Although her legacy extends beyond fashion, Princess Diana is today remembered as one of the greatest style icons of the 20th century. Among her favourite designers she counted the likes of Catherine Walker and Gianni Versace, but what many don't know is that the late Princess Diana was also patron to Indian designer Ritu Kumar. In fact, she would break protocol when she wanted to shop at their store in London.
In an Instagram post shared Wednesday, Ritu Kumar recalled how the late Princess Diana would cycle down to visit her store in London. "Diana was a patron of my store in London," the 76-year-old designer said.
"Diana was a very private lady. But she would break protocol, and in fact call the store herself when she wanted to visit," she told The Hindu in 2016.
In her post, she said that the royal would park her cycle at Mayfair behind the store and walk the rest of the way. She would only request us to keep a part of the store free of customers to give her some privacy, and would enjoy browsing there," said Ritu Kumar.
The official Instagram handle of Ritu Kumar on Wednesday shared a picture of Princess Diana, taken during her 1997 visit to Lahore in Pakistan. During the visit, she chose to wear a classic blue salwar kameez by Ritu Kumar.
"Princess Diana, wore our classic blue salwar kameez on a visit to Lahore with Imran and Jemima Khan accompanying her. Jemima also wears a Ritu Kumar anarkali suit," the caption reads.
The post has racked up over 10,000 'likes' and a ton of comments on the photo and video sharing platform.
Princess Diana visited India in 1992. During the visit, she took a solo trip to the Taj Mahal in Agra and also attended a polo match in Jaipur.
