Princess Diana almost didn’t wear this iconic dress for the sweetest reason

princess diana
(Image credit: Getty)

If you caught the V&A Christian Dior exhibition last year, you'll have noticed one of the dresses on display belonged to Princess Diana.

It is a navy slip dress, with a black lace trim around the décolletage. It was one of the first John Galliano designs for the house, who had just started as creative director, and was worn Diana wore it to the 1996 Met Gala in New York.

Whilst not as extravagant as one of the many ballgowns she wore to official events, the dress is considered very iconic, as it was a departure from the late Princess' usual style and marked a new chapter in her life, as her divorce from Prince Charles was finalised.

princess diana

Getty Images

But the dress almost never happened, according to Mail Online, and it was for quite a cute reason. Apparently Diana was worried she would embarrass her teenage son Prince William by wearing it.

It was 'so racy, in fact, [she] very nearly didn't wear the dress to New York's Met Gala for fear Prince William, then 14, wouldn't like it being so revealing.'

Luckily, she still ended up attending the event in her Dior gown, and we're sure the Prince would've found her as beautiful as everyone else.

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.