Camilla Parker Bowles Shockingly Wore a Revenge Dress After Princess Diana
When we think of Princess Diana‘s most memorable dresses a few that come to mind are the black velvet gown she wore when she danced with John Travolta, the blue slip dress she wore to the Met Gala, and of course her iconic Revenge Dress. Who can forget the little black number Diana showed up in when she attended a Vanity Fair party at the Serpentine Gallery? What many fans may not know though is that King Charles’ then-mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles (now Queen Camilla), wore her own LBD after Diana did.
Here’s when Camilla donned a look similar to Diana’s.
Why Princess Diana’s LBD was dubbed the ‘Revenge Dress’
In 1994, the princess sent tongues wagging when she showed up to a party hosted by Vanity Fair in an off-the-shoulder mini dress designed by Christina Stambolian, which fans have come to know as the “Revenge Dress.”
Kerry Taylor, whose company auctioned off 10 of Diana’s dresses, explained how the princess’s LBD got its name.
“We called that ‘The Revenge Dress’ [because] she wore that the same evening Prince Charles confessed to his adultery with Camilla,” Taylor told Womanmagazine.co.uk (per Readers Digest). “While some would have been like, ‘I can’t face it this evening,’ Diana went out in that dress looking drop-dead gorgeous. She made a big statement right there.”
Taylor is referring to a televised interview then-Prince Charles gave hours earlier in which he admitted to his extramarital affair with Camilla.
Camilla wore a similar dress a year later
In 1995, one year after Diana’s dress made headlines around the world, Camilla stepped out in public with Charles for the first time and caused a stir with her outfit choice.
The Express noted that Camilla was photographed at London’s Ritz Hotel in a shoulder-baring black dress similar to Diana’s. And just like Diana, Camilla wore black pantyhose, high heels, and a nearly identical pearl necklace. That night the future duchess and Charles were attending the birthday party of Camilla’s sister, Annabel Elliot.
A number of angry fans accused the prince’s then-girlfriend of trying to copy his first wife.
Fans accused Camilla of trying to copy Diana another time with her jewelry
Wearing a dress similar to Diana’s isn’t the first time Queen Camilla has been accused of copying the princess.
In 2019, some eagle-eyed royal fans noticed Camilla wearing the same piece of jewelry Diana wore years earlier. If that wasn’t bad enough people were even more upset because she altered it. According to The Sun, Camilla redesigned an emerald and diamond necklace that was photographed on Diana at the Vienna Burgh Theatre in April 1986 and made it into a brooch.
However, the jewelry that many were up in arms about wasn’t actually Diana’s. It was a royal family heirloom the Queen Mother gave Diana to wear after she married Charles. When the princess died, the jewelry was returned to the royal vault.
