Princess Diana apparently found dressing up constantly ‘relentless’

(Image credit: Toronto Star 2014)

It was recently revealed that Kate Middleton was unsure about making a fashion statement when she joined the royal family, as she didn't want everyone to only focus on what she was wearing.

According to royal author Bethan Hold, who wrote The Duchess of Cambridge: A Decade of Modern Royal Style, Kate was ‘really careful not to dive into the fashion in the way that Diana did’.

She told 9Honey, ‘Diana really quickly became this fashion icon and everyone was going crazy for what she wore. I think Kate was a little bit more tentative because she realised she didn’t want it to just be about what she was wearing.’

And it seems that before her, her late mother-in-law had similar doubts. According to one of Princess Diana's favourite designers, Bruce Oldfield, it was all a bit 'relentless'.

The designer, who created some of Diana's most iconic looks from the 80s, told The Sunday Telegraph: 'When I look back, it was relentless for her. We did dress her up like she was going to a wedding every day.'

He also revealed that the royal stepped back from duties after leaving Prince Charles, and decided she didn't want to dress up as often, specifically saying she'd always hated Ascot and would therefore no longer need outfits for it.

There is no doubt Princess Diana is still considered a fashion icon, but it's not surprising that she found some royal events a bit too much.

It's often said that she wasn't very confident with her style when she got engaged, being only 19 at the time, though her confidence grew over time.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.