Princess Diana Wasn't Happy With One Important Part Of Her Wedding Look

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Princess Diana and King Charles III's 1981 wedding was watched by millions worldwide, and on the outside, everything looked picture-perfect. But behind the scenes, Princess Diana's wedding didn't go exactly as planned, and there was one thing she even wished she could redo. The princess' former hairstylist, Richard Dalton, told People in 2024 that Diana wasn't a fan of her hairstyle on her big day, and frankly neither was he. "Diana did express to me that she wished she could do the wedding over again to 'get the hair right,” Dalton disclosed. In his book, "It's All About the Hair: My Decade With Diana, H.R.H. Princess Of Wales" Dalton decried the 'do as a "disaster," clarifying that it hadn't been his handiwork — stylist Kevin Shanley tackled Diana's hair for the wedding. 

The Princess of Wales' hair wasn't the only thing that wasn't to her liking, however. Diana famously spilled perfume on her extravagant wedding dress, and when looking back at pictures, one can see her inconspicuously covering the affected spot throughout the proceedings. Charles also seemingly forgot to kiss his bride after they said "I do," and Diana's younger brother, Charles Spencer, recalled to Entertainment Tonight in 2010 that the beloved royal had a wicked headache from that admittedly gorgeous tiara. In fact, Diana later called the fairytale wedding the "worst day of my life" in 1991 interviews (via Today). These audio recordings were released as part of the 2017 documentary "Diana: In Her Own Words." She revealed that she almost got cold feet ahead of the big day, having grown increasingly suspicious of Charles' relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles.

Princess Diana made the bixie cut famous, all thanks to hairstylist Sam McKnight, who was the first to cut her hair into the chic style. But there's a very specific reason the People's Princess kept her hair mostly the same throughout her royal life. It was the 1984 State Opening of Parliament, and Diana's hairstylist at the time, Richard Dalton, tried something new for the occasion, working the princess' hair into a chignon, which was paired with her family's tiara. As he recalled to the Daily Mail in 2024, "Diana's glamorous new hairdo made all the front pages the next day, totally eclipsing the solemnity of the occasion." 

Queen Elizabeth II was none too pleased, and Diana felt terrible about unintentionally stealing the limelight. "The princess learned her lesson that day and vowed her hair would never again be the center of attention and distract people away from the work of the royals," Dalton explained, adding that he basically did her hair the same for the rest of his tenure as her stylist to avoid any further incidents. The beloved royal made the switch to the bixie cut after meeting McKnight at a 1990 Vogue shoot, where he styled her hair to look shorter than it was. The princess loved it, and asked him to make it permanent. 

The New Yorker was blissfully unaware of the press attention this new 'do would get. "I cut her hair off, and the whole world went absolutely insane," McKnight confessed to Harper's Bazaar. He remained her hairstylist until Diana's tragic death, noting that although the Princess of Wales took pride in her appearance, she kept her hair mostly the same to focus the media's attention on the work she was doing.