A message for her prince

When Princess Diana got married to Prince Charles in July 1981, it made for a global spectacle. Though their marriage unravelled in the coming years, the royal wedding was discussed for years, and remains a significant memory etched on many a mind. In fact, even those in forthcoming generations have been smitten by the young Diana, many years after her tragic death in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997.

While there have been many editorial pieces on Diana’s wedding attire — a David and Elizabeth Emanuel-designed ivory taffeta gown — a recent report in Town & Country magazine talks about the shoe she wore on the day all those 40 years ago, in which the bride had left a message for her to-be-betrothed, hidden underneath the taffeta gown’s 25-foot train.

Princess Diana’s wedding shoe

According to the report, the message painted on the bottom of her white heels — which was a pair of silk shoes intricately designed and embroidered with 542 sequins and 132 pearls — read “C <heart> D”, the initials for ‘Charles’ and ‘Diana’. Looking back, one can only guess it was perhaps even a testament to the love she harbored for the Prince of Wales.