W Magazine
  • FASHION
  • BEAUTY
  • CULTURE
  • SUBSCRIBE
W Magazine
W Magazine
  • FASHION
  • BEAUTY
  • CULTURE
  • SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe
  • FASHION
  • BEAUTY
  • CULTURE
  • SUBSCRIBE
W Magazine
Royals

These Rarely Seen Family Pictures Prove Princess Diana Was the Original Royal Child Style Icon

It’s been 20 years since Princess Diana died, but this summer she seems to be everywhere, with documentaries like HBO’s revelatory Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, by her sons Prince William and Harry, plus more upcoming specials on TLC, ABC, PBS, and the National Geographic channel. The latter is also accompanied by a book, Remembering Diana: A Life in Photographs, which is out on August 1 with a foreword by Diana’s friend and biographer Tina Brown. The personal volume doesn’t just document Diana’s days as “the people’s princess,” but also her time as, say, a guinea pig-obsessed tween. (Her pig Peanuts won her two pet shows, and even went along with her to boarding school.) “She spent most of her free time with the servants below stairs,” Brown writes of Diana’s childhood, which she calls “almost feral in neglect,” and which she claims foreshadowed Diana’s future compassion, like the time she walked through a field of unexploded land mines in Luanda, Angola, to draw attention to the city’s amputees—and did it again when the press complained they didn’t get a good shot. Take a look back at Diana not just in that minefield, but as an animal-obsessed tween—and of course the original fashionable royal child—here.

by Stephanie Eckardt
July 27, 2017 2:00 pm
Diana Spencer with pet guinea pig

Camera Press/(Spen/AL)

1 / 10

Diana Spencer with her pet guinea pig during a 1972 pet show in Sandringham. She won first and second prize, both in the “fur and feathers” section, for her pet guinea pig in two different pet shows at Sandringham. She also brought her guinea pig to her first boarding school, Riddlesworth Hall, where she was made head of “Pets’ Corner,” where the students’ pets were housed.

Diana Spencer

(Spen/AL)/Camera Press/Redux

2 / 10

“Diana sits on her suitcases as she prepares to go to boarding school at Riddlesworth Hall in the fall of 1970. Distraught over the separation from her home, she told her father, ‘If you love me, you won’t leave me here.'”

p035_Remember-Diana.jpg

(Spen/AL)/Camera Press/Redux Pictures

3 / 10

“Always poised, even when jumping off a slide into the family’s pool at Park House, a youthful Diana shows off her fun side. Her red swimming badges can be seen at the bottom of her bathing suit.”

Diana Spencer

(Spen/AL)/Camera Press/Redux

4 / 10

“A photo from a private family album dated 1967–69 shows Diana posing cheekily as a young girl. Obviously a natural in front of the camera, she also had a keen sense of fashion from an early age.”

Diana At Highgrove

Tim Graham/Getty Images

5 / 10

“At Highgrove, Diana rests with her head in her hands. Charles had asked Diana to Highgrove when they were dating, and she would later undertake an interior renovation of the manor house led by designer Dudley Poplak.”

Diana Spencer

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

6 / 10

“Diana’s pet Shetland pony Soufflé moves in to nuzzle her 14-year-old owner. Diana kept the pony at her mother and stepfather’s house on the Isle of Seil, off Scotland’s west coast, which she visited during vacations.”

Princess Diana Press Cameras

Tim Graham/Getty Images

7 / 10

“Diana attends a gala charity dinner for cancer research at London’s Bridgewater House in November 1995, the same day her explosive BBC Panorama interview aired, in which she discussed her infidelity and bulimia.”

Diana Minefield

Pool/Tim Graham Picture Library

8 / 10

“To promote her message on behalf of the charity HALO Trust, Diana walked through an active minefield in Huambo, Angola, in front of the press.”

Diana In France For The 2Nd International Night Of Childhood

Patrick Bruchet/Paris Match/Getty Images

9 / 10

“The media surrounding Diana could be relentless. After her separation from Charles in 1992, journalists and editors would regularly visit with Diana, who realized the importance of remaining in the hearts of the public as well as shaping the narrative about her marriage. One adviser cautioned her not to have anything to do with the media, a warning that supposedly shocked her. Here, Diana, who was in France for the second International Night of Childhood, waves to the paparazzi from a car.”

In memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, who was killed in an automobile accident in Paris, France on August 31, 1997.

Anwar Hussein/Getty Images

10 / 10

“Here, [Diana] dresses in plaid at the Braemar Highland Games in Scotland, September 1982.”

Eye Candy nostalgia princess diana royals
Diana Spencer with pet guinea pig

Diana Spencer with her pet guinea pig during a 1972 pet show in Sandringham. She won first and second prize, both in the “fur and feathers” section, for her pet guinea pig in two different pet shows at Sandringham. She also brought her guinea pig to her first boarding school, Riddlesworth Hall, where she was made head of “Pets’ Corner,” where the students’ pets were housed.

Camera Press/(Spen/AL)

Diana Spencer

“Diana sits on her suitcases as she prepares to go to boarding school at Riddlesworth Hall in the fall of 1970. Distraught over the separation from her home, she told her father, ‘If you love me, you won’t leave me here.'”

(Spen/AL)/Camera Press/Redux

p035_Remember-Diana.jpg

“Always poised, even when jumping off a slide into the family’s pool at Park House, a youthful Diana shows off her fun side. Her red swimming badges can be seen at the bottom of her bathing suit.”

(Spen/AL)/Camera Press/Redux Pictures

Diana Spencer

“A photo from a private family album dated 1967–69 shows Diana posing cheekily as a young girl. Obviously a natural in front of the camera, she also had a keen sense of fashion from an early age.”

(Spen/AL)/Camera Press/Redux

Diana At Highgrove

“At Highgrove, Diana rests with her head in her hands. Charles had asked Diana to Highgrove when they were dating, and she would later undertake an interior renovation of the manor house led by designer Dudley Poplak.”

Tim Graham/Getty Images

Diana Spencer

“Diana’s pet Shetland pony Soufflé moves in to nuzzle her 14-year-old owner. Diana kept the pony at her mother and stepfather’s house on the Isle of Seil, off Scotland’s west coast, which she visited during vacations.”

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Princess Diana Press Cameras

“Diana attends a gala charity dinner for cancer research at London’s Bridgewater House in November 1995, the same day her explosive BBC Panorama interview aired, in which she discussed her infidelity and bulimia.”

Tim Graham/Getty Images

Diana Minefield

“To promote her message on behalf of the charity HALO Trust, Diana walked through an active minefield in Huambo, Angola, in front of the press.”

Pool/Tim Graham Picture Library

Diana In France For The 2Nd International Night Of Childhood

“The media surrounding Diana could be relentless. After her separation from Charles in 1992, journalists and editors would regularly visit with Diana, who realized the importance of remaining in the hearts of the public as well as shaping the narrative about her marriage. One adviser cautioned her not to have anything to do with the media, a warning that supposedly shocked her. Here, Diana, who was in France for the second International Night of Childhood, waves to the paparazzi from a car.”

Patrick Bruchet/Paris Match/Getty Images

In memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, who was killed in an automobile accident in Paris, France on August 31, 1997.

“Here, [Diana] dresses in plaid at the Braemar Highland Games in Scotland, September 1982.”

Anwar Hussein/Getty Images

Next up
These Rarely Seen Family Pictures Prove Princess Diana Was the Original Royal Child Style Icon
start slideshow
These Rarely Seen Family Pictures Prove Princess Diana Was the Original Royal Child Style Icon
Back to slideshow

These Rarely Seen Family Pictures Prove Princess Diana Was the Original Royal Child Style Icon

It’s been 20 years since Princess Diana died, but this summer she seems to be everywhere, with documentaries like HBO’s revelatory Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, by her sons Prince William and Harry, plus more upcoming specials on TLC, ABC, PBS, and the National Geographic channel. The latter is also accompanied by a book, Remembering Diana: A Life in Photographs, which is out on August 1 with a foreword by Diana’s friend and biographer Tina Brown. The personal volume doesn’t just document Diana’s days as “the people’s princess,” but also her time as, say, a guinea pig-obsessed tween. (Her pig Peanuts won her two pet shows, and even went along with her to boarding school.) “She spent most of her free time with the servants below stairs,” Brown writes of Diana’s childhood, which she calls “almost feral in neglect,” and which she claims foreshadowed Diana’s future compassion, like the time she walked through a field of unexploded land mines in Luanda, Angola, to draw attention to the city’s amputees—and did it again when the press complained they didn’t get a good shot. Take a look back at Diana not just in that minefield, but as an animal-obsessed tween—and of course the original fashionable royal child—here.

start slideshow
July 27, 2017 2:00 pm| by Stephanie Eckardt
view as a list
W Magazine
These Rarely Seen Family Pictures Prove Princess Diana Was the Original Royal Child Style Icon
by Stephanie Eckardt
Replay Slideshow
Follow Us

Stay connected.

  • Contact Us
  • Accessibility Help
  • sitemap
  • Careers
  • Advertise with Us
W Magazine
2020 Bustle Digital Group. All rights reserved.

Our Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement has been revised as of November 25, 2020. This policy outlines how we use your information, and how we use cookies on our site to personalize content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyze our traffic. By using our site and/or our products after this date, you are agreeing to the policy.
ACCEPT

Privacy & Cookies Policy

Necessary Always Enabled