom silk chiffon design was said to be inspired by a   similar gown that Kelly had worn on-screen in Alfred Hitchcock ’s 1955 film, To Catch a Thief . Similar to Kelly’s character, Frances Stevens, Diana wore a matching scarf, but she added statement jewelry with aquamarine and diamond earrings and a bracelet.

1988, in Australia

During her next royal tour of Australia, Diana was pictured in a pink and blue patterned gown by Catherine Walker, which she wore with sapphire and diamond jewelry.

1988, Guards Polo Club

Bringing Prince William along to a polo match at the Guards Polo Club, Diana dressed casually in blue jeans and a black blazer worn over a British Lung Foundation sweatshirt. To complete the look, she added a baseball cap and cowboy-inspired brown boots.

1988, Claridge’s Hotel

Princess Diana brought back the emerald and diamond choker necklace for a banquet hosted by the president of Turkey at Claridge’s Hotel in London in 1988. The emerald jewels matched her one-shoulder gown, which was also decorated with the Royal Family Order pin and accessorized with the Spencer family tiara.

1988, in France  

During her royal tour of France, Diana attended a dinner at the British Embassy in Paris wearing a red and black floral gown by Catherine Walker, which included a one-shoulder silhouette and a dramatic full skirt.

1989, Swan Lake Performance

When Russia’s Bolshoi Ballet visited London, Diana attended a performance of the company’s Swan Lake in a gown by Catherine Walker. The fitted silhouette included long sleeves and an open back, with Princess Diana coordinating her accessories to the ballet-pink skirt. While she kept her jewelry more minimal, the sleeves of the dress included pearl accents on the cuffs and Diana added pearl and diamond drop earrings.

1989, in Hong Kong

Dubbed the “Elvis Dress” by Princess Diana herself, this beaded Catherine Walker gown included a matching bolero with an estimated 28,600 hand-embroidered pearls (and, of course, the Elvis-like high collar behind its nickname). One of the dresses she would rewear, Diana originally debuted the gown at the British Fashion Awards in October before wearing it a month later during an official visit to Hong Kong. While there, Diana added even more pearls (and some diamonds) to the look with the Lover’s Knot tiara, a three-strand pearl bracelet and her pearl drop earrings.

1990, in Cameroon

While visiting with deaf students at a school in Cameroon, Princess Diana wore a buttercup-yellow skirt suit by Catherine Walker, which was trimmed with a pink collar and buttons and accessorized with a pink hat by Philip Somerville.

1990, The Hunt For Red October Film Premiere

For the London premiere of The Hunt for Red October , Diana chose a shimmering emerald-green gown by Catherine Walker and matching satin pumps.

1990, in Hungary

When Diana attended a dinner hosted by the Hungarian president during her tour of the country in 1990, she appeared to be rewearing the “Elvis Dress” once again—this time, without the jacket. She also accessorized the look differently, with her sapphire and diamond pearl choker.

This pink and purple suit by Catherine Walker would prove to be a favorite of Princess Diana’s, as she would go on to wear it several times over the next two years.

1990, London City Ballet Gala

As patron of the London City Ballet, Diana was on hand to chat with attendees when the company held a benefit event in Washington, D.C. For the occasion, she wore a red gown by Victor Edelstein with matching clutch and pumps, as well as her three-strand pearl bracelet and diamond and pearl earrings (both of which have been worn by Kate Middleton).

1990, Princess Eugenie’s Christening

Not one to shy away from color or pattern, Diana embraced both when she attended Princess Eugenie ’s christening in a red and black houndstooth pattern Moschino suit that she wore with a red hat, black gloves and two-tone pumps.

1991, in London

Princess Diana incorporated NFL merch into her off-duty wardrobe when she wore a Philadelphia Eagles varsity jacket to take Prince Harry to school in 1991. The jacket was actually made for Diana as a gift from the Eagles’ then-owner Leonard Tose and the team’s statistician Jack Edelstein after she met the latter at Princess Grace Kelly’s funeral (Kelly was originally from Philadelphia).

1991, in Brazil

During a visit to Brazil, Princess Diana wore a safari-inspired khaki suit by Catherine Walker that included an oversized matching belt at the waist.

To visit the Royal Star & Garter home for injured servicemen in London, Diana opted for a simple pink and lilac-trimmed dress by Catherine Walker, which she would wear again in Pakistan, Calcutta and Egypt.

1991, in Pakistan

The bright green Catherine Walker dress that Princess Diana wore in Pakistan included a coordinating headscarf for her visit to the Badshahi Mosque.

1992, in India

Princess Diana wore another Catherine Walker gown to attend a banquet in India. The design included a glittering embroidered bodice, which Diana played up with the Spencer family tiara and diamond and pearl earrings.

1992, in London

Shortly before the release of her authorized biography by Andrew Morton , Diana was photographed on a school run in a casual-chic combo of black pants and a black blazer worn over a red blouse.

1993, Accidental Hero Film Premiere

In the months following her separation from Prince Charles, Diana attended the film premiere of Accidental Hero in a mint-green gown by Catherine Walker. The off-the-shoulder silhouette included white stripes and button details along the bodice, and Diana added satin pumps, a white clutch and diamond earrings to complete the look.

1994, Serpentine Gallery

If there’s one dress that Princess Diana is known for, it’s this fitted, off-the-shoulder design by Christina Stambolian, which included an asymmetrical hemline and chiffon train. Paired with her favorite sapphire and diamond seven-strand pearl choker, the little black dress was soon dubbed the “Revenge Dress,” as Diana wore it to a gala event the same evening Prince Charles admitted that he had been unfaithful to her in a televised interview.

1995 in Argentina

Post-separation, Diana’s sartorial shift saw her in shorter hemlines and luxury designer pieces. This pink Versace skirt suit was an early example, which Diana wore with the square-shaped Dior Chouchou bag that would soon be renamed the Lady Dior.

1995, in Liverpool

In another Versace suit—this time, a statement-making orange—Diana attended the opening of the Liverpool Women’s Hospital. Diana wore the set with all-black accessories, though she did match her gold earrings to the hardware on her Lady Dior bag.

1996, in London

For a lunch event at Brown’s Hotel in London, Princess Diana arrived in a white coat by Versace, which she paired with pearl jewelry and her Lady Dior bag.

1996, in Chicago

During a visit to Chicago where she helped to raise nearly $1.5 million for cancer research beneficiaries, Princess Diana swapped out her Lady Dior bag for a Chanel design. Diana paired the bag, which would later be renamed the Chanel Diana by the fashion house’s then-creative director Karl Lagerfeld , with a mint-green suit and four-strand pearl choker necklace.

While still in Chicago, Diana attended a gala event at the Field Museum wearing a purple evening gown by Versace. The monochromatic ensemble included a clutch by Jimmy Choo, and Diana added her sapphire earrings and an eleven-strand pearl choker necklace to complete the look.

1996, in Washington, D.C.

A month after her divorce from Prince Charles was finalized, Princess Diana headed to a gala in Washington, D.C., where she teamed up with Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour , The Washington Post ’s then-owner Katharine Graham and fashion designer Ralph Lauren to raise money for breast cancer research. Serving as the honorary chairman of the event, Diana wore a white lace halter gown by Catherine Walker and sapphire and diamond jewelry.

1996, in Australia

In another colorful look from Versace, Diana wore a blue one-shoulder gown while visiting Australia, which she accessorized with some of her favorite pearl pieces, as well as her new emerald-cut aquamarine ring by Asprey (a piece that Meghan Markle would later wear when she married Prince Harry).

1996, Met Gala

Given her fondness for her Lady Dior handbag, it was only fitting that Princess Diana attended the Christian Dior-themed Met Gala in New York City . To complement her favorite bag, Diana wore a navy slip dress by Dior’s then-creative director John Galliano , which was trimmed with black lace and worn with Diana’s other favorite accessories: her sapphire and diamond choker and earrings.

1997, in Angola

Princess Diana was largely focused on her children and her charity work following her divorce from Prince Charles, and in 1997, she was introduced to the HALO Trust during her visit to Angola with the British Red Cross. The humanitarian organization, which focuses on clearing landmines, immediately earned Diana’s support. Pictured here in a casual white button-down shirt, khaki pants and matching loafers, Princess Diana’s meeting with landmine survivors and the media coverage surrounding her walk through a cleared lane in one of Angola’s active minefields were reported to have played a part in the United Nations Mine Ban Treaty that was signed shortly after her death.

1997, English National Ballet Performance

A patron of the English National Ballet even after her divorce from Prince Charles, Princess Diana wore a sparkling blue minidress to a performance of Swan Lake in 1997. To complete the look, Diana wore a matching necklace and earring set of diamonds and South Sea pearls that she reportedly collaborated with luxury jeweler Garrard to make.

1997, Christie’s Event In New York City

In 1997, Princess Diana worked with Christie’s in New York City to auction off 79 of her cocktail and evening dresses to benefit cancer and AIDS charities. Ahead of the auction, which raised $3.25 million , Diana attended a party in the city wearing a beaded floral print dress by Catherine Walker.

1997, Tate Gallery

The Tate Gallery’s 100th anniversary party also fell on Princess Diana’s 36th birthday, and she was gifted the perfect dress for the occasion—a black evening gown by Jacques Azagury, which included satin straps and hand-embroidered sequins and beads. To complete the look, Diana accessorized with a mix of sapphire and emerald jewels, including her emerald and diamond choker necklace.

1997, in Bosnia and Herzegovina

While visiting with landmine victims in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Diana wore a pair of belted black jeans with a pale pink button-down shirt. The trip, which would mark her last official engagement before the Paris car crash that took her life later that month, helped to raise awareness around the need to ban the use of landmines.

1997, in London

In one of her most recreated off-duty looks, Diana wore an oversized mock-neck Harvard sweatshirt with black bicycle shorts as she jogged in London.

• SEE ALSO : I’ll Always Support Food as Medicine—But It’s Not a Silver Bullet

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Princess Diana: Our Favorite Childhood Photos

Lady Diana Spencer (1961 - 1997), later the wife of the then Prince Charles, on her first birthday at Park House, Sandringham. Hulton Archive/Getty Images

We take a look back at Princess Diana's childhood and share some very special photos.

Diana was born on July 1, 1961. She grew up close to the Royal family on Sandringham estate.

Born into the Spencer family, Diana was a member of the British nobility from the beginning, setting her up for a lifetime of privilege.

Diana's childhood was not plain sailing. She had a rocky relationship with her mother and described her childhood as an unhappy one.

While her early life may not have been perfect, we have certainly been left with an array of lovely photos of Diana throughout her youth. Before her untimely death in 1997.

• Facts about Princess Diana's life

Here are some of our favorites

Lady Diana Spencer (1961 - 1997), later the wife of Prince Charles, on her first birthday at Park House, Sandringham. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Lady Diana Frances Spencer (1961 - 1997), later Princess of Wales, aged 2, at Park House, Sandringham, Norfolk. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

Lady Diana Frances Spencer (1961 - 1997), playing with her brother Charles Edward Maurice, the Viscount Althorp, in the grounds of Park House, Sandringham when she was six years old. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images

A young Lady Diana Spencer with a pram at Park House, Sandringham in Norfolk, 1964. (Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Lady Diana Spencer (1961 - 1997) later the wife of Prince Charles, 1969. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Lady Diana Spencer (1961-1997), the future Princess of Wales during a summer holiday in 1971 in Itchenor, West Sussex in Britain. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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The story behind Princess Diana and John Travolta's iconic dance, 1985

Diana and Travolta take a bow.

Princess Diana visited the United States in early November 1985 with her husband Prince Charles. The royal couple stayed at the White House, where they attended a gala dinner on 9 November.

The 24-year-old Princess was photographed dancing with the actor John Travolta to the music of his 1977 film Saturday Night Fever in the Entrance Hall.

The photographs and TV footage of them “gliding around the room” were widely circulated around the world, and the gown came to be known as the “Travolta dress”.

The pair danced to some of Travolta’s biggest hits from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack and ‘You’re The One That I Want’ from Grease , before another Hollywood star, Tom Selleck, cut in for a waltz with Diana.

The party attendees included big names in every field including Tom Selleck, Gloria Vanderbilt, Estée Lauder, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and opera singer Leontyne Price. And a few of the invites came from Diana herself, including those for Travolta, Clint Eastwood, and Neil Diamond.

Diana dances with then-President Ronald Reagan.

It was later revealed that whilst Diana’s dance with Travolta has now become iconic, it almost didn’t happen. The Princess, it seemed, had her eye on someone else for the iconic spin across the dancefloor.

When Nancy Reagan famously approached John Travolta to tell the flattered actor the Princess of Wales wanted to dance with him, it wasn’t actually the whole story.

What the future Pulp Fiction star didn’t know was that the whole thing was orchestrated by the Reagans for a press opportunity and that Diana was hoping someone else was going to ask her to dance that night.

According to Paul Burrel, Diana’s former butler, the princess had arrived at the gala wishing to dance with the famous Russian ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Diana and Tom Selleck.

Diana and Clint Eastwood.

John Travolta and Princess Diana in their iconic dance.

Travolta has spoken about the infamous moment in the years since, calling it “one of the highlights of my life” and “the best moment of the eighties.” “At midnight, I had to tap her on her shoulder, and I had to say, ‘Would you care to dance?’ She turned around and dipped her head in that Lady Diana way and we were off for 15 minutes dancing,” Travolta recalled in 2007.

“I’ll never forget it. I’m so honored that I was able to experience it, and I know for a fact that it was a highlight of being in the United States; it was her favorite moment. So I feel I made her life better; she made my life better, and I’m very sorry that she’s not here.”

Princess Diana’s dress was designed by Victor Edelstein and is an off-the-shoulder midnight blue velvet evening gown. It was actually inspired by Edwardian fashion, which gave a “slight sweep of costume drama.” The journalist Jackie Modlinger described it as “dramatic in style” and “regal in fabric”.

The Princess of Wales wore the dress again in Germany in December 1987 and at the premiere of the film Wall Street in April 1988. She wore it for her last official portrait photograph, taken by Prince Charles’s uncle, the Earl of Snowdon, in 1997.

In 2019, it sold for $325, 317 to Historic Royal Palaces, which is a charity that looks after royal memorabilia including artifacts and clothing.

Travolta and Princess Diana.

(Photo credit: Ronald Reagan Library / Pete Souza / Consolidated News Photos).

Updated on: September 13, 2022

Any factual error or typo?  Let us know.

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AP Was There: Diana’s final hours, on a tragic Paris night

FILE - With flowers placed on the ground, mourners stand around the 13th support pole in the Alma Bridge tunnel in Paris, Aug. 31, 1997, the place where Princess Diana and her companion Dodi Fayed died in a car crash early Sunday. The story of Princess Diana’s death at age 36 in that catastrophic crash in a Paris traffic tunnel continues to shock, even a quarter-century later. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

FILE - Diana, Princess of Wales, right, and her companion Dodi Fayed, walk on a pontoon in the French Riviera resort of St. Tropez, Aug. 22, 1997. The story of Princess Diana’s death at age 36 in that catastrophic crash in a Paris traffic tunnel continues to shock, even a quarter-century later. (Patrick Bar/Nice Matin via AP, File)

FILE - Police services in the Pont d’Alma tunnel in Paris, prepare to take away the damaged car in which Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed were traveling, Aug. 31, 1997. The story of Princess Diana’s death at age 36 in that catastrophic crash in a Paris traffic tunnel continues to shock, even a quarter-century later. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

FILE - Onlookers gather outside the entrance of the Alma Bridge tunnel in Paris, Aug. 31, 1997, where Diana, Princess of Wales, her companion Dodi Fayed, and the driver of their car were killed in a car crash early Sunday. The story of Princess Diana’s death at age 36 in that catastrophic crash in a Paris traffic tunnel continues to shock, even a quarter-century later. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

FILE - Police prepare to remove for investigation the motorbike of a photographer that was chasing the car of Diana, Princess of Wales, when a crash took place in a tunnel along the Seine river in Paris, Aug. 31, 1997. The story of Princess Diana’s death at age 36 in that catastrophic crash in a Paris traffic tunnel continues to shock, even a quarter-century later. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon, File)

FILE - Police services take away the car in which Diana, Princess of Wales, was seriously injured early Sunday, Aug. 31, 1997 in Paris, in a crash that killed her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, and the driver. The story of Princess Diana’s death at age 36 in that catastrophic crash in a Paris traffic tunnel continues to shock, even a quarter-century later. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

FILE - A police crane tries to lift the car in which Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed early Sunday, Aug. 31, 1997 in Paris, in a car crash that was also fatal to her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, and the driver. The story of Princess Diana’s death at age 36 in that catastrophic crash in a Paris traffic tunnel continues to shock, even a quarter-century later. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, FIle)

FILE - The Union Flag flies at half-mast over the Houses of Parliament in London, Aug. 31, 1997, following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Diana along with her companion, Dodi Fayed, and the driver of their car were killed in a car crash early Sunday in Paris. The story of Princess Diana’s death at age 36 in that catastrophic crash in a Paris traffic tunnel continues to shock, even a quarter-century later. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

FILE - People buy Sunday newspapers reporting the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in London, Sunday Aug. 31, 1997. The story of Princess Diana’s death at age 36 in that catastrophic crash in a Paris traffic tunnel continues to shock, even a quarter-century later. (AP Photo/Adrian Dennis, File)

FILE - The coffin containing the body of Diana, Princess of Wales, draped with the Royal Standard, is carried by airmen of the Royal Air Force, after arriving at Northolt air base, Aug. 31, 1997 from Paris. The Princess, her companion Dodi Fayed and their driver were killed in a vehicle accident in Paris earlier in the day. The story of Princess Diana’s death at age 36 in that catastrophic crash in a Paris traffic tunnel continues to shock, even a quarter-century later. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

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PARIS (AP) — An elegant dinner at the Ritz in Paris. A post-midnight drive past the city’s floodlit treasures. And then, tragedy. The story of Princess Diana’s death at age 36 in that catastrophic crash in a Paris traffic tunnel continues to shock, even after a quarter-century.

Twenty-five years later, The Associated Press is making available this account of Diana’s final hours in the French capital , published on Sept. 5, 1997, a few days after the Aug. 31 crash. (The account, based on reporting, interviews and news reports available at the time, has been trimmed and edited lightly.)

Entering the Pont de l’Alma traffic tunnel at night, one of the last things you see is the floodlit Eiffel Tower.

Its iron latticework shimmering like lace against a black sky, it likely was one of the last things Princess Diana ever saw.

The tower’s lights go off every night at 1 a.m. By that time on Sunday, Aug. 31, a dying Diana lay trapped in a crumpled wreck of a Mercedes, with rescuers trying frantically to treat her while they cut through the metal roof.

The short ride to the tunnel from the Ritz Hotel had been a stunning one, with a view of the city’s other floodlit treasures: the obelisk at the Place de la Concorde, the Arc de Triomphe off to the right, the gold-domed Hotel des Invalides across the river to the left.

Four people were in the car: a driver and a bodyguard in front, the princess and her boyfriend in back. Behind them — it isn’t clear how far — were several motorcycles and perhaps two cars bearing paparazzi.

Approaching the tunnel along the Seine River, the shining tower was just to the left. Even through the tinted windows of a luxury car, it would’ve been hard not to look.

Seconds later, there was a huge crash — witnesses said it was like an explosion. It would soon reverberate around the world, but for a few minutes in the still night, there was only the insistent blare of a car horn set off by the driver’s slumped body, and then the clicking of camera shutters.

For the princess, after the spectacular city lights, there was only blackness.

10 p.m.: The evening begins for Diana and Dodi Fayed with dinner in the sitting room of the Imperial Suite at the Ritz. It is the best suite in the hotel, and no wonder: The hotel is owned by Fayed’s father, Mohamed Al Fayed.

The food comes from the hotel’s two-star restaurant, Espadon, which means swordfish. It’s known for its 100,000-bottle wine cellar.

Diana is reported to have ordered an appetizer of mushrooms and asparagus, and then sole; for Dodi, turbot.

Dodi may have carried a surprise in his pocket: News reports quote a Paris jeweler saying he’d sold him an “extraordinary” diamond solitaire ring for $205,000, and it is at the Ritz that Dodi may have given it to Diana.

Is it an engagement ring? No one will ever know for sure.

But the day has been tense. The couple has been having problems with paparazzi ever since their mid-afternoon arrival in Paris. First, they trailed Diana and Dodi from Le Bourget Airport outside Paris, on their way to see Villa Windsor — a mansion that once housed the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and that Dodi’s father has bought and renovated. Their driver managed to shake the photographers.

Then, an attempt to have a 9:30 p.m. dinner at the chic Paris bistro Chez Benoit failed, when paparazzi again picked up the trail. Giving up, Diana and Dodi decide to dine at the Ritz, where there is better security.

Hotel video shows the cars arriving back at the Ritz, flashes going off as Diana goes through a revolving door, eyes downcast, looking distressed.

They walk down the Ritz’s blue carpet bordered in gold toward the restaurant. Ten minutes later, they walk back down the hallway — “because of the attention in the restaurant,” Paul Handley-Greaves, head of Al Fayed’s security team, says later in London — and head up a spiral staircase to the Imperial Suite.

Inside, the plush hotel, with rust-colored marble columns and floors covered with Persian rugs, is calm and peaceful. But outside the entrance, on the elegant Place Vendome, paparazzi have again gathered.

10:08 p.m.: Henri Paul, the No. 2 security man at the Ritz, arrives at the hotel after having been summoned on his cell phone at 10 p.m. He parks his own car outside, chats with some people and shakes hands with a friend, the night duty manager and the concierge. Their accounts, Handley-Greaves says, “are that he was sober, he didn’t smell of alcohol, his gait was steady.”

Paul spends the next two hours in the lobby area. At one point, he goes into the hotel bar and sits with two other security people at a table on the edge of the bar area. There is no security camera in the bar, but both Handley-Greaves and Michael Cole, an Al Fayed family spokesman, said interviews with hotel personnel showed no evidence that Paul was drinking.

12:07 a.m.: After dinner, as they leave the Imperial Suite, Diana and Fayed stop to discuss the paparazzi “and the concern that the princess had that something would happen,” Handley-Greaves says. “Earlier on in the day,” he tells a London news conference, “she had expressed concern to bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones at the foolhardiness of the motorcycle riders, not for the safety of the vehicle she was traveling in. She expressed concern that the erratic manner in which they were driving might result in one of them falling under the wheels either of the lead car or the backup.”

Diana and Fayed are headed to an apartment he owns off the Champs-Elysees, just near the Arc de Triomphe. Knowing paparazzi are outside, they’ve decided to use two decoy vehicles — Range Rover and a Mercedes. They post the Range Rover outside the Ritz’s main entrance, with Fayed’s regular driver at the wheel.

They need a third car, so a rented Mercedes is called into service. The jet-black car, rented from the Etoile limousine company, is known for its silky-smooth ride, but because of its weight, it isn’t the best car for weaving in and out of traffic. “This isn’t the kind of car you do slalom in,” says Jean-Pierre Bretton, a limousine driver who often picks up well-heeled clients at the Ritz.

Diana and Dodi need a driver, too, and that’s why Paul has been called back in from home. Paul, 41, a native of France’s Brittany region, is reported to have received special training in Germany to drive the armored Mercedes. Police say Paul lacked the special license to drive the car; the Al Fayed family denies it.

Paris prosecutors say autopsy blood tests showed Paul was legally drunk, and judicial sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, put the blood-alcohol level at more than three times the legal limit, at least.

Despite reports that Paul was a heavy drinker, at least two bartenders who knew him told The Associated Press they never saw signs of that.

Tony Poer, a former bartender at Willi’s wine bar near the Ritz, says Paul was a regular there, but only drank beer.

“I never saw him extremely drunk,” says Poer, now manager of a San Francisco nightclub. “He even gave me a ride home a few times. I wasn’t worried or anything.”

And Alain Bousseau, owner of the Mazarin bar not far from the Ritz, says that although Paul was reported to be a regular there, he saw him only two or three times in the last few years. Once, he drank only a small glass of Cheverny wine; another time, he had a coffee.

12:19 a.m: Dodi and Diana stand in an area by the back entrance of the hotel, milling with security officers preparing their departure. A Ritz Hotel security camera video shows Dodi slipping his arm protectively around Diana’s waist.

12:20 a.m.: The couple leaves the Ritz from the back entrance, and climbs into the Mercedes. Diana is dressed in a black top, black jacket and belted white trousers. Her hair is carefully coiffed and she wears red lipstick.

Dodi looks more casual in a tan jacket and long gray shirt, open at the neck and hanging loosely over stone-washed jeans.

The hotel video shows no paparazzi outside the back entrance, but the decoy ruse clearly hasn’t worked.

With paparazzi in pursuit, the Mercedes travels down the Rue Cambon and turns right onto the colonnaded, boutique-lined Rue de Rivoli, with the Tuileries Gardens on the left. Arriving at the Place de la Concorde, it takes a left past the obelisk, allowing a view of the Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe on the right as it makes its way to the bank of the Seine.

Here, some photographers say, Paul already is driving dangerously. Jacques Langevin says he was told by fellow photographers that at the Place de la Concorde, when they were stopped at a red light, the Mercedes took off with a roar before the light turned green.

Already, the photographer told the Liberation daily, “the Mercedes was fishtailing dangerously and the driver didn’t seem to be in control.”

Neither Diana nor Fayed are wearing seat belts; only bodyguard Rees-Jones, sitting in the front passenger seat, is wearing one.

The Mercedes is heading along the river now, down the Cours de la Reine, then the Cours Albert 1st, where the approach to the tunnel lies.

About 12:25 a.m.: The Mercedes enters the 660-foot-long tunnel, probably to avoid traffic on the crowded Place de l’Alma. The tunnel is brightly lit, neon bulbs reflecting on the white-tiled walls.

The approach is dangerous at high speed. The road swerves slightly to the right, then to the left; then there is a quick dip.

The speed limit is 30 mph. A cab driver says he once tried the tunnel at 70 mph and was scared. “That thing is narrow and dangerous,” said Jacques Gaulthier. “You’d have to be crazy to take it fast.”

Just how fast does Paul take it?

Police officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say the car’s speedometer was found frozen at 196 kilometers per hour, or 121 mph. They call it an almost certain indicator of its speed at impact, but the Al Fayed family disputes that, saying the speedometer was stuck instead at zero. A Mercedes expert says the speedometer moves automatically to 0 or to top speed when power cuts off.

Witnesses also have described the car as going well over 90 mph, perhaps close to 120 mph.

Also, police say the car, equipped with anti-lock brakes, left 53 feet of skid marks — another indication of high speed.

It isn’t clear how many paparazzi are tailing the car, and at what distance. A lawyer for Al Fayed says a “cortege” of paparazzi were “swarming” the car. But one photographer, Lazlo Veres, says they were at least 550 yards behind.

Seconds after the car enters the tunnel in the left westbound lane, it goes out of control, striking the 13th concrete pillar dividing the tunnel, rolls over and rebounds into the right wall. It then spins around. When the car stops, it is facing east — the direction it came from.

The driver’s body is slumped over the horn. The impact is so great that parts of the radiator are reportedly found embedded in his body. Fayed, behind him on the left side of the car, also is killed immediately.

Jack and Robin Firestone, tourists from Long Island in New York, are walking near the tunnel when they hear the awful noise. They run in. In interviews, they, too, describe photographers “swarming” the wreck.

Yet a doctor who says he was driving through the tunnel in the other direction just after the accident, arriving before rescuers did, says he wasn’t hindered by the photographers.

Dr. Frederic Mailliez says Diana “was unconscious, moaning and gesturing in every direction” as she fought for breath.

“There were 10 or 15 photographers around, and they were snapping photos nonstop, but I cannot say they hindered my work,” he says.

12:27 a.m.: Firefighters get the first call for help.

About 12:40 a.m.: Police and firefighters arrive. Diana and bodyguard Rees-Jones are still alive. The car is a crumpled mass of metal and glass.

Police arrest six photographers and one motorcyclist, confiscating their film and cellular phones.

Rescuers need to cut through the roof of the car to get the victims out. They finally extract Diana through the back. Meanwhile, emergency doctors have been trying to treat her at the scene.

2 a.m.: Diana is bleeding heavily from the chest when she arrives at Hospital La Pitié Salpêtrière, along with the bodyguard. She quickly goes into cardiac arrest.

Doctors close a wound to the left pulmonary vein, then try to revive her with two hours of chest massage — first externally and then directly to the heart. It fails.

4 a.m.: Diana is declared dead.

6 a.m.: “The death of the Princess of Wales,” says British ambassador Michael Jay, with doctors at a hospital news conference, “fills us all with shock and deep grief.”

Prince Harry office shot shows childhood photos of him with Diana

• Prince Harry took part in the eco-tourism company's annual general meeting this month - and several family photos and sketches could be seen behind him 
• READ MORE:  'Do we really think Meghan's stirring the jam pan herself?' Meghan Markle's 'soft launch' of American Riviera Orchard jam is 'weird strategy' that 'lacks authenticity' and is 'clear karaoke' of King's Duchy Originals range 

A Zoom AGM attended this month by Prince Harry to discuss the work of his company Travalyst showed the women close to his heart in the background. 

The Duke of Sussex , 39, attended the annual general meeting of the eco-tourism initiative he co-founded in 2019 by video link earlier this week.

Pictured on the shelf behind Harry was a photo montage featuring an image of him and his mother, Princess Diana . The Duke was just 12 when the then Princess of Wales was killed in a Paris car crash in August 1997. 

The framed images showed mother and son embracing and smiling at the camera during a holiday together. The white shelving also included a sketch of  Meghan Markle , which could be seen above the Prince's head as he spoke during the meeting.

Prince Harry made the virtual appearance at the meeting from his home in Montecito, California , which he shares with the Duchess and their two children, Prince Archie , four, and Princess Lilibet, two.

The sketch is the artwork of Meghan is by Connecticut-based artist and illustrator Jennifer Vallez, who specialises in sketches of the  Royal Family . It shows the Duchess in four of her elegant ensembles from recent years.

In the first drawing of Meghan, she sports a black Emporio Armani coat, polo neck and wide-legged trousers that she wore when joining Harry at One World Observatory and the 9/11  Memorial at the World Trade Center in New York in September 2021.

The next sketch of the Duchess shows her wrapped up in a tan blouse and trousers with a Max Mara camel coat. She sported the fashionable outfit during her New York trip as she met with UN officials on the importance of vaccine equity. 

Jennifer also pencilled the colourful magenta outfit that the mother-of-two sported during a visit to Harlem's PS 123 Mahalia Jackson school, where 94 per cent of the pupil's have free school meals.

The occasion was also part of the 2021 New York visit and saw Meghan sport a  £4,274 ($5,840) Loro Piana cashmere coat, matching £1,231 ($1,685) wide-leg trousers, and red £424 ($581) Manolo Blahnik pointed-toe pumps.

The royal accessorised with a £5,042 ($6,900) Cartier 'love' bracelet which seemed to be her jewellery of choice during the trip - and completed her outfit with a £566 ($775) belt by Loro Piana.

Finally, the sketch included a drawing of Meghan sporting a white San Gallo Couture Mini Dress designed by Valentino (priced at $4,516 (£3,300)). She donned the outfit when attending the Global Citizen Live festival during her New York trip with Harry.

Another of Jennifer's work - an adorable sketch of Harry and Meghan's 2021 Christmas card - has previously been spotted in the Duke's office. 

An eagle-eyed royal fan posted a screenshot on X/ Twitter and noted the piece of art in a frame on the shelf behind Harry in the study of his Montecito mansion. It is unclear when the video was filmed.

It was accompanied by other sweet tributes to the Duke's family, including a black-and-white photo of Prince Archie , and another snap from Harry and Meghan's engagement photoshoot.

After the royal fan spotted Jennifer's sketch, the chuffed artist revealed she sent the couple the sketch around a year ago - and confirmed they didn't ask for any freebies.

Writing on Instagram, Jennifer said : 'Omg. I am DYING!!!! A year or so ago, Meghan’s assistant requested prints of some of the drawings I created of her and Harry. I never expected to see that they REALLY have them in their house.'

Many people left comments underneath the post congratulating Jennifer on her work and gushing over the 'adorable' piece.

In a post on her Instagram story on her other account, @sophieandlili, Jennifer confirmed that the Sussexes had paid in full for the sketch, after some people had asked if it was a freebie.

She revealed: 'I'll just say that no one on M's team asked for anything for free.'

As she replied to congratulatory comments, Jennifer said: 'I knew [Meghan] had them because she sent a beautiful thank you card, but you just never know if they actually frame anything. I’m honored.' 

In a further post, the artist revealed she sent a number of sketches over to the Sussexes, which included depictions of Meghan with her mother Doria, the couple's stunning outdoor photoshoot to announce the Duchess's second pregnancy, and an official royal photo from Prince Archie's Christening.

Other sketches in her portfolio include sweet depictions of the Princess of Wales, King Charles and Queen Camilla, and Princess Anne. 

Prince Harry has made a surprise appearance by video link at the annual general meeting of eco-tourism firm Travalyst. 

The Duke told bosses it was crucial the travel industry did better by local communities in vacation destinations. 

He told the board: 'Travel and tourism relies on destinations, held together by communities, without which we have nowhere to travel to. 

'Communities are the beating heart of travel, and we must do better by the people who are the custodians of the places we visit.' 

Harry's address comes as a surprise after rumours circulated last year that the Prince had relinquished his role with Travalyst after the company announced it had entered an 'incredibly exciting' era with no mention of the royal.

Harry launched the independent non-profit organisation based in London in 2019, when he was still a working royal, with wife Meghan.

Like his father King Charles, who has spoken out for more than 50 years on issues such as sustainability and climate change, Harry has also been a vocal champion of environmental causes. 

He spent three years as the public face of the initiative to encourage the tourism industry to become more sustainable - despite a furore over his use of private jets.

In the same year of Travalyst's launch he and Meghan faced intense criticism after reportedly taking four private jet journeys in 11 days.

The Duke defended himself at the time, saying 'no one is perfect' and that what is important is 'what we do to balance' out negative effects.

Harry flew to the Netherlands on a commercial plane for the launch event in Amsterdam, having spent three years working on the initiative, which was founded along with brands including Booking.com, Skyscanner, Tripadvisor, Trip.com and Visa. 

READ MORE: Harry FINALLY cut ties with Britain: Exiled prince lists US as primary residence for first time - amid deportation fears over past drug use

Then in February 2020, in one of his last events as a working royal before stepping down and moving to the US with Meghan, he spoke at a Travalyst event in Edinburgh in which he memorably asked to be introduced just as 'Harry'. 

The conference was organised for Harry and his Travalyst team to gain feedback from the travel industry on new ideas for sustainability, with about 100 people from the tourism and travel industries invited to join the working summit. 

In April 2020, Harry was listed on Companies House under the name of 'Henry Charles Albert David Duke of Sussex' as an 'individual person with significant control' when Tavalyst was incorporated as a company. 

Documents confirmed the Duke held 75 per cent or more of the shares and voting rights.

At the time there were two company directors listed on Companies House - James Holt and Heather Wong, who worked as Harry's assistant private secretary at Kensington Palace for three years before he quit the Royal Family. She left Travalyst in March 2021.

Sally Davey, who is now Travalyst's chief executive, was appointed as a director one day later on Companies House.

In February 2021, he wrote the foreword to a report by Travalyst in which he suggested that Covid-19 offered the travel industry the chance to 'jump-start a wholescale realignment' towards a sustainable future.

And then in May 2022, Harry played a starring role in a sketch for a new initiative in New Zealand for Travalyst in which he jogged through a forest before being accused of dropping a lolly wrapper four years earlier on a trip to the country.

The Duke delivered several phrases in Te Reo Maori for the clip, which he launched on Maori Television's current affairs programme Te Ao with Moana.

This week Meghan launched her new lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard, sending jars of strawberry jam to a small number of selected recipients, including influencers and friends. 

Parenting campaigner Kelly McKee Zajfen, Argentine socialite Delfina Balquier and stylist Tracy Robbins are the three to have so far posted a picture of it on Instagram.

Meghan's jam had the American Riviera Orchard logo and 'Montecito' underneath - the celebrity enclave in California where she lives with Harry in a £12million mansion.

Meghan announced her new lifestyle brand last month with an Instagram teaser video, showing her cooking and arranging white hydrangeas and roses, posted to the new American Riviera Orchard Instagram account. 

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How The Crown Recreated the Iconic Princess Diana Diving Board Photo

Spoiler alert: It wasn't actually a diving board she was sitting on.

"It's the platform you [use to] get on and off the yacht," reveals Alison Harvey, The Crown 's series set director. Or the passerelle, as it is more commonly known in the boating world.

Nevertheless, it was that haunting image, which would later send shockwaves around the world following Diana's passing, that was poignantly chosen as the main poster of the sixth and final season of The Crown . And according to the show's production team, recreating the photo took a village.

"We were very lucky to go to a real superyacht. I think if we tried to do it from scratch we would have never made that," Harvey says of remaking Mohamed Al Fayed 's 208-ft yacht, Jonikal, for the series. "We had the bones of the set that we then enhanced with more period details to make it feel more like the Fayed's world."

The result: the interior of the yacht featured a blue and yellow motif with Egyptian art, paintings, fabrics and patterns from the '90s. "Everything [was] stylized to fit the Fayed world to counteract with The Queen's world, which is a much more dreary environment," continues Harvey. "It was that old money, new money [kind of thing]."

Getting Elizabeth Debicki , who plays Diana in the series, to look exactly like the Princess of Wales in that moment also required some reimagining. "There were some restrictions in term of copyright and what we could show, what we couldn't show, and how the picture was taken," explains Harvey, "so it was slightly adapted for our purposes."

For starters, the hair and makeup department were tasked with making a wig that looked like Diana's hair post-swim. "The challenge was really this thing of realizing that iconic Diana but without being able to fall back on her very manufactured hair and makeup that we're used to seeing in the media," Cate Hall, hair & makeup designer of The Crown , explains. "Obviously [Elizabeth's wearing] a wig, but it's about if you look at the shading, the color, the tone and the way it's sitting. Most of our efforts go into any which way we can into making [wigs] look natural and I think it does look natural and lived in."

Then the costume department had to recreate the turquoise bathing suit to look identical to the one Diana wore in real life. "We didn't get the [actual] designer to do it," says Sidonie Roberts, The Crown 's co-costume designer, "so it was our version of it."

While "it was relatively simple" to do so, "the question with us with Elizabeth was what does she feel comfortable in? Because '90s to 2000s swimwear is pretty high on the thigh," says Roberts. "That I think was our first fitting with her, so it was getting a balance between the actual shape and also what Elizabeth, as an actress would feel comfortable, being quite exposed, in this scene. But in terms of color, we just went similarly as the other one because it is a moment in itself and we wanted to keep that iconic moment as it was."

In the days that followed that photo, Princess Diana and Dodi traveled to Paris, where they died in car crash on August 31 . Diana was 36 and Dodi 42. The first part of The Crown, which is available to stream on Netflix now , follows the weeks leading up to and after their death. The rest of the season is set to hit the streaming platform Thursday, December 14.

Sophie Dweck is the associate shopping editor for Town & Country, where she covers beauty, fashion, home and décor, and more. 

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The Picture Show

Photos: uae sees its heaviest rains in 75 years.

Aya Batrawy

Atypically heavy rains in the United Arab Emirates on Monday and Tuesday caused flooding, flight cancellations and school closures. Vehicles were abandoned on highways like this one in Dubai. Francois Nel/Getty Images hide caption

Atypically heavy rains in the United Arab Emirates on Monday and Tuesday caused flooding, flight cancellations and school closures. Vehicles were abandoned on highways like this one in Dubai.

DUBAI — Schools and businesses have been closed across the United Arab Emirates after the country experienced about year's worth of rain in one day.

The flooding also disrupted travel at Dubai International Airport, which is the world's busiest for international travel.

Climate talks end on a first-ever call for the world to move away from fossil fuels

Videos posted online showed residents sweeping rainwater out of their homes and luxury cars stranded in Dubai's flooded streets, after a storm unleashed the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in the country since the start of data collection 75 years ago. That was well before the country was founded.

Dubai's high-end stores weren't spared either, as rainwater gushed through the ceilings of shopping malls. At Dubai's main airport, the runway flooded and flagship carrier Emirates suspended all departing flights on Wednesday. The local Gulf News reported more than 1,200 flights were canceled due to Tuesday's storms. The airport is expected to return to fully operational by Friday.

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The city, known for its year-round sunny weather and beaches, saw sunshine later in the week, but schools remained remote due to road closures.

Despite some damage to cars, homes and roads, the UAE's state news agency says the rainfall boosts the country's groundwater reserves.

Rainfall in nearby Oman is blamed for more than 20 deaths this week, including 10 children swept away in a car on their way home from school Monday, according to state-owned media there.

A flooded parking lot in Dubai on Thursday. Francois Nel/Getty Images hide caption

Passengers queue at a flight connection desk at the Dubai International Airport on Wednesday. Dubai's main airport diverted scores of incoming flights on Tuesday as heavy rains lashed the United Arab Emirates, causing widespread flooding around the country. AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Cars drive in a flooded street following heavy rains in Dubai on Wednesday. Torrential rain caused floods across the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman. Giuseppe Cacace/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

A man walks along a road barrier on Dubai's Sheikh Zayed Road amid floodwater caused by heavy rain, Thursday. Christopher Pike/AP hide caption

A tanker truck sits abandoned in floodwater in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday. The United Arab Emirates attempted to dry out Thursday from the heaviest rain the desert nation has ever recorded, a deluge that flooded out Dubai International Airport and disrupted flights through the world's busiest airfield for international travel. Jon Gambrell/AP hide caption

People wait for transportation on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai on Thursday. Christopher Pike/AP hide caption

Vehicles sit abandoned in floodwater covering a major road in Dubai on Wednesday. Jon Gambrell/AP hide caption

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Travel | April 12, 2024

Behold 15 Beautiful Photos of Cherry Blossoms in Bloom

These 15 picture-perfect cherry blossom images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest are pretty in pink.

A close-up of blooming blossoms captures their stunning detail.

Photographs selected by Quentin Nardi

Text by Tracy Scott Forson

Native to Japan, the cherry blossom trees that draw crowds to the Washington, D.C. Tidal Basin each year were originally received as a gift from the nation in 1912. Now, thousands of trees dot the area near the National Mall, blooming in March and April, contributing to the theme of rebirth we associate with spring.

Although the blooms in Washington, D.C. may be the most popular in the country due to their placement among national monuments, such as the Thomas Jefferson and Martin Luther King Jr. memorials, cherry blossoms grow in gardens in Massachusetts, New York, Missouri, California and other states across the nation. And, of course, they’re still found in Japan. Luckily, you don’t have to travel to any destination—unless you want to—to experience the beautiful blooms. Take a look.

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Tracy Scott Forson | READ MORE

Tracy Scott Forson is a senior editor at Smithsonian magazine.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's controversial pregnancy photo takes pride of place at $14m home

Tributes to princess lilibet and princess diana were displayed at the couple's montecito home.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex often take video calls inside their home office in Montecito, but Prince Harry offered fans a new look at their sentimental interiors in his latest video.

During a virtual appearance at Travalyst’s annual convening in the South of France, Harry sat in front of a white bookshelf that displayed his family photo album. One framed photo showed his  pregnancy announcement with Meghan Markle in 2021 when they were expecting Princess Lilibet. 

At the time, the couple – who already shared Prince Archie – turned to Misan Harriman to virtually photograph them in the privacy of the  garden of their Montecito home . Resting her head in Harry's lap, pregnant Meghan looked radiant with her hand on her blossoming baby bump framed by a large Jacaranda tree. The edges of those branches were unmistakable in Harry's latest video appearance.

However, the snap was recently at the centre of debate , after some claimed that Harry and Meghan's photographer had admitted to changing the background from a meadow to a woodland.

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It stemmed from an interview Missan did with Michael Berkeley on the Private Passions podcast in 2022. Michael asked Misan: "They weren't actually under a willow tree, they were lying outside in a meadow, Harry and Meghan, when you took a photo of them?" 

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Without making reference to the background, he replied: "They were lost in their life at home, in their garden, comfortable celebrating new joy, new life, the fortitude of hoping for light in life after such a loss that they went through with a miscarriage. And so it really was a particularly joyous image to celebrate life itself."

Missan later denied that the image was doctored in any way, stating Michael used a "leading question" and branding it as  "dangerous journalism."

Despite the recent controversy, it has not stopped Harry and Meghan from ensuring their special pregnancy announcement takes pride of place in their home. 

It's not the only sentimental photo to feature on the bookshelf; Harry also has a framed picture of his late mother Princess Diana, who died in a car accident in Paris when Harry was 12.

In the snap, Harry peers over Diana's shoulder as he wraps his arms around his mother, who smiles with sunglasses perched on her head. It clearly holds a special place in his heart, since it also featured in the front of his book, Spare.

The Duke and Duchess moved into their stunning mansion in 2020 after stepping back as senior royals and relocating from the UK to America. They purchased the property for just shy of $14 million, and it features 16 bedrooms, a chicken coop, a large pool, a tennis court and a wine cellar.

Their Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan shared an unprecedented look inside, including their home office. The room features a large desk for the Duke and Duchess to work from, as well as a stunning seating area and a huge California print on the wall above the fireplace.

Speaking about the home's appeal, Meghan told  The Cut it offers a "healing" atmosphere. "We did everything we could to get this house. Because you walk in and go … Joy. And exhale. And calm. It’s healing. You feel free," she said.

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• Meghan Markle
• Prince Harry
• Royal Homes

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