Sixty-three of Princess Diana's show-stopping outfits on what would have been her 63rd birthday… including the dress that sent a clear message to Camilla

July 1, 2024

When Diana Spencer became engaged to Prince Charles, she confessed to having only ‘one long dress, one silk shirt, one smart pair of shoes, and that was it’.

Consequently, she hurriedly purchased ‘six of everything’ ahead of her royal wedding in 1981.

On the big day, the bride made her grand entrance at St Paul’s Cathedral in an ivory silk taffeta and antique lace gown, featuring a dramatic 25-foot train, by David and Elizabeth Emanuel.

Diana handpicked the designer duo to create her outfit after taking a liking to a chiffon blouse they had provided for a formal photo session with Lord Snowdon.

The Emanuels described it as a dress that ‘had to be something that was going to go down in history, but also something that Diana loved,’ and which would be ‘suitably dramatic in order to make an impression’.

Indeed, it did. But so did many other outfits that Diana wore over the years.

They included the iconic ‘Revenge Dress’ – worn on the same night in 1994 that Prince Charles confessed to his affair with Camilla – and the polyester frock she chose for Live Aid, seemingly to try to annoy her love rival.

Below, we look back at Diana’s enduring style legacy on what would have been her 63rd birthday.

When Diana Spencer became engaged to Prince Charles , she confessed to having only ‘one long dress, one silk shirt, one smart pair of shoes, and that was it’. Consequently, she hurriedly purchased ‘six of everything’ ahead of her royal wedding in 1981. On the big day at St Paul’s Cathedral, the bride stunned in an ivory silk taffeta and antique lace gown, featuring a dramatic 25-foot train, by David and Elizabeth Emanuel

Easily one of her most unforgettable dresses, this Christina Stambolian dress became known as the ‘Revenge Dress’ when Diana wore it in 1994 on the night that her husband admitted to an affair with the then Camilla Parker Bowles. Diana wore the dress to a glitzy fundraising dinner at the Serpentine Gallery. Royal writer Tina Brown even described it in her 2007 book The Diana Chronicles as her ‘f*** you dress’

Princess Diana wore this black and white check top with cap sleeves and a white pencil skirt and black belt – designed by Alistair Blair – when she was in Thailand in 1988

Princess Diana wore this double breasted pink Versace suit in Argentina in 1995

In 1985, the Princess sent a clear message to Camilla by selecting ‘a rather curious polyester frock in polka dots and stripes’ for Live Aid, which was broadcast to millions. The dress was part of the Kanga line, a clothing collection designed by Charles’s former lover, Dale Tyron. Diana then wore the dress again for a joint photo with Charles at Kensington Palace in October 1985 (right)

Diana wore this Jacques Azagury black dress on her 36th Birthday at the Tate Gallery’s Centenary in London in July 1997

Diana wore this lavender purple Versace suit when she made an anti-landmines speech at the Red Cross headquarters in Washington in 1997

The bold navy accents on Diana’s bright green skirt suit were echoed in her statement hat at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, where she was a guest at Lady Helen Windsor’s 1992 wedding to Timothy Taylor

Princess Diana arrived at a dinner in Argentina wearing this red lace Catherine Walker gown in 1995

This incredible Catherine Walker dress embroidered with sequins was worn to the Christie’s Pre-auction Party in 1997

This trouser suit was designed by John Galliano for Dior in 1997 and was easily one of her best looks when she had lunch with Raine Spencer at the Connaught Hotel

Diana wore this white sleeveless shift dress by Versace with a black Christian Dior handbag in 1995

This light blue dress by Jacques Azagury was a vision when she turned up for a performance of Swan Lake by the English National Ballet in 1997

Diana appearing for a Christmas church service at Sandringham alongside Prince William in 1990. She wore an iconic two-tone set by Moschino

Prince Charles and Princess Diana looking chic and not out of place in the 2024 fashion stakes with her on trend padded jacket, emerging from a car on the race track for the Royal Visit Pace at Charlottetown Driving Park, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island in 1983

The red silk georgette column dress Diana wore to the Red Cross Ball Gala dinner in Washington was by Jacques Azagury

This look by Diana with Puffed sleeves and pleats add drama for a Cirencester polo match in 1983

Diana looked her best in Versace, everything from the shoes, the bag and her jewellery matched this stunning gown she wore in Chicago

This ‘black sheep’ jumper was the work of the knitwear brand Warm & Wonderful, which was founded by Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne in 1979 and Diana was with her friend Sarah Ferguson at Guards Polo in 1983

This Bruce Oldfield creation was recently compared to the gold dress worn by Kate Middleton by Jenny Packham at the Premiere of No Time To Die in 2021

Princess Diana wore this navy and white suit by society dressmaker Tomasz Starzewski for the VJ parade in 1995

While attending the premiere of Julie Walter’s film Just Like a Woman in 1992, Diana wore a red silk gown designed by Victor Edelstein

The Princess of Wales wore this ‘upcycled’ Catherine Walker gown in Seoul, South Korea in November 1992

This pale blue Chanel suit was worn by Diana when she attend the the British Lung Foundation in Hatton Garden after being presented with the first rose named after her and her handbag was by Lana Marks

Princess Diana wore an Emanuel dress while in Australia with Prince Charles in 1985

Princess Diana arriving in a blue evening dress designed By Catherine Walker for the charity Premiere Of The Film ‘haunted in 1995

Princess of Wales, wore a white dress with black polka dots designed by Victor Edelstein and a matching hat designed by Frederick Fox at Royal Ascot in 1988

Princess Diana wore this Catherine walker gown at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987. For film buffs, the dress is reminiscent of Grace Kelly’s character in the Alfred Hitchcock film To Catch A Thief. Walker was inspired by the famous Hollywood gown and decided to emulate the look worn by Kelly with the dress she made for Diana

Diana attended the premiere of the James Bond film ‘The Living Daylights’ in London, June 1987. She wore this strapless Emanuel dress

The Princess of Wales, wore a red and purple chiffon evening dress designed by Catherine Walker to the Premiere of Burning Secret in 1989

This was one of Diana’s most regal gowns and she wore it at the Elycee Palace and at the Winter Garden in New York

This stunning two piece cream suit with red pocket scarf was worn by Diana and complimented the First Lady, Nancy Reagan’s outfit perfectly in 1985

Diana wore a pink polker dot dress by fashion designer, Donald Campbell and a hat by John boyd when she visited Freemantle Hospital, near Perth in 1983

Princess Diana was wearing the Spencer Tiara and and emerald and Diamond choker necklace to match her aqua-blue gown when she attended a banquet at Claridges being held by the President of Turkey at the end of his State visit

This stunning scarlet red silk Bruce Oldfield gown worn by Princess Diana while attending a State banquet at Claridges in 1989

Diana wore this Catherine Walker Column dress for a performance of the ballet ‘Swan Lake’ at the Coliseum in London in 1989

This Navy and white Catherine Walker suit was worn by the Princess of Wales when she was presenting new colours to the Light Dragoon Guards regiment in 1995

Princess Diana looked so chic in a pink gown designed by Victor Edelstein and the Spencer tiara while attending an Australian reception in 1983

Here, Diana wears a nautical-inspired skirt suit with a twee little ribbon at Buckingham Palace, the day that their wedding was sanctioned by the Privy Council in March 1981

The Princess of Wales was very clever at changing the look of a dress with a simple piece of jewellery

The Princess wore this Hachi gown at the Melbourne Hilton in April 1983

Lady Diana wore this David Neil mauve and gold silk striped suit with a matching straw hat for Royal Ascot in June 1981

Lady Diana Spencer, wore a red and gold spangled chiffon gown designed by Bellville Sassoon, when she arrived to attend the premiere of the James Bond film ‘For Your Eyes Only’ at Odeon Leicester Square on June 24, 1981

Prince Charles was seen holding Princess Diana’s hand on board The Royal Yacht Britannia at the start of their honeymoon. Diana was wearing a dress by Donald Campbell

Princess of Wales, wearing a suit designed by Bill Pashley, pose for a photo on the banks of the river Dee in the grounds of Balmoral Castle in 1981

This romantic floaty ball gown by Bellville Sassoon was part of Diana’s early fairy-tale era

Princess Diana appeared in this David Sassoon red maternity dress at the Barbican centre in March 1982

Dancing around the puddles and making a splash in beige coords on her first official visit to Wales in 1981

This sequinned tulle dress in pale blue was designed by Elizabeth and David Emanuel and seen here in Cardiff for a charity concert in October 1982

The Princess of Wales wore this cream satin dress by Gina Fratini with the Queen Mary Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara in Auckland, New Zealand in 1983

Diana’s famous blue engagement suit was by Cojana and was ought off the peg in Harrods for the announcement of her engagement to Prince Charles in 1981

Diana in this strapless Catherine Walker at a performance of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ at the Royal Opera House in 1989

Princess Diana wore a Catherine Walker suit as she arrived on the Governor’s launch during a visit to Hong Kong, November 1989

Diana attended this gala evening in aid of Cancer Research at Bridgewater House wearing a dress designed by Jacques Azagury 1995

Diana wore this beaded sheath dress designed by Catherine Walker in Budapest Hungary in 1990

Diana’s gowns were becoming more revealing and her heels were getting higher towards the end of her marriage

Another sensational one-shouldered dress made of ivory silk crepe embroidered with pink sequins in 1991

Princess Diana arrived for this Pavarotti concert at the Royal Albert Hall wearing a red and black military style evening dress designed by Catherine Walker in 1995

Diana, Princess of Wales attended a concert in Italy wearing this short white dress by Versace in 1995

This stunning blue Versace dress with matching shoes and handbag was a huge hit when she attended The Victor Chang Research Institute dinner in Sydney in 1996

This stunning white lace halter-style evening dress with embroidered pearls, sequins and crystals worn by the princess to a gala in Washington in 1996 was by Catherine Walker

Diana wore this John Galliano dress without anything underneath so that it didn’t spoil the line of the dress when she attended the Met Gala Ball with Liz Tilberis