Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Spring Summer 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    • Digital Issues
    • Women Who Win
    1. Life
    2. Homes and Interiors

    See inside Princess Diana's private home at Kensington Palace

    Penny Goldstone's avatar
    By Penny Goldstone
    Published 4 May 2020 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    When she married Prince Charles in 1981, Princess Diana officially moved into Apartment 8 and 9 at Kensington Palace (not far from Princess Eugenie's own Kensington Palace home), having grown up on in Park House, situated on the Sandringham estate.

    The Spencers had rented the house from its owner, Queen Elizabeth II, and Diana often played with the Queen's sons Prince Andrew and Prince Edward when they holidayed there.

    Princess Diana welcomed her two sons at Kensington Palace (William in 1982 and Harry in 1984), and loved the apartment so much that she even carried on living there after her divorce to Prince Charles in 1996 was made official, until her untimely death in 1997.

    In fact, it is the backdrop to many official pictures, especially those taken with her sons, including one of them all sitting at the piano, and one of her and Charles posing with a baby William on their living room sofa.

    As Kate Middleton and Prince William have no doubt done, the royal wanted to put her own stamp on her living space when she moved in, and you can see her personality shine through.

    You may like
    • Barbie's DreamHouse Is on Rightmove The Barbie DreamHouse Is on Rightmove, But What Does Female Home Ownership Look Like in 2026?
    • Julia Restoin Roitfeld Marie Claire'd Anatomy of A Wardrobe 'I Function Better With Less': Julia Restoin-Roitfeld on Timeless Style, Wardrobe Investments and Borrowing From Her Mother’s Closet
    • Charlotte Street Hotel Reviewed: Charlotte Street Hotel Offers a Boutique Stay With Parisian Flair in the Heart of Artsy Fitzrovia

    She hired designer Dudley Poplak to help her put redesign the apartments, though really they were really three floors' worth of rooms. She wanted to honour the building's history while adding a modern touch.

    The Princess' loved love for bold patterns and lush fabrics (see her iconic dresses) extended to her home, with a mix of printed wallpaper, cushions and carpets, as well as plush velvet sofas.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    The drawing room, which also doubled up as Diana's office, was cosy thanks to a pink sofa adorned with cushions, and bright, with pale blue floral wallpaper and blue curtains. She had a desk by the window and bookshelves full of her favourite reads.

    Peppered throughout the house, but in the living room in particular, were pictures of her family.

    In the drawing room, it was far more muted, as Prince Charles and Diana often held official meetings there. The walls were a pale yellow, historical art hung on the walls, and a mix of modern and antique furniture hit the right balance that Diana was after.

    What to read next
    • Le Meurice Reviewed: The Elegant Le Meurice Transcends Even Parisian Standards Of Luxury, With a Playful Take on Modern Art
    • The Peninsula Spa and Wellness Centre Reviewed: The Peninsula Spa and Wellness Centre is an Urban Sanctuary Inspired by London's Royal Parks
    • Knatchbull Daisy Knatchbull on Building Savile Row’s First Women-Only Boutique and Why Agility Is Her Secret Weapon

    There again, a huge patterned rug covered the floor, and there was also a big marble fireplace which served as the backdrop for some pictures. You could see Diana's fun personality from the quirky bird ornaments on the fireplace too.

    In another part of the room, there was a big piano with plenty of pictures of the royal family, included the Queen Mum, on it.

    The nursery apparently covered the top floor of the house, and Diana hired a specialised children's interior decorator for it. It was fun and colourful, which she was sure the boys would love.

    One room in particular had a carpet emblazoned with strawberries, and this is where Prince Harry and Prince William would play on their rocking horses.

    In that same room, Princess Diana would sit with them at a light wooden table to play games, and it looks like this is where they had some of their meals too.

    Other pictures seem to show the official dining room, though it looks like the royal couple used it for meetings too. The setting is much more formal, with ornate curtains, oil paintings and gilded furniture featuring prominently.

    Even though there are definitely some 80s trends in the decor, it's clear that Princess Diana had impeccable taste and created a cosy and inviting home.

    Penny Goldstone
    Penny Goldstone
    Social Links Navigation
    Contributing Fashion Editor

    Penny Goldstone is the Contributing Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK. She writes about catwalk trends and the latest high street and Instagram sartorial must-haves. She also helms the Women Who Win franchise.

    She has worked in fashion for over 10 years, contributing to publications such as Cosmopolitan, Red, Good Housekeeping, and Stylist.

    Read more
    Barbie's DreamHouse Is on Rightmove
    Homes and Interiors The Barbie DreamHouse Is on Rightmove, But What Does Female Home Ownership Look Like in 2026?
    Julia Restoin Roitfeld Marie Claire'd Anatomy of A Wardrobe
    Fashion 'I Function Better With Less': Julia Restoin-Roitfeld on Timeless Style, Wardrobe Investments and Borrowing From Her Mother’s Closet
     
     
    Charlotte Street Hotel
    Travel Reviewed: Charlotte Street Hotel Offers a Boutique Stay With Parisian Flair in the Heart of Artsy Fitzrovia
    Le Meurice
    Travel Reviewed: The Elegant Le Meurice Transcends Even Parisian Standards Of Luxury, With a Playful Take on Modern Art
     
     
    Latest in Homes and Interiors
    Barbie's DreamHouse Is on Rightmove
    Homes and Interiors The Barbie DreamHouse Is on Rightmove, But What Does Female Home Ownership Look Like in 2026?
    Laura Deller, Photographed by Jane Russell.
    Homes and Interiors How I Found Myself Again as a Stay-at-Home Mum
     
     
    Former fashion model Helen Dzo Dzo Kaptur (in white lace), Nelda Linsk (in yellow), wife of art dealer Joseph Linsk, and actress Lita Baron (in white sunhat) at the Kaufmann Desert House in Palm Springs, California, January 1970. The Linsks are the current owners of the house. (Photo by Slim Aarons/Getty Images)
    Homes and Interiors Move Over Swimming Pools, Every Rich Person Wants an Analogue Room
    7 Ways to Create Space in Your Home and Inner Life for 2026
    Homes and Interiors 7 Ways to Create Space in Your Home and Inner Life for 2026
     
     
    Latest in News
    The Beauty Digest: New Products to Know
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: A Foundation With Infinite Shades, Diptyque Does Bodycare, and the Exhibition Every Beauty Lover Should See
    Eva Omaghomi
    Fashion After 17 years in the Royal Household, Eva Omaghomi Talks Bringing African Design Talent to Harrods
     
     
    New Beauty Products: The Beauty Digest
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Dyson Does Teeth, Fenty Rips Up the Rulebook (Again) and a Surprisingly Fragrant Week for Dogs
    Jodie Comer
    Shopping Jodie Comer Just Announced the Start of Knee-High Boots Season
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.