Princess Diana's Hairstylist Cut Her Hair Super Short in 1990

Princess Diana visits Cullompton in Devon in September 1990.

(Image credit: Terry Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images)

published 15 August 2024

Princess Diana had some of the most memorable fashion moments of any royal, and the same can be said of her hair. As well as regularly nailing casual style, Princess Diana inspired women to cut their hair short. At her 1981 wedding to King Charles, Diana wore her hair slightly longer, but by 1990, the former Princess of Wales was ready for a change. And according to her hairstylist Sam McKnight, the royal didn't take that much convincing to drastically alter her look.

After meeting on the set of a Vogue photoshoot, Diana connected with McKnight, and asked a very pertinent question. "At the end of the day, after we'd done the shoot, she said, 'What would you do with my hair if I said, 'Do anything?'" McKnight told Jonathan Van Ness on the podcast Pretty Curious (via People). "And I said, 'Do you know what? It's 1990. I would cut it all off and start again.'"

While some people wouldn't have liked McKnight's direct suggestion, Diana was apparently ready for a new hairstyle. As for what McKnight had planned, he explained. "Get rid of the perm, make it more streamlined—and that’s what we did."

Princess Diana attends the London premiere of the film 'Backdraft' on July 22, 1991. — Princess Diana in July 1991.

Explaining how quickly he became Princess Diana's hairstylist, Sam McKnight revealed that they changed the royal's hairstyle there and then. "We did that before she went home," he explained. "We kind of got the kit back out—'Okay, let’s do it.’ And that was it. And that was seven years I spent with her after that."

Reflecting on meeting Diana for the very first time, McKnight told the outlet, "We didn’t know it was going to be her—and then this sort of tall, leggy blonde comes bouncing up the stairs and, you know what, she had us at 'Hello.'"

Sharing insight into her personality, McKnight said on the podcast, "She was just so disarming and charming and funny, and stuck her hand out with a big smile and [said], 'Hi, I’m Diana. What are we gonna do?'" Clearly, Diana and McKnight were the perfect team, as Diana's hairstyles remain unforgettable to this day.

Amy Mackelden is a contributing editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.