The hidden romantic detail in Princess Diana's wedding shoes

It is custom for royal brides to weave something sentimental into their wedding outfits. Meghan Markle had fabric from her first date dress with Harry sewn into her wedding gown as her something blue, and Kate Middleton included a secret message on her sleeves.

But it seems they may have learned this little trick from none other than Princess Diana, who added a nod to her future husband, Prince Charles, on her wedding shoes.

The footwear was created by celebrity accessories designer Clive Shilton, who famously told the media: 'Her main concern was that she wouldn’t appear taller than Prince Charles, and because she was very tall - 5ft 10in - the shoes would have to have a low heel.'

(Image credit: Getty Images)

They were made of 500 sequins, over 100 seed pearls, satin and lace, and it featured a romantic detail on the arches: the letters ‘C’ and ‘D’, with a heart between them, for Charles and Diana.

This detail was revealed by auctioneer Sworders', as a sketch of the shoes is set to go to auction on 22nd May. Included in the lot are a photocopy of the design, press information relating to the production of the slippers and two Clive Shilton postcards with a sample of the lace that was used in the production process.

The items belong to a vendor who previously worked for Clive Shilton and had been given them as a gift. The estimate is £100-150.

Meanwhile, a spare pair of Princess Diana's original wedding shoes (she also had a spare dress just in case) was sold in 2011 for over $50,000.

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.