Why would Lady Diana never wear the same two-tone pumps as Camilla in Paris?

On the second day of Charles III’s state visit to France this Thursday, September 21, Brigitte Macron appeared in a red Chanel tweed jacket. As for Queen Camilla, she too relied on the famous house on Cambon Street for accessories. The 75-year-old monarch, in fact, set her sights on the brand’s iconic two-tone pumps, as well as a quilted bag. Clothes that Lady Diana could never wear. And for good reason, the Princess of Wales refrained from wearing pieces from the fashion house founded by Coco Chanel. Nothing to do with dislike of the brand. The reason, on the contrary, is much more sentimental and personal.

“I can’t wear two C’s linked together”

In May 2018, 2018 Harper’s Bazaar Australian stylist Jason Brundson told about his meeting with Lady Dee during her last trip to the oceanic continent. It was in 1996, at the Ritz Carlton in Double Bay for a charity event. “Being a close friend of John Bailey (Lady Diana’s hairdresser while in Australia, Editor’s note), he asked me to come as an assistant,” he explains.

When she had to help the princess put on her outfit, she ran into a traffic jam. “She came out of her room with her shoes and bags, put them on the sofa and said to me: “What do you think”: The stylist then points out a pair of signature Chanel shoes, noting that they would go perfectly with Diana’s chosen Versace outfit. When suddenly the latter has an unexpected reaction. “No, I can’t wear two linked Cs,” he replies. Before you say, “It’s Camilla and Charles,” consider Camilla Parker Bowles, his biggest rival and Charles’ former lover.

It is an understandable decision when we know that 1996 is the year of the divorce of Lady Diana and then Prince Charles. “After the divorce, she saw the two Cs in gold and it reminded her of Charles and Camilla,” says the stylist. A still raw wound in Lady Diana’s mind at the time. That day, the Princess of Wales ended up choosing shoes… Gucci.