Princess Diana’s ‘Revenge Dress’: She Wore It the Night Charles Aired ‘Dirty Laundry’

“The Crown’s” explosive fifth season has brought back the events that made headlines close to 30 years ago, involving the Royal Family. The fifth episode especially focused on Princess Diana’s iconic black dress and King Charles III’s controversial interview, where he revealed their family secrets.

Diana ordered the famous dress in September 1991, before her marriage to Charles faced its peak challenges. Christina Stambolian was the designer commissioned by the princess, who had asked her to make her a dress for a significant event.

Christina recalled that Diana didn’t care if the dress was short or long; it just had to be “something special.” Christina decided on a risky, revealing design in black, which a reluctant Diana eventually agreed to. The dress with a flirty mini-train, according to the designer, took two people over sixty hours to make, with some parts hand-stitched.

However, Diana didn’t wear the dress immediately. It sat in her closet unworn for three years before she stunned the world wearing it on June 29, 1994, at the Serpentine Gallery. On the same night Diana wore the dress, which came to be called “the revenge dress,” Charles made an admission on national TV.

He termed his affair with Camilla as a “deeply regrettable thing to happen.”

Elizabeth Holmes, a royal fashion commentator, stated that Diana was well aware of the impact a show-stopping dress could have both in terms of wearing it and capturing attention. Holmes noted that the princess was recognized for choosing pieces that were truly impressive.

The dress not only thrilled royal fans but also played a crucial role in Diana reclaiming her narrative, asserting her independence in the process.

Amy and Sidonie Roberts, costume designer and associate costume designer for “The Crown” respectively, also pointed out that the color black represented mourning. Sidonie explained that Diana chose to wear black to showcase the death of her marriage, stepping away from the Royal Palace, and the rebirth of an independent woman.

Elizabeth shared these sentiments, explaining that up until she wore the revenge dress, Diana wasn’t known for putting on shorter evening dresses. Moving forward, her style changed as she ditched the classic tropes of royal dressing and became a modern, confident, no-nonsense woman with a wardrobe to match.

However, Christina had different opinions on the off-the-shoulder cocktail dress she designed. She said Diana wore the dress not for Charles or to show him what he was missing but to declare to another man, whom Christina believed was James Hewitt, “I am a very beautiful woman. I am sexy. Look at what you are missing.” Still, Diana and James’ five-year romance fell apart.

Diana may not have worn the dress for her ex-husband, but according to Christina, she was paid 900 pounds for making it, money which was charged to Charles’ account.

On the day Diana wore the revenge dress, her stylist and former British Vogue editor, Anne Harvey, observed that Diana aimed to appear stunning—and she certainly achieved that million-dollar look.

Her magnificent appearance told the world that she was a resilient and beautiful woman who wasn’t going to cry behind closed doors as Charles came clean about his affair in public.

The “Dirty Laundry” Charles Aired

On the night Diana wore her stunning dress, Charles confessed on national TV that he had an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, now his wife. In an ITV documentary that aired a year after Charles and Diana split, His Majesty revealed that he remained faithful to the princess until their marriage had “irretrievably broken down.”

Diana’s ex-husband said they both tried to make the marriage work, but they failed. He termed his affair with Camilla as a “deeply regrettable thing to happen,” adding that these things do happen as they did with his marriage to Diana.

The princess jotted down in a note to Paul Burrell that she wanted so much to be Charles’ best friend.

People Editorial Director Michelle Tauber dug into Charles’ confession on national TV in People’s “Diana Diaries,” pointing out how Charles’ revelation of the family secrets may have affected the princess:

“On a human level for Diana, you can only imagine how upsetting that would have been, not only to hear that but to know that now the world has heard it. Effectively, Charles has aired some serious dirty laundry.”

In 1993, a six-minute telephone call between Charles and Camilla, referred to as “The Tampongate,” was published by the Sunday Mirror. The intimate conversation, which took place when both Charles and Camilla were still married to their previous partners, ranged from mundane to sexual.

Tampongate confirmed that the pair had not only been in a secret relationship for a long time but were also deeply in love.

Two years later, in 1995, Diana appeared in a tell-all interview on the BBC’s “Panorama” with journalist Martin Bashir, and spoke about her husband’s affair. She recalled, “Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”

The princess also claimed that the Royal Family was waging a campaign against her as they viewed her as a problem, not knowing what to do with a separated woman. They couldn’t tuck Diana away because she wouldn’t go quietly. Thus, she declared, “I’ll fight till the end.”