Princess Diana Broke Royal Protocol: From Picking Her Engagement Ring To Bold Style Choices

Jan 22, 2020

Meghan Markle has incited a bit of an uproar last Wednesday when she and Prince Harry announced that they are stepping back from their senior roles as members of the Royal Family. However, Meghan wasn't the first royal to break protocol as the late Princess Diana knew this all too well. 

As a 19-year-old bride, Diana from the very beginning wanted to do things her way. She chose her own engagement ring from the Garrard jewelry collection catalogue, according to Harper's Bazaar. The ring is made of 14 solitaire diamonds around a 12-carat sapphire set in white gold. Today, Kate Middleton sports the beautiful ring. 

Princess Diana was the first woman to choose not to say she will "obey" her husband Prince Charles during their wedding vows. All the generations before Diana followed the royal tradition of saying it, however, Diana was the first to break it and years later when her son's got married their wives chose not to say it either. 

Diana was known for being the fun parent as she was pictured with Harry and William at theme parks and on roller coaster rides. However, Diana really wanted to give the princes a taste of normal life. During an interview that Prince William had with ABC News, he said:

“She very much wanted to get us to see the rawness of real life. And I can't thank her enough for that, 'cause reality bites in a big way, and it was one of the biggest lessons I learned is, just how lucky and privileged so many of us are — particularly myself.”

Diana also was very close to her boys. Instead of leaving William with a babysitter so she and Charles could do their royal tour of Australia and New Zealand when William was 9-months-old, Diana brought him with them. Unlike Queen Elizabeth who left Prince Charles with grandparents when he was 2-years-old to spend Christmas in Malta with Prince Philip. 

In 1985 during an appearance in Australia, Diana boldly wore a necklace that Queen Elizabeth had given her as a tiara. The emerald choker was created by Queen Mary, according to People, and features the Cambridge emeralds. Instead of wearing the choker around her neck, Princess Di chose to wear it as a head band. 

In 1995, Princess Diana famously gave an interview to BBC about Princes Charles and her rocky relationship. She spoke candidly about the Princes' infidelity with Camilla Parker-Bowles. The brave princess went on to air she and Prince Charles' dirty laundry.   "A woman's instinct is a very good one; obviously I had knowledge of it from people who minded and cared about our marriage," Diana said. "There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded."

Shortly after the interview aired, Queen Elizabeth urged the couple to get a divorce. 

After divorcing Prince Charles, Diana began dating several high-profile wealthy men. She even showed how co-parenting can work when she brought William on a vacation with her and boyfriend at the time, Dodi Al Fayed, on a trip to Saint-Tropez. However, this would only be a month before she and Dodi died in a car accident in Paris on August 31st, 1997. 

What do you think about all the ways Diana broke royal protocol? Do you remember other ways? Tell us below. Pass this article on to your friends and family to see what they think.