If you've delved into season six of The Crown following the release of the first part of the final series, it's likely that a certain leopard print swimsuit worn by Princess Diana in the show caught your eye. And if you're wondering, yes, she did wear it in real life.
The final series of the Netflix royal drama portrays the late Princess of Wales, played by Elizabeth Debicki, in the final months of her life, with the moments before the tragic Paris car crash that ended her life in 1997 also being played out on screen.
She was known for her humility, kindness and charity work along with her iconic fashion sense - and Princess Diana's best style moments not only feature some of the most incredible dresses, but also some pretty epic one-piece swimsuits, including that leopard print cozzie featured in The Crown.
Princess Diana wore the leopard print swimsuit during a trip to St. Tropez in France in July of 1997, just months before the car accident that killed her and boyfriend Dodi Fayed on August 30th.
Paparazzi photographs of the Princess of Wales on the summer trip to the French Riviera show her enjoying herself during a day spent at sea and on the beach, sporting a glowing suntan in her animal print swimming number.
Diana had travelled to St. Tropez with sons Prince William and Prince Harry in order to holiday with Mohamed Al-Fayed, nicknamed Mou Mou, and his wife Heini Wathen-Fayed who welcomed them onto their yacht, as depicted in The Crown.
During this trip, Princess Diana reunited with Mohamed's son Dodi, sparking the start of their romance. The pair initially met briefly over a decade before at a 1986 polo match, but didn't see each other again until the St. Tropez get together.
Prince Harry, who was 12-years-old at the time, detailed the luxurious trip away in his memoir Spare. He wrote, "There was much laughter, horseplay, the norm whenever Mummy and Willy and I were together, though even more so on that holiday.
"Everything about that trip to St. Tropez was heaven. The weather was sublime, the food was tasty, Mummy was smiling."
The episode of The Crown portraying Diana and her sons in St. Tropez depicts her approaching the swarms of photographers surrounding Mohamed Al-Fayed's villa on boats to confront them and ask to be left alone, sporting her leopard print swimsuit.
"We’re having a lovely time, apart from one little thing, you lot," Diana tells the paparazzi in the scene, adding, "How long are we going to have the pleasure of your company? The attention is starting to freak out the boys."
It's thought that a similar interaction did happen in real life, when reporters approached the group on the yacht. According to Vanity Fair, Diana told them that she had plans to move abroad, saying, "You will have a big surprise coming soon, the next thing I do."
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