Why Princess Diana Would Be My Dream Dinner Party Guest...
For as long as I can remember whenever someone has asked the question, “who would be your dream dinner party guest?”, I have known my response. My hand shoots in the air, fingers waving as my face turns purple with the desperation to shout my answer.
“Diana. Princess Diana”, I exhale.
My obsession with the late Royal is one shared by people around the world and, in the almost quarter century since her untimely death, her star shows no sign of waning. The premiere of Netflix’s latest season of The Crown in November launched a revival of the fascination and introduced a wave of younger admirers to Lady Di, as social media was set ablaze with comments about the tragedy, mystery and cult fandom that has always surrounded her.
Diana’s path to enduring icon is a classic one; her looks, style and eventual tragedy traverse the same road walked by celebrity history’s most loved figures, from Marilyn Monroe to Freddie Mercury. From the moment she hit the royal spotlight, she captivated audiences and quickly became the most photographed woman in the world, with magazines scrambling to tell women how they could replicate her style.
Her life and death continue to be dissected; as well as The Crown, Netflix also hosts a series of documentaries about her life, all of which jumped into the Top Ten following The Crown’s release. This occurred simultaneously to ITV airing a series on her infamous interview with Martin Bashir, which it now appears she was manipulated into giving. Her life story has even graced the silver screen, 2013 saw the cinematic release of a Diana biopic, which garnered much critical and commercial derision for its two-dimensional depiction of the people’s princess. Despite this, Kristen Stewart was recently cast in what will be the second attempt at a Diana film.
Diana was firmly catapulted back into the mainstream. The homepages of women’s lifestyle websites flooded with Diana-inspired style guides, mirroring the printed pages of glossy magazines from the 1980s. It’s hardly surprising, given the legend that surrounds many of her fashion choices, that Instagram is full of Diana fan accounts sharing modern day dupes of her ‘Revenge Dress’ and off-duty knitwear. Her casual street style has become the inspiration for Instagram influencers who line London’s streets in her classic combination of oversized sweatshirt paired with running shorts. Most famously, Hailey Bieber emulated the look in a 2019 shoot for Vogue Paris.
It is, of course, also the tragedy that marred her life which makes her a source of fascination. Her love triangle of a marriage, eating disorder and suicide attempts became tabloid fodder and continue to provoke debate. Her devastating death, and the monumental public mourning that followed, served to secure her place in pop culture history and draw her into the same category of hero worship usually reserved for celebrities, not members of the Royal Family.
Crucially, though, it isn’t just her style and headline-making personal life that have made her a figure of admiration. It is rare to speak of Diana without mentioning her kindness. Committed to humanitarian efforts, she specifically worked with those who didn’t have a voice. Her hold over the world’s media brought much-needed attention to the plight of HIV patients shunned by a society terrified of their disease. She famously walked through unexploded landmines, playing a critical role in the successful international campaign to have them banned. Her openness and empathy, qualities many felt the Royal Family tried to quash, allowed Diana to relate to the most vulnerable person in every room. She gave a voice to the voiceless and in turn, she made the world listen.
In this sense, she is an icon of our time. The current generation is preoccupied with activism, and seeing society as a collective, rather than as individuals, in a way that no generation ever has been before. These values chime with Diana’s understanding of duty and it is this that makes her so accessible. Today’s activists have an empathy that is modelled on Diana’s and campaign with a compassion she branded.
When I say Diana is my dream dinner guest, I don’t mean I want to ask her who designed that gown she wore to dance with a young John Travolta. I want to ask her how she gained the courage to stand up for what she believed in. How she chose to be a trailblazer in the face of a system that wanted her to fit the mould. She wasn’t a perfect person, and never claimed to be. She didn’t always have the answer, but she was prepared to do the work required to learn.
What is certain is that attempts to decode Diana’s decisions, heartbreak and death will always be part of the cultural zeitgeist, bolstered every time her image is reproduced for the latest drama or documentary. The fashion industry will continue to be inspired by her wardrobe and Diana will always hold icon status. It is testament to her legacy that the memory that has outlived all others, is that of her kindness and dedication to improving the lives of others.
Written by Abi Blain
Abi is a Londoner working in Communications. She writes about culture and modern life. Abi loves coffee, reading and long walks around London.