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With the countdown firmly on to the 30th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death in August 2027, her ability to command headlines has in no way diminished. Nearly three decades after the crash in Paris, it seems almost every day brings a new project, revelation or retelling about the late Princess of Wales.
Her famed Christina Stambolian “revenge dress” is currently being displayed at London Fashion Week before beginning a global tour that will end with its auction at Sotheby’s in New York on December 9.
At Somerset House, 15 of Diana’s most memorable looks have been recreated in fresh flowers by Fleurs de Villes in a striking blend of fashion, art and nostalgia.
Later this year, a three‑part docuseries featuring never‑before‑heard audio recordings captured in 1991 by Dr James Colthurst for biographer Andrew Morton is set to premiere.
And even WHO’s lifestyle writer and Between Us columnist, Saoirse Hammond, dressed as the late princess at an alternative‑universe‑themed party.
“Dressing up in Diana’s ‘revenge dress’ look for my 27th birthday was a way for me to show the universe everything I wanted to embody for my next year to come; good looks and guts,” Hammond tells me.
Diana’s story is being told, retold and reinterpreted at a pace that suggests the world is nowhere near finished with her.
Earl Spencer’s controversial book
But the project with the greatest potential to reopen old wounds is the controversial memoir by Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer.
In an extract from Swan Song that was shared with the Daily Mail ahead of its release, Charles Spencer, 62, alleges that King Charles subjected him to a “stream of anger” after he insisted Diana would not have wanted her sons, William and Harry — then 15 and 12 — to walk behind her coffin.
“Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough,” the Earl claims the then‑Prince of Wales said.
The allegation was enough for the King, 77, to abandon the family motto of Never Complain, Never Explain and issue a public statement.
“His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss,” Buckingham Palace said.
In further extracts, the Earl revealed he felt that his former brother‑in‑law was “giddily elated like a lottery winner” when they spoke shortly after Diana’s death.
They are confronting claims, which Spencer says he felt compelled to publish after being “inundated yet again” with interview requests as the milestone anniversary approaches.
His book promises to correct “untruths” told about his older sister, adding fresh tension to a family already strained by decades of grief.
However, it should be noted that King Charles fought to honour Diana with a royal funeral in 1997 despite their divorce a year earlier. The Earl Spencer also had a tense and strained relationship with his sister as adults.
Harry and Meghan’s Netflix offering
Spencer isn’t the only family member preparing to revisit Diana’s story. Prince Harry, 42, and Meghan, 45, are reportedly planning a new documentary about Diana’s life for Netflix, timed for release in 2027.
It is a project that will be made without his brother, Prince William, and one likely to put further strain on their estrangement.
It was a different story in 2017 when the brothers contributed to a 90‑minute TV program called Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, as a “tribute” to Diana.
“We won’t be doing this again — we won’t speak as openly or publicly about her again, because we feel hopefully this film will provide the other side from close family friends you might not have heard before, from those who knew her best and from those who want to protect her memory, and want to remind people of the person that she was,” William said at the time.
If Harry and Meghan forge ahead with their plans, it will be Harry breaking that agreement — but filming has likely already started.
Over the summer, the Duchess of Sussex shared a photo of Harry and their children carrying flowers across the Althorp estate, seemingly on their way to Diana’s grave.
The image reignited debate about how the princess’s memory is used, honoured and commercialised — and who, exactly, has the right to tell her story.
Is it time to let Diana rest in peace?
Diana lived for just 36 years, coming to prominence at 19 as the shy royal girlfriend. She has now been gone longer than her life in the spotlight.
At times, it feels that there is nothing more that could possibly be said — yet Spencer’s memoir proves there are still untold stories, still unresolved tensions, still new angles waiting to be explored.
So the question becomes: when is enough? When do we stop looking at her life for fresh content and new angles?
Calls to let Diana rest in peace are nothing new. At the memorial service marking 10 years since her death, the Bishop of London pleaded, “Let it end here… let this service mark the point at which we let her rest in peace and dwell on her memory with thanksgiving and compassion.”
But history evolves and new information emerges, which can cause old assumptions to shift.
The Dyson Inquiry, released only in 2021, exposed the deceitful tactics used by Martin Bashir to secure Diana’s 1995 Panorama interview — a reminder of how much of her story was shaped by manipulation rather than truth.
So, as the 30th anniversary approaches, one fact feels increasingly clear: if we are willing to watch and read things made by people who didn’t know her, like The Crown, then her loved ones are entitled to have their say.
We just need to remember that not everything we hear — whether it is from Prince Harry, Earl Spencer or Peter Morgan — is the whole story.
Read more expert opinion and analysis in WHO’s The Royal Verdict with Kylie Walters here.
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