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Martha Grate will never forget her patients on the pediatric AIDS unit at Harlem Hospital, but one in particular still stands out.

Seven years old and a noted troublemaker, he immediately caught Princess Diana’s eye when the royal entered the ward on Feb. 3, 1989.

Diana made a beeline for the boy, asking, “Are you heavy?” before picking him up to cuddle him. The nurses braced themselves.

“He was a very precocious child,” Grate, the unit’s former nursing director, told The Post. “He was really kind of challenging and when Princess Diana picked him up, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I hope you don’t act out!’ We were all holding our breath, but he put his head on her shoulder. He hung on to her.”

Diana, 27, was on her first solo tour of New York City , attending ­galas as well visiting with the underprivileged. As the new season of “The Crown” on Netflix tells it, the trip was an escape from her marriage to Prince Charles — and the infidelities being committed by both of them.

But the only thing she was focused on that day was meeting the children. Sadly, said Grate, now 82 and a minister in East Stroudsburg, Pa.: “Most of the kids that were there at that time, they’re no longer with us. By the time they got on that floor, the prognosis was so bad for them.”

As people who were at the hospital that day reveal for the first time, the visit was far more meaningful than “The Crown” can ever convey.

“These children were so very, very ill, and, at the time, not much was known about how to assist them. It was just really heartbreaking. There was so much misinformation about AIDS that people believed: You couldn’t touch a doorknob or sit on a toilet or you would get it,” said Gwen Elliot-McIntosh, who was an administrator at Harlem Hospital and ran a program for women, infants and children. “People thought you had to shun people who had AIDS. It was a very bad time.”

Grate agreed: “People were so afraid to go into the children’s room. We had to encourage the housekeepers to go in there.”

Diana, however, “picked up a baby and looked at the baby like there was no one else in the room . . . She talked to [the children] and hugged them. She gave them love,” said McIntosh, now 72.

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The royal had started her fight against AIDS stigma in 1987 when she declined to wear gloves while shaking the hands of ill patients at Middlesex Hospital in London.

“Basically, it was as if she was saying, ‘If I can love these little children . . . it’s OK — you can, too,” recalled McIntosh, who retired in 2002.During the trip, Diana was joined by her chief of staff Patrick Jephson, as well as a press secretary and a ­lady-in-waiting.

They checked into the Hôtel Plaza Athénée on the Upper East Side, where the duplex penthouse became her suite of choice when she was in town.

Jephson recalled in his book “Shadows of a Princess” how Diana’s team was worried about her meeting the hospital’s pediatrics director, Dr. Margaret Heagerty — “an avowed and outspoken critic of British policy in Ulster . . . Headlines swam before my eyes: ‘Princess snubbed by Republican Granny’ or ‘Republican Doc wrecks tour.’ ”

But all went fine, with Diana quizzing the doctor on the issues of drugs and AIDS. As Jephson writes, the doctor replied: “[Drug users] are irresponsible . . . but we have seen women on drugs with AIDS sit by their dying children and mourn . . . They love their children as you love your little princes .”

Although Diana never returned before her 1997 death in a Paris car accident, her visit still looms large. “I met Barbara Bush, Maria Cuomo,” said Grate. “Diana is the only one who exuded so much compassion.”

Lulu King, now 89, was Harlem Hospital’s recreation director. “I looked into [Diana’s] eyes and she became a glass figurine. She was so still and so beautiful. I told my sister and my father, ‘I don’t think she’s going to live long,’ ” she told The Post. “I don’t know why, I just had that feeling.”

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Diana’s 1989 Trip To New York Was Met with Protests—But She Charmed the Whole City

As depicted in 'The Crown', princess's solo trip across the pond came as her marriage to Prince Charles was crumbling.

As ever, the show sticks close to the truth in some respects, while taking dramatic license with others, including the timeline of Diana's famous encounter with an AIDS patient. Here's your guide to Diana's real 1989 trip to NYC.

The trip fueled rumors about Charles and Diana's marital trouble.

Diana arrived in New York on February 1, 1989, touching down at John F. Kennedy airport via the now-discontinued Concorde jet. It wasn't her first solo royal engagement overseas—that was way back in 1982, when she represented the queen at Grace of Monaco's funeral. But this was Diana's first official visit to New York, and the fact that Charles did not accompany her raised eyebrows. Per ABC , the Prince's absence fueled rumors about the state of the couple's marriage. Nonetheless, Diana's "dazzling smile and personality…won over New Yorkers."

Her three-day trip involved a visit to the Henry Street Settlement on the Lower East Side, where The New York Times reported she was greeted by hundreds of people lining the sidewalk. "The Princess smiled, shook a few outstretched hands and accepted a bouquet of flowers from a young boy," the paper wrote.

Diana also visited the Brooklyn Academy of Music as the special guest for its 1989 Royal Gala, which featured a performance of Verdi’s Falstaff by the Welsh National Opera. Diana was patron of the WNO at the time.

Karen Brooks Hopkins, President Emerita of BAM, recounted her experience with Diana in an essay for People : " I can tell you that the rollout of a royal visit is meticulous," Hopkins wrote. "She is not just a person but an industry, and every moment is designed to maximize the fantasy, beauty and mystery of royalty—and our Diana was the quintessential princess. She was tall, young, graceful, beautiful and a real professional."

The audience was packed with "everyone in New York," Hopkins recalled (the subtext being: everyone who's anyone .) That included celebrities, politicians, and, uh... Donald Trump and his then-wife, Ivana. "The security team was massive—NYPD, Scotland Yard, Her Majesty’s own private force and the FBI. These guys don't fool around."

The reactions to Diana in New York weren't entirely positive.

Throughout the performance at BAM, The New York Times reported, "several hundred protesters opposed to British rule in Northern Ireland demonstrated across the street…many of the demonstrators played bagpipes while others chanted 'Princess Di go home.'"

Diana's trip was “under immense scrutiny from the American press,” according to journalist Anita Rani, who speaks about Diana’s trip to New York for a Netflix behind-the-scenes video. The New York Post had dubbed Diana “the most famous welfare mother in the world,” prior to her arrival, and other publications criticized her high-fashion shopping habits. In fact, her small entourage on this trip didn't even include a hairdresser, so Diana did all of her own styling during the trip using heated rollers.

Diana's groundbreaking visit to AIDS patients in Harlem really happened.

Just as the show depicts, Diana visited the pediatric AIDS unit at Harlem Hospital during her time in New York. HIV and AIDS had been an important cause for her for many years; two years earlier, she opened the U.K.'s first HIV/Aids unit at London's Middlesex Hospital. At the time, she made headlines by shaking hands with a man who had AIDS , at a time when stigma and ignorance still led many to fear physical contact with patients.

During her visit to Harlem hospital, The New York Times reported, Diana "paused to stroke five babies...[then] the Princess noticed a 7-year-old boy in blue pajamas. ''Are you heavy?'' she asked, scooping him up and cuddling him." A very similar moment is depicted in the show, where Diana hugs and comforts a young boy on the ward. Both onscreen and in real life, this was a significant moment for the HIV/AIDS movement. As Dr. Margaret Heagarty, pediatric director at Harlem Hospital, told Diana at the time: "Your presence here and in Great Britain has shown that folks with this disease can be hugged, can be cared for."

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What Princess Diana's 1989 Tour of New York City Looked Like in Real Life

The Crown recreates the princess's solo trip to the Big Apple.

Unlike her tour of Australia years prior with Prince Charles and Prince William, Diana traveled solo for the engagements abroad. But even by herself, she won the hearts of New Yorkers. Ahead, take a look at what Diana did during her time in NYC.

February 1, 1989

The princess wears a ruched blue and black evening dress while out in New York.

February 2, 1989

Diana attends a dinner at the Winter Garden in a silky white ensemble.

The gala followed a performance of Verdi's ''Falstaff" by the Welsh National Opera at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Princess Di greets well-wishers on her way to the Henry Street Settlement, a nonprofit social services agency, in New York's Lower East Side.

Crowds gather to see the princess.

Diana wears a pink and black, colorblocked suit by Catherine Walker.

Diana speaks to a woman and child while visiting a day care center in the Lower East Side.

February 3, 1989

The princess wears a red Catherine Walker skirt suit while visiting the AIDS unit at Harlem Hospital. She met several children suffering from the illness before ending her trip to New York.

Diana receives flowers at Harlem Hospital.

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The Crown: What happened during Princess Diana’s trip to New York City?

Princess diana’s visit to new york city is featured in the crown ’s season four finale, article bookmarked.

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In February 1989, Princess Diana travelled to New York City , where she embarked on her first official solo tour.

The purpose of the trip, as portrayed in season four of Netflix ’s The Crown , was to “promote British industries abroad,” according to Beneath The Crown ’s Anita Rani, with the “focal point of the trip” meant to be a royal gala for the Welsh National Opera.

Prior to her arrival, the American media also speculated that her schedule would be full of shopping excursions, as the royal had come to be known as a fashion icon.

However, the three-day trip marked a point in the Princess of Wales’ life where she wanted to establish her independence from her husband Prince Charles, take “control of her own narrative,” and raise awareness of causes close to her heart, such as the AIDS crisis.

As shown by actress Emma Corrin, who plays the then-27-year-old princess in the show, Princess Diana’s trip was hugely successful, and cemented her later title of the “people’s princess”.

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This is what happened during Princess Diana’s trip to New York City.

Upon her arrival in the city, Princess Diana attended a cocktail party hosted by Scottish cashmere company Dawson International.

But by the next morning, her focus had turned towards social causes, with the late royal beginning her day with a visit to the Henry Street Settlement in the Lower East Side, which provides social services, arts and healthcare to the community.

According to Rani, Princess Diana’s decision to visit “deprived areas of Manhattan usually ignored by the rich and famous” came as a surprise to the locals, who were “delighted”.

After a visit to toy store FAO Schwarz, Princess Diana attended the gala for the Welsh Opera at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, for which she wore a white and gold beaded gown.

According to former BAM president Karen Brooks Hopkins, the outfit caused an appreciative response from attendees, who were dressed mostly in black.

“Everyone’s in black, and she enters her royal box, which we had beautifully decorated with all these greens and so forth, and she’s wearing white. Kind of a gasp goes up from the crowd, because of her beauty and the fashion of it all,” Brooks Hopkins told Town & Country .

Princess Diana at a gala in New York City 

Princess Diana at a gala in New York City 

But, one of the most “defining moments” of Princess Diana’s trip, according to Rani, came when she visited Harlem Hospital, where she paid a private visit to the AIDS ward.

During the visit, the royal spoke with doctors and hugged a young patient with AIDS - an embrace that generated positive press coverage and positive responses from hospital workers.

“She did it spontaneously,” Margaret Heagarty, the hospital’s former director of the pediatric AIDS unit, told The New York Times of the gesture. “But she also did the human thing. He was five or six years old, and she just picked him up and hugged him.”

Emma Corrin plays Princess Diana on The Crown 

Emma Corrin plays Princess Diana on The Crown 

Overall, the reaction to the royal’s trip was overwhelmingly positive, with throngs of people greeting her everywhere she went and headlines declaring her success and praising her compassion.

Princess Diana was met with crowds of fans during visit to New York

“What emerged were headlines about Diana's public displays of compassion for those far less fortunate than the royal family," Rani said, adding that the visit also helped “to break down AIDS-related stigmas, and her actions led to a surge in adoption requests for HIV-positive children”.

While much of the trip is accurately portrayed in Netflix’s latest season of The Crown , there is one difference worth noting - the scenes were actually filmed in Manchester, rather than New York City.

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How The Crown Filmed Princess Diana’s Visit to NYC in 1989

In season four of The Crown , released in 2020, the story of the British royal family and historical events in the United Kingdom that shaped the reign of Queen Elizabeth II continued. The season of the hit Netflix show welcomed two very new star female figures: Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (played by Gillian Anderson) and Diana Spencer (played by actress Emma Corrin). Most relevant for us here at Untapped New York, the last episode of season four of The Crown retells the story of Princess Diana’s trip to New York City in 1989.

The New York City trip was Princess Diana’s first official solo trip overseas, and it was planned amidst some secrecy, due to fear of an attack by supporters of Irish Republican Army in New York. Diana had previously been targeted by the IRA at a concert, but the bombing failed. In February 1st, 1989, Diana arrived at John F. Kennedy Airport by a supersonic Concorde jet alongside a small team of staff, without her husband Prince Charles and her children Prince William and Harry.

The 27-year-old Princess was there to promote trade between the United States and Great Britain, but her trip was “under immense scrutiny from the American press,” according to journalist Anita Rani who speaks about Diana’s trip to New York for a Netflix behind-the-scenes video. The New York Post had dubbed Diana “the most famous welfare mother in the world,” prior to her arrival, and other publications criticized her high-fashion shopping habits. In fact, her small entourage on this trip did not include a hairdresser, so Diana did all of her own styling during the trip using heated rollers.

After Princess Diana got off the jet, she immediately headed to a cocktail party at Axa Equitable Center in Midtown Manhattan. The next day, Diana visited the Henry Street Settlement , a not-for-profit agency on the Lower East Side that provides social service, arts and health care programs. The princess spent time talking to children and mothers who had been homeless.

There is one establishing shot of the Lower East Side in The Crown that shows the neighborhood as seen by Princess Diana in her limousine, looking out at the street scene. The Netflix behind the scenes video claims that New York City government cleaned up the Lower East Side for her arrival, which seems…doubtful especially for the 1980s! If you’re zooming in trying to figure out where in New York City the scene was filmed — you won’t find it. The crew of The Crown transformed the streets of the Northern Quarter in the city of Manchester, England to replicate the neighborhood around the Henry Street Settlement in Manhattan in the 1980s. The skyscrapers in the distance are added by CGI.

After that, Princess Diana went to FAO Schwarz, the high-end toy store on Fifth Avenue and the oldest toy store in the United States. An exhibition of British toys was slated for opening at the shop, and it featured a doll of Diana in her wedding dress. Amongst those who were starstruck was FAO Schwarz’s CEO Peter Harris. “Our view is that this is a fun, happy and positive experience for her,” Harris told WABC , the day before Princess Diana was scheduled to visit his toy shop, “And we are all just going to be ourselves and hope she enjoys the spirt that is toys.”

The pinnacle of Princess Diana’s visit culminated in her appearance at a Royal Gala at Brooklyn Academy of Music that included the production of Welsh National Opera’s Falstaff . The event was recreated on The Crown in Manchester on Peter Street. Diana was greeted with 500 or so IRA protesters according to WABC , but her Victor Edelstein white gown attracted all the attention. “Since it was New York, everyone was wearing black — the men were in black tie and many women wore black designer gowns,” said Karen Brooks Hopkins, President Emerita of BAM who hosted Diana at the gala, to People Magazine . “So when Diana entered the box, radiant in a magnificent long white dress with a matching bolero jacket covered in jewels, a gasp went up from the crowd. She was — in a word — perfection!” After the production, she headed back to Manhattan for a fundraising dinner for the Welsh National Opera at the Winter Garden.

During her last day at New York, Diana went to the Harlem Hospital (filmed at the Reynold Building in Manchester) to pay a visit to babies who were struggling with AIDS and HIV, an issue the Princess cared about deeply. In 1987, she opened the first purpose-built ward for AIDS patients at Middlesex Hospital in London. At Harlem Hospital, “she picked up a little boy who has AIDS and hugged him,” Margaret Heagarty, Director of Pediatrics at Harlem Hospital, said in a news interview . “This community and this hospital has been delighted with this charming young woman who showed with great sensitivity and compassion and interest in concern for poor children.” Throughout her life, Diana’s compassion for the sick and less privileged helped reduce the stigma of those suffering from AIDS and other diseases.

The Harlem Hospital was also where Martin Luther King Jr. was taken to and operated on after he was stabbed at the Blumstein Department Store in 1958, and is still in operation today as part of the NYC Health+Hospitals system.

Netflix’s historical drama The Crown also stars the likes of Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth, Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip and Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret.

Next, check out the filming locations for The Undoing , starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant.

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What Princess Diana's 1989 Tour of New York City Looked Like in Real Life

Posted: April 2, 2024 | Last updated: April 2, 2024

While the events of The Crown mostly take place in the U.K., the show does occasionally go State-side. There was Princess Margaret's trip to Washington, D.C. in Season 3, and now, we have Princess Diana's three-day tour of New York in Season 4. The Netflix series recreates the royal's visit to the Big Apple in 1989, where she attended a gala, visited settlement housing complex, and spent time with children with AIDS, solidifying her title as "the People's Princess."

Unlike her tour of Australia years prior with Prince Charles and Prince William, Diana traveled solo for the engagements abroad. But even by herself, she won the hearts of New Yorkers. Ahead, take a look at what Diana did during her time in NYC.

February 1, 1989

The princess wears a ruched blue and black evening dress while out in New York.

February 2, 1989

Diana attends a dinner at the Winter Garden in a silky white ensemble.

The gala followed a performance of Verdi's ''Falstaff" by the Welsh National Opera at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Princess Di greets well-wishers on her way to the Henry Street Settlement, a nonprofit social services agency, in New York's Lower East Side.

Crowds gather to see the princess.

Diana wears a pink and black, colorblocked suit by Catherine Walker.

Diana speaks to a woman and child while visiting a day care center in the Lower East Side.

February 3, 1989

The princess wears a red Catherine Walker skirt suit while visiting the AIDS unit at Harlem Hospital. She met several children suffering from the illness before ending her trip to New York.

Diana receives flowers at Harlem Hospital.

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Photos show the true story behind Princess Diana's famous New York City visit featured on 'The Crown'

Emma Corrin plays Princess Diana in season four of "The Crown"; Princess Diana attends a gala during her first official visit to New York City.Des Willie/Netflix; Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images

• In February 1989, Princess Diana flew to New York City for her first solo overseas tour amid personal turmoil.
• Over the course of three days, Diana met with New York's rich and famous as well as its less privileged, cementing her reputation as a compassionate and modern royal.
• Highlights from Diana's trip included a visit to the Henry Street Settlement, a social services program, and the moment when she hugged a 7-year-old AIDS patient at the Harlem Hospital.
• The trip has come back into focus as one of the key storylines in season four of Netflix's " The Crown ."

Warning: Spoilers ahead for the fourth season of Netflix's "The Crown."

In 1989, 27-year-old Princess Diana found herself caught between two worlds: public adoration and private conflict.

After seven years of marriage, her relationship with Prince Charles was on the rocks. Both had entered into extramarital affairs: Prince Charles with Camilla , and Diana with her riding instructor, Captain James Hewitt .

Diana "was the love object of everyone in the world except her husband [...] she was faced in her mid-twenties with something she found chilling to contemplate: a fairy-tale marriage that had cooled into an arrangement," Vanity Fair's Georgina Howell wrote in 1988 .

This moment in time is a central focus of season four of Netflix's " The Crown. " Released on November 15, the hit series' newest season depicts the lives of the British monarchy from 1979 through 1990.

Episode 10, "War," shows how Diana, played by actress Emma Corrin, used a 3-day solo tour to New York City in March 1989 to establish her independence and promote causes she was passionate about amid turmoil at home.

Here's how the real-life tour happened and a look back in photos.

On February 1, 1989, a 27-year-old Princess Diana touched down in John F. Kennedy Airport for her first royal overseas solo tour and first visit to New York City.

Source: Beneath the Crown

The official purpose of the three-day tour was to "promote British industries abroad," Netflix's Anita Rani explains in an episode of "Beneath the Crown."

Privately, Diana sought to take control of her narrative as conflict brewed between her and the royal family over her tumultuous marriage with Prince Charles.

After landing in JFK, Diana headed straight to a cocktail party hosted by Dawson International, producers of Scottish cashmere, where she mingled with high-profile fashion designers.

Before her visit, American media predicted that Diana, a fashion icon, would spend much of her time shopping in New York's high-end stores, but Diana's itinerary proved them wrong.

The next morning, she paid a visit to the Henry Street Settlement, a social services program in Alphabet City.

Diana's visit to Alphabet City marked a departure from previous royal visits to New York. "Diana chose to visit deprived areas of Manhattan usually ignored by the rich and famous," Rani said. "The locals were delighted."

Later in the day, she visited FAO Schwarz, New York's oldest toy store, to see an exhibition of British toys.

That evening, Diana attended the banner event of her tour: a gala hosted at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) that included a performance of the Welsh opera "Falstaff" followed by a reception at the Winter Garden in Manhattan.

Diana wore an ivory-and-gold beaded gown by Victor Edelstein, which caught the attention of New York's high society in attendance, according to Karen Brooks Hopkins, President Emerita of BAM, who hosted Diana at the gala.

Source: People

"Since it was New York, everyone was wearing black [...] So when Diana entered the box, radiant in a magnificent long white dress with a matching bolero jacket covered in jewels, a gasp went up from the crowd," Brooks Hopkins told People magazine.

On her final day in the Big Apple, Diana paid a visit to the Harlem Hospital, where she spoke with doctors and visited the AIDS unit. At one point, Diana, picked up and hugged a 7-year-old AIDS patient, generating a flurry of positive press attention.

Source: Beneath the Crown , Los Angeles Times

"Your presence here and in Great Britain has shown that folks with this disease can be hugged, can be cared for," Margaret Heagarty, Director of Pediatrics at Harlem Hospital told Diana, per The New York Times.

Source: The New York Times

Though Diana's New York tour was a short trip, it is acknowledged as a defining moment of her career.

In place of "frivolous coverage on shopping sprees and dazzling dresses ... what emerged were headlines about Diana's public displays of compassion for those far less fortunate than the royal family," Rani said.

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That Time I Walked Princess Diana Through the Henry Street Settlement in 1989

When Princess Diana visited New York City in February 1989, one of the stops on the tour was the Henry Street Settlement’s Urban Family Center shelter on the Lower East Side. Verona Middleton-Jeter, a social worker who was the center’s chief administrator of homeless and transitional housing at the time, was the one to show her around that day. The moment was portrayed in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene in season four, episode ten, of The Crown, but Curbed being Curbed, we wanted to know the full story. Middleton-Jeter (who retired ten years ago from her role as Henry Street’s executive director) hasn’t got around to watching the show yet, but we spoke to her about what the day was like, awkward handshake and all.

Princess Diana’s visit to Henry Street was really suggested and highly recommended by Mayor Dinkins. My boss, Danny Kronenfeld — he was the executive director at the time — was so excited. One day he called me and said, “Are you sitting down?,” and I said, “No, why? should I sit?,” and he said, “Sit down! Princess Di may be coming to visit us!” I said, “Okay, I can see us doing it to help Henry Street get some publicity and share the work that we’re doing.”

We had to map out what an hour’s visit at the shelter might be like. And at that time, we had a group of formerly homeless women working for Henry Street in a program that we called Self Help, and I pretty much helped develop that program for formerly homeless or domestic-abuse survivors. And they used to go to Mayor Dinkins’s office all the time to advocate for women and children, so it just came to us that that was the group of women Princess Di should meet with, rather than professional staff. I really wanted her to talk to people who’ve gone through it. We had a meeting room where the press would be and then we decided that she would also visit a family who was living there. We also had a day-care center for kids that were in the shelter, so we thought those three areas would be nice touch points for the princess. And it worked out very well.

I just assumed my executive director would be the host, but he said, “No, you are going to be the hostess.” And not being a person that was familiar with protocols or royalty — and neither were the women that were meeting with her — of course we went to the library, and I said, “Okay, we gotta read up. We don’t want to mess up.” And so we all went and did research and came back and discussed protocols and tried to make sure that we did the right thing. We learned that we should not reach for her hand if she didn’t reach for ours and all of that stuff. We were ready.

We had agreed that we would not dress fancy — we would dress business casual, the way we go to work. We all showed up that morning, and one of the leaders in the Self Help group, Shirley, she shows up in the biggest, prettiest party dress you’ve ever seen. So we’re like, “What are we going to do? We can’t stop her from meeting the princess. That would be a disaster.” So we had to find a blazer. I don’t even know whose jacket we found to put around Shirley.

Finally the limousine pulled up and they asked, “Who’s supposed to meet the princess?” So I ran to the curb. I didn’t get a chance to be nervous, but first thing I did, I ran at the curb and she got out, and — exactly what I shouldn’t have done — I reached for her hand! And she reached for my hand, and she said, “Hey, we’re wearing the same colors!” And that was it, that was so perfect, because she was so down to earth, and I didn’t have time to get nervous.

When we were sitting with the women, Shirley, again, she looked at Diana, and she said, “Ooooh but you’re so pretty!” Well, I thought I would die. And I think that’s the picture where I was laughing, and the princess kind of looked down and laughed — and that picture went global. Right afterward, I get this call, somebody from Europe: “Princess Di is laughing with an African American woman. Can you tell us who she is and what it is about?” And I’m like, “I don’t know, ’cause I don’t see that woman. I don’t know.” And somebody sent me the picture, and there I was. It was a good laugh.

She was interested in the problems of homeless women and families, and the program that we had, but she asked more questions about women who were in abusive relationships. When we finished our discussion with her, we went with her to the apartment building. When she visited the family in the apartment, she sat on the bed. The little boy in that family, she sat on his bed and she spoke with him, and the kid had a picture of Michael Jordan and she talked to him about that — and really, again, to sit on his bed? She interacted very comfortably.

Then we walked from Baruch Place across to Baruch Drive, where the [Henry Street] day-care center was. People were lined up — the community, everybody was just out there — and her team had those dividers, so people were on one side and they tried to keep her in line, and as we were walking, there was a kid. She couldn’t have been more than 5. She had a little bouquet of tulips, and the princess just broke out, went on to that little kid, and she took the flowers.

This has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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The Princess Diana Exhibition: Accredited Access

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Time Out says

In life, Princess Diana was the most photographed woman of her time. Paparazzi followed her every move and the media was ravenous for coverage of her tumultuous life.

Fever and SBX are putting some of these images—by royal photographers Anwar Hussein and his two sons Zak and Samir—on display in their new exhibit called "Princess Diana Exhibition: Accredited Access" coming to NYC in early January.

Recently, the public's obsession with Diana has been drummed up again—Netflix's show  The Crown recently   introduced her, there's a Diana: The Musical on Broadway and a movie,  Spencer , coming to theaters in November.

This winter, the public can get even more of her at this exhibit that promises to share collections of the Husseins' original images and "intimate, never-before-told" stories behind them. The Husseins collectively spent four decades taking photos of Diana and her family.

Guests will be taken through eight themes dealing with the Princess of Wales' most iconic moments as well as see massive images, murals and bespoke art. Exclusive Princess Diana Exhibition merchandise will be available for sale on-site, too.

Tickets will be on sale as of Wednesday, October 20, at noon. You can sign up to be put on the waitlist here . It'll be put on at a currently undisclosed location in NYC.

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Princess Diana's 1989 Trip to New York Will Appear in The Crown Season 4

The cast and crew were spotted recreating the royal couple's famous trip.

Corrin was photographed on set in Manchester, England, which had been done up to look like the streets of New York. She was wearing what appeared to be a recreation of Diana's white Victor Edelstein gown, which the royal wore to a charity gala at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music.

The Crown also recreated another one of Diana's stops in New York: a visit to the Henry Street Settlement. According to the Manchester Evening News , a building in Manchester's Northern Quarter was modified to approximate the look of the Settlement.

Corrin was photographed in another costume, filming what was believed to be another New York scene. While her plaid skirt suit didn't quite resemble the clothing Princess Diana actually wore during her other stops in New York—that would be a purple and black suit—the look does feel like something that Diana would've worn.

Diana's three-day visit to New York is certainly deserving of some air time on The Crown . The Princess made waves when she visited the Henry Street Settlement and AIDS patients at a Harlem hospital—and of course, she made quite an impact at that gala.

Fans can look forward to seeing the show's take on these historical events when The Crown 's fourth season debuts , likely later this year.

Chloe is a News Writer for Townandcountrymag.com , where she covers royal news, from the latest additions to Meghan Markle’s staff to Queen Elizabeth’s monochrome fashions ; she also writes about culture, often dissecting TV shows like The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and Killing Eve .

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Inside the NYC hotel known as the 'Palace of Secrets' where Harry and Meghan have stayed in New York

• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are visiting New York City for the U.N. General Assembly.
• They stayed at the Carlyle hotel , known as the "Palace of Secrets," on their last visit to New York.
• Elite guests like Princess Diana, Michael Jackson, and Steve Jobs have all stayed at the hotel.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories .

If elevator walls could talk, they would have stories to tell about the Carlyle Hotel. But you certainly won't hear them from staff.

Source:  The Carlyle Hotel

Built in 1930 and located on the corner of Madison Avenue and 76th Street on the Upper East Side, the Carlyle Hotel has earned a reputation as a hideout for royalty, politicians, and celebrities.

Source: The Carlyle Hotel

Carlyle Hotel staff are famously close-lipped about what goes on inside the hotel walls. The New York Times once called the 188-room hotel the "Palace of Secrets" for the privacy it affords its guests.

Source: New York Times

In 2018, a documentary called "Always the Carlyle" by Matthew Miele revealed never-before-shared stories of some of the hotel's most distinguished guests, one of whom was Princess Diana.

Source: Always at the Carlyle

Diana first visited New York City on a three-day solo tour in February 1989, a moment which appears in season four of "The Crown."

Source: Insider

As her marriage to Prince Charles dissolved leading up to their divorce in 1996, she took more solo trips to the city, often staying at the Carlyle.

During one her stays, Princess Diana joined "the most famous elevator ride in history," journalist Piers Morgan told producers of "Always at the Carlyle."

Source: Always at the Carlyle 

Her fellow riders? Michael Jackson and Steve Jobs. The power trio was "completely silent" until Diana started singing Jackson's 1982 hit song "Beat It," Morgan said.

Diana frequented the 1,800-square-foot "Royal Suite" on the 22nd floor, which today is one of the hotel's most requested rooms, Carlyle Hotel communications director Jennifer Cooke told Insider.

The two-bedroom suite is currently under renovation, but it previously rented for $8,000 per night, Architectural Digest reported in 2016.

Source: Architectural Digest

Following in Diana's footsteps, Prince William and Kate Middleton stayed at the hotel during a trip to New York City in 2014.

Cooke overheard Prince William say in the lobby that he had heard a lot about the hotel over the years. "The duke and duchess I think definitely stayed here at the Carlyle because Princess Diana used to stay here," she said in the documentary.

In September 2021, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle checked into the Upper East Side hotel. Though, according to Page Six, they didn't stay in the Royal Suite like their family members have.

Source: Page Six

In addition to foreign dignitaries, every US president since Truman has visited the Carlyle, the hotel writes on its website.

Kennedy owned an apartment on the 34th floor for the decade leading up to his death in 1963, which became known as his "winter White House," according to the New York Post.

Source: New York Post

Marilyn Monroe is rumored to have slipped past paparazzi through a tunnel into the Carlyle for a rendezvous with Kennedy, but the story and existence of the tunnel have never been publicly confirmed.

Contemporary guests of the hotel include George and Amal Clooney, Vera Wang, Jack Nicholson, Bill Murray, Naomi Campbell, Wes Anderson, Lenny Kravitz, Roger Federer, and Bill Murray, all of whom appear in the documentary.

The hotel's prices certainly cater to celebrity clientele. Rates start at $1,325 per night for a 360-square-foot Deluxe Twin Bedroom.

S0urce: The Carlyle Hotel

The two-story Empire Suite that overlooks Central Park goes for $20,000 per night, Cooke told Insider.

George and Amal Clooney once stayed in the Empire Suite for three months.

Suites were renovated in 2019 to include murals of Central Park and curated art collections. Perks for VIP and repeat guests include custom pillowcases with their initials monogrammed in gold thread.

"You get what you pay for," Carlyle guest and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said of Carlyle suite prices in "Always at the Carlyle."

The hotel's common spaces are equally as luxurious. The Art Deco lobby oozes old-world glamour and has served as a reception and after-party destination for high-profile events like the Met Gala and Tonys.

Model Naomi Campbell recalls that her floor at the Carlyle was "banging" after the 2016 Met Gala.

"It was the best floor ever. It was me in one corner, Rihanna in one corner, Stella McCartney in another corner, and Cara Delevingne in the other. You can imagine what time that floor went to bed," she said in the documentary.

The historic Bemelmans Bar, lined with murals drawn by Madeline artist and creator Ludwig Bemelmans, has also hosted creative stars.

Source: The Carlyle Hotel , Always at the Carlyle

The whimsical space was "one of the biggest inspirations" for Wes Anderson's 2014 film "The Grand Budapest Hotel," he told "Always at the Carlyle" producers.

At Café Carlyle, the hotel's supper club, Woody Allen regularly appears to play his clarinet with the Eddy Davis New Orleans jazz band.

Source: Café Carlyle , Always at the Carlyle

While "Always at the Carlyle" shed light on the hotel's inner workings through interviews with guests, it remains a private place for a discerning clientele.

Many hotel employees have worked at the hotel for decades and refuse to share details about specific conversations with guests.

"We don't talk about our guests," one employee said at the beginning of the documentary. "Whatever happens here, stays here," said another.

Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member.

Our Royal Insider Facebook group is the best place for up-to-date news and announcements about the British royal family, direct from Insider's royal reporters. Join here.

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A FRONT ROW WALK THROUGH HISTORY

Princess • mother • humanitarian, to the first ever walk thru documentary of princess diana., upcoming exhibit, tickets available now, open exhibit, diana las vegas, previous exhibits, previous exhibits, south carolina, puerto rico, los angeles, previous exhibits.

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Vintage StarTracks: This Week in 1981, See a Young Harrison Ford, Plus Princess Diana & More

Find out what the biggest stars of the '80s were up to with throwback photos from Hollywood's bygone era

Nancy Moran/Sygma via Getty

Between Oscar night, press conferences and parties around town, the A-list was busy at this time 43 years ago.

In March 1981, actors like Robert De Niro and Sissy Spacek took home Academy Awards and celebrated theirs wins at afterparties around Los Angeles. On TV, viewers could see Ed McMahon chatting with then-host Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show , or they could tune into an episode of Taxi featuring a cameo appearance by Danny DeVito 's mom. Across the ocean, a newly engaged Princess Diana — then Lady Diana Spencer — toured the U.K., and Elton John dressed up for a night out in Paris.

From Beverly Hills to the streets of Manhattan, travel back in time to see what the hottest stars of the decade were up to in March 1981.

Royal Occasion

Jayne Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Hulton Royals Collection/Getty

Shortly after her engagement to Prince Charles, soon-to-be-princess Lady Diana Spencer visited the English town of Cheltenham in a naval-inspired suit on March 27.

Ron Galella Collection via Getty

A 15-year-old Brooke Shields posed with Michael Jackson , then 23, at the 1981 Oscars.

Man with a Tan

Wearing just his minimalistic swimsuit, Harrison Ford lounged poolside on March 10, a sunny day in Los Angeles.

Starry Night Out

Dolly Parton looked dazzling in a studded black gown at the 53rd Academy Awards on March 31, 1981, in Los Angeles.

Big Hair, Bigger Smile

Sigourney Weaver smiled at the 1981 Oscars in L.A. on March 31, where she and Nastassja Kinski presented the award for Best Costume Design.

Wild Couture

Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty

Elton John was seen wearing a fuzzy wolf sweater outside of his hotel in Paris while abroad on March 27.

Generations of Stardom

Barbara Stanwyck and John Travolta hung out at former celebrity hotspot Chasen's Restaurant in Beverly Hills on March 24.

Ready to Rumble

Sylvester Stallone and Mr. T get up close and personal at a March 27 press conference for Rocky III at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

Jamming Out

Richard E. Aaron/Redferns

Prince continued his Dirty Mind tour with a performance at the Ritz Carlton in New York City on March 21.

Golden Moment

Goldie Hawn took home honors from the Publicists Guild of America Awards on March 27 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in L.A.

Muhammad Ali goofed off at Chasen's Restaurant in Beverly Hills, pretending to punch photographer Ron Galella during a night out on March 29.

Dual Retrospective

Frank Edwards/Archive Photos/Getty

Road Games costars Jamie Lee Curtis and Stacy Keach reviewed their careers at a brunch hosted by the Hollywood Foreign Press in Los Angeles.

In the Hot Seat

Gene Arias/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Ed McMahon sat down with late-night legend Johnny Carson for an episode of The Tonight Show on March 18.

All Out at the Afterparty

Angie Dickinson wore a sparkling purple dress to Swifty Lazaar's Academy Awads party at Bistro Gardens in Beverly Hills on March 31.

On-Camera Bonding

ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Danny DeVito 's mom, Julia DeVito, joined her son on the set of Taxi to film the episode "Louie's Mother," which aired on March 26.

Black Tie Attire

Jane Seymour and Richard Pryor presented the Best Film Editing category at the 53rd annual Academy Awards on March 31.

Off-the-Shoulder Style

Diana Ross wowed in polka dots to the 53rd Academy Awards on March 31.

Seat at the Table

Shutterstock

Alana and Rod Stewart caught up with Jacqueline Bisset at Swifty Lazar's 1981 Oscar party in L.A.

Titular Names

D'Amico /American Broadcasting Companies via Getty

John Denver and George Burns costarred in the 1981 ABC special John Denver with His Special Guest George Burns: Two of a Kind .

Bandaged Up

Despite wearing a neck brace, Erik Estrada stepped out on March 27 for the Easter Seals Black and White Ball honoring Pat Boone in N.Y.C.

Robert De Niro and Sissy Spacek — the 1981 Oscar winners for the Best Actor and Best Actress awards, respectively — posed with their prizes after the ceremony.

Britt Ekland wore her hair in ringlets at an L.A. screening of Dark Eyes on March 23 at the Warner Beverly Theater.

Hollywood's Highest Honor

Robert Redford nabbed his first Oscar for Best Director with Ordinary People at the 1981 event at L.A.'s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

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King Charles has this one regret on how he raised Prince Harry: expert

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King Charles III reportedly has one regret when it comes to how he parented Prince William and Prince Harry .

“Prince Harry and King Charles were very, very close,” royal expert Ingrid Seward told Fox News Digital . “They got on incredibly well. I think Charles probably regrets that he wasn’t strict with Harry and [Prince] William.”

The author of  “My Mother and I” alleged that Charles’ late ex-wife, Princess Diana, had a “freestyle of bringing up with children” which he went along with until her untimely death in 1997.

“Diana allowed them to do, more or less, what they wanted, which was very fashionable in those days,” Seward said. “You let children just get on with things. I think Charles probably regrets that he wasn’t a bit stricter, because it might’ve given both boys a few more boundaries.”

She added, “Children all need boundaries, and I don’t think they had too many.”

The Post has contacted reps for Buckingham Palace for comment.

While Harry and Charles’ relationship remains estranged after the redheaded royal and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped down as senior members of the royal family in 2020, Harry did fly to London to visit with his father in February when Charles announced his cancer diagnosis .

“Look, I love my family ,” Harry, 39, told “Good Morning America” at the time. “The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, I’m grateful for that.”

When asked if his father’s diagnosis could have a “reunifying effect” on his family, Harry said, “Absolutely. Yeah, I’m sure.” However, when questioned about “his outlook” on Charles’ health, Harry said that information “stays between me and him.”

Charles and William remain close, but the Prince of Wales did not accompany his father to an Easter Sunday church service  as his wife, Kate Middleton, continues to rest from undergoing chemotherapy due to her own cancer diagnosis .

Instead, Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, spent the holiday with disgraced ex-royal Prince Andrew, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, Princess Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, as well as Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex.

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Princess Diana's brother responds to Kate Middleton's cancer news

Charles spencer, brother of the late princess diana, praised her daughter-in-law kate middleton after she broke her silence about her health journey to reveal she had been diagnosed with cancer., by corinne heller | e • published march 23, 2024 • updated on march 24, 2024 at 11:03 pm.

Originally appeared on E! Online

The brother of the late Princess Diana has expressed his support for Kate Middleton amid her cancer battle.

One day after the Princess of Wales revealed in a video released by Kensington Palace that she had been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing treatment, Charles Spencer, her husband Prince William 's uncle, praised her on social media.

Alongside a screenshot of Middleton in the clip, the ninth Earl Spencer, wrote on Instagram , "Incredible poise and strength."

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In recording the video, Diana's daughter-in-law had broken her silence about her health journey amid weeks of public speculation online and in the media about her well-being. The rumors began after Kensington Palace announced in January that Middleton had undergone abdominal surgery and would be taking a break from her royal duties.

In the video, which BBC Studios filmed at Windsor March 20, Middleton revealed that she was diagnosed with cancer after undergoing the operation, which she described as "major."

Blake Lively apologizes for Kate Middleton joke amid cancer diagnosis

King Charles says he's ‘so proud' of Princess Kate for sharing her cancer discovery

2024 Royal News

"At the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous," she added. "The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present. My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment."

Middleton, who shares kids Prince George , 10, Princess Charlotte , 8, and Prince Louis , 5, with Prince William, added, "This of course came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family." The screenshot of her video that Spenser posted included a caption of part of her statement that read, "to process and manage this privately."

The 59-year-old had recently compared the media scrutiny of Middleton to that of his late sister—mother of both Prince William and Prince Harry — prior to her death.

When asked about his thoughts on the recent rumors about Kate, Spencer told BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg , in an interview released March 17, "I do worry about what happened to the truth."

Princess Diana, ex-wife of King Charles III and one of the most beloved philanthropists in the world, died in 1997 at age 36 in a car crash in Paris after being pursued on the road by paparazzi. Prince William and Harry, then 15 and 12 years old respectively, were not with her at the time of the accident.

"I think it was more dangerous back in the day," Spencer said about the media scrutiny of his sister. "If I look back to '97 and Diana's death, I think that was so shocking, the circumstance of her death was so shocking, that it did make the industry that supports the paparazzi really consider more carefully what it could and couldn't do. Not because they had a moral judgment, but because it was unacceptable to the public."

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Catherine’s Cancer Disclosure Shows Her Lessons From Previous Media Ordeals

“They know they can’t control the online world,” one expert on the royal family said about the recent spate of revelations about the health of Catherine and King Charles III.

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By Mark Landler

Reporting from London

For more than two months, Catherine, Princess of Wales, had lost control of her story to a spiral of wild, baseless online rumors. On Friday evening, with a stark two-minute, 13-second video, she set out to reclaim it.

To do so, the princess had to deliver the wrenching news that she was battling a life-threatening cancer, the kind of deeply personal disclosure that she and her husband, Prince William, have long resisted.

Catherine, 42, made the decision to record the video herself, three people familiar with the planning process said on Saturday. Earlier, she had decided to post an apology for digitally altering a photograph of herself with her three children, which set off a new round of conspiracy theories after it was released on Mother’s Day in Britain.

“This was pitch perfect from her perspective,” said Peter Hunt, a former royal correspondent at the BBC. “The fact that it was a video was a rebuke to all those questions about her whereabouts.”

In opting to go public this way, Catherine has etched a place for herself in the annals of the British royal family and among the women of the House of Windsor. The video, in its frankness and barely concealed emotion, recalled Queen Elizabeth II’s televised message days after the car crash that killed Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997.

Catherine seemed to be modeling herself on Elizabeth, whose video was intended to douse another media firestorm, over whether she and the royal family had not displayed appropriate grief after Diana’s death. It also set her apart from Diana, who was ultimately a victim of the media currents that swirled around her.

While Catherine did not answer key questions about her illness — what form of cancer? how far has it spread? how long will she be treated with chemotherapy? — the announcement could dispel most of the conspiracy theories that have enveloped her since she underwent abdominal surgery in January.

Like King Charles III, who confirmed last month that he, too, has cancer , the policy of partial disclosure seemed calculated to satisfy a relentlessly curious news media and public, while preserving some measure of privacy. In Catherine’s case, that seemed particularly important, given her three young children.

“They know they can’t control the online world,” Mr. Hunt said. “But they will hope the media will look hard at itself after this and stop recycling this nonsense. They’ll make clear to the papers that they have an expectation of privacy.”

In a briefing on Friday for reporters who cover the royal family, a spokesman for Kensington Palace gave the same answer five times to questions about the nature and extent of Catherine’s cancer, where and how often she was being treated, and why she underwent surgery.

“We will not be sharing any further private medical information,” the spokesman said. “The princess has a right to medical privacy, as we all do.”

Catherine’s hospitalization kicked off a cycle of speculation that was extraordinary even by the standards of the royal family. Her medical condition, whereabouts and relationship with William were endlessly dissected on social media, even making it into the monologue of the American late-night television host Stephen Colbert.

Kensington Palace, where Catherine and William have their offices, struggled to manage the crisis from the start. Its refusal to disclose details about her condition when she entered the hospital created an information vacuum that an online army quickly filled with increasingly outlandish theories.

When the palace distributed the photograph of Catherine, flanked by George, Charlotte and Louis, it was meant to serve as a kind of proof-of-life image. But the plan backfired after The Associated Press, Reuters and other news agencies found evidence that the image had been manipulated.

Far from quelling the speculation, it ignited more rumors, leaving the palace unsettled and stung. At that point, people with knowledge of the process said, Catherine decided to post on her social media account that she had been responsible for editing the photograph, though it was taken by William.

The chaos deepened last week, after a video surfaced of Catherine and William leaving a food shop near their home in Windsor. While these people insisted that the palace did not orchestrate the sighting, officials did not push back on the newspapers that published the images, which was out of character for William, who has pressured papers not to run paparazzi-type photos.

That the couple would have to disclose Catherine’s cancer was never in question, according to one of the people, who advised the palace in recent days and spoke on the condition of anonymity for privacy reasons. Allegations last week that staff members at the London Clinic, where Catherine was treated, had tried to gain access to her private medical records were a reminder that it would be nearly impossible to keep that kind of information under wraps indefinitely.

The question was when and how. The communications staff ran through several options, this person said, among them waiting until after Easter. The couple chose Friday because it was the day their children began their school holiday, which meant they would not have to face questions on the playground about their mother’s illness.

Once the date for the disclosure was set, officials discussed whether to issue a written palace statement — like Buckingham Palace did with the cancer diagnosis of Charles — or to have Catherine post the news on the couple’s Instagram and X accounts. But given the fallout from the Mother’s Day photograph, Catherine opted to speak directly to a camera.

Rather than record the video with an internal crew or hire a private company, the palace contacted BBC Studios, the company’s production arm. That was also deliberate, this person said, because it wanted the imprimatur of Britain’s public broadcaster on the video after the photo debacle.

Adding to the complications is staff turnover at Kensington Palace. William’s new private secretary, Ian Patrick, took up his role only two weeks ago. A former British diplomat who served in Bosnia, he worked closely on the process with Lt. Col. Tom White, who began this month as Catherine’s private secretary. He is a former Royal Marines officer who served as an equerry, or aide, to Elizabeth.

Both men worked with Lee Thompson, a former NBC public relations official who is the couple’s communications secretary. They also consulted with several former communications advisers, according to another person briefed by the palace, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for privacy reasons.

For all the drama surrounding the announcement, it will not put questions about Catherine entirely to rest. The palace is still guarding the family’s privacy, refusing to comment on their whereabouts on Saturday, for example.

“William has two crucial aspects as he takes on his destiny as a future king: privacy and control,” Mr. Hunt said. “He had to cede the control to deliver privacy for his wife. But by focusing so much on privacy, they created the information vacuum that resulted in all this white noise and nonsense.”

On Friday at least, Catherine silenced the noise.

Mark Landler is the London bureau chief of The Times, covering the United Kingdom, as well as American foreign policy in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He has been a journalist for more than three decades. More about Mark Landler

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The Duchess of Sussex channels Princess Diana’s ‘caring dress’ style strategy

Meghan wore a floral landscape dress for a visit to a children’s hospital – a markedly different style to her usual ‘stealth wealth’ look

The late Princess Diana kept a “caring dress” in her wardrobe – a Bellville Sassoon shift in the most uplifting shade of cobalt blue, splattered with bright watercolour carnations. 

She called it so, according to its designer, David Sassoon, as it was the dress she would reach for when visiting children (particularly those in hospitals around the world) in an attempt to bring some colour and joy to any ward she stepped into.

Fast-forward to March 2024 and the Duchess of Sussex adopted the same style strategy as she joined story time at a children’s hospital in Los Angeles. Her take on the “caring dress” was a £2,776 Oscar de la Renta chiffon style, the hem of which featured a floral landscape with bold stems shooting up towards the waist.

If the silk seemed a precious choice for an engagement with children, it didn’t stop Meghan from hugging and posing for photos with patients and staff. It wasn’t a new addition to her wardrobe; this is a piece that she wears at home with her own children, as we saw in the 2022 Netflix documentary series Harry & Meghan . In those clips, she was barefoot in the family’s Montecito garden, her son Archie’s feet kicking around her waist as she carried him (and arguably adding some authentic mud to the picture). 

Diana’s “caring dress” was also a designer number. She rewore hers on several public occasions after it was created for her in 1988: on visits to Lagos in Nigeria, in São Paulo, Brazil, and also while visiting a London Aids hospice. The repetition served to reiterate her point that bright colours and florals appealed to her audience. The press at the time goaded her, apparently telling the Princess to “give the dress a rest”.

“She would say, ‘I keep being told not to wear it, but I love this dress, my caring dress,’” designer Sassoon previously told The Telegraph . “Of course Diana was the first member of the Royal family to break all the rules.”

“She happened to wear that dress when visiting a hospital, and children seemed to clamour round and like it. If you are like the Princess of Wales, who loved children, you don’t want a strictly formal suit for a hospital visit. You pick a very informal dress with bright colours, which that dress was. The reaction is one of awe from young children.”

For Meghan, some 35 years later, the floral dress feels markedly different to the beige “stealth wealth” outfits we are used to seeing her wear . As she prepares to launch her new lifestyle business, American Riviera Orchard, perhaps we will see a new chapter begin in her fashion playbook; the wholesome floral dress could be linchpin in any “trad wife” look. 

Her choice of a garden scene feels fresher than that, though. Consider the landscape look the easiest way to move on the perennial print this year – John Lewis, & Other Stories and plenty of other high-street stores have alternatives to help you achieve the style without the £3,000 price tag.  

Three to buy

Landscape dress, £249, Karen Millen , Cloud print dress, £65, John Lewis, Collared dress, £39.99, H&M , 

• Meghan Markle,
• Duchess of Sussex,
• Princess Diana,
• Royal fashion
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