Why Princess Diana Couldn't Wear Whatever Heels She Wanted Until After Divorcing Charles

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Nearly 30 years since her death, Princess Diana remains renowned for her compassion and her status as a memorable beauty and style icon — an example that her daughter-in-law Kate Middleton is following with her tasteful, yet lavish outfits. However, aside from her charitable works, juicy details from the late princess' tumultuous marriage to the then-Prince Charles continue to make headlines decades later. Not only did Princess Diana have to contend with King Charles' extramarital affair with his now-wife, Queen Camilla, but it appears she also had to be careful not to hurt his ego with her footwear choices. Yes, you heard that right. 

The former royal couple shared the same height at 5 feet, 10 inches tall. As a result, Diana had to keep to flats in the early years of her and Charles' marriage out of respect for him and, of course, so she did not bruise his pride. According to Eloise Moran, who published "The Lady Di Look Book" in 2022, Diana added an inch to her footwear each year as her marriage to Charles broke down. "Jimmy Choo recalled that at the start of their seven-year friendship, Diana always ordered flats, then as her marriage started crumble, the heels got higher," Moran wrote in her book (via Business Insider). We could only imagine how Diana felt during those years, but she certainly knew how to get strategic when she was feeling petty. 

Before Kate Middleton turned pantsuits into a fashion statement, there was Princess Diana. The beloved royal was unmatched when it came to declaring to the world how she felt through her style choices. There was the famed Warm & Wonderful black-sheep sweater she first wore back in 1981 and wore again in 1983 with a black tie beneath her collar. It was a signal to the world that Diana already felt like an outsider within the royal family, which is something she didn't reveal until her notorious 1995 Panorama interview. "It's entertaining, in a way, that clothes really aren't on the whole," Sally Muir, co-founder of Warm & Wonderful, told Vogue. "It showed Diana was beginning to express herself a bit."

Then there was the infamous "revenge dress." Despite being considered as one of the most controversial royal outfits ever worn, it certainly did the job. After then-Prince Charles publicly admitted to his affair in 1994 (the pair separated in 1992), Diana went to the Serpentine Gallery that same day wearing an eye-catching, off-the-shoulder black dress paired with black stockings and heels. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Elizabeth Holmes wrote about the dress in her book "HRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Style" (via Business Insider). "But also: fashion hath no greater thrill than when being deployed for the purpose of expressing rage," Holmes cheekily added. There can be no denying that Diana was the epitome of grace, even when doling out revenge.