Princess Diana Had a Secret Message For Charles Painted on the Bottom of Her Wedding Shoes

Princess Diana and now-King Charles III exchanged their vows at a royal wedding held 43 years ago. To mark their holy union, Princess Diana made a special arrangement in her bridal attire. The late Princess of Wales got a secret message imprinted on the sole of her shoes that was an ode to her and Charles’ new beginning. She asked the cobbler to paint a small ‘C’ and ‘D’, the initials of their first names, in minute letters under her shoes, per The Sun. 

Diana wore suede heels for her fairytale wedding that were adorned with 132 pearls and 542 sequins, arranged in a heart-shaped pattern. The cobbler, Clive Shilton, worked on the princess’ wedding heels for six months for a perfect finish. However, the tiny initials were not the only customization Diana was looking for. Shilton revealed that Diana was also worried about her height with the heels and did not want to appear taller than her to-be husband on their wedding day. 

"[Diana] was a very shy, sweet, smiley-eyed young girl. Her main concern was that she wouldn't appear taller than Prince Charles, and because she was very tall–5'10"—the shoes would have to have a low heel,” Shilton told the Daily Mail. Even though the initials were not visible to the guests, Shilton said it was important to fulfill the princess’s demand. At present, the stunning heels have been preserved and put on public display with one of the soles turned up for viewers to catch a glimpse of the initials. 

With or without heels, Princess Diana emerged as a fashion icon in the late ‘90s with her statement outfits and trendsetter persona weaved with values of kindness warmth, and compassion. Sadly, after only 15 years of marriage, Diana and Charles split up and a messy divorce ensued, which was finalized in August 1996. However, the ex-couple had decided to co-parent their two children, Prince William and Prince Harry, while leading their individual lives. 

Unfortunately, Diana’s glamorous life was cut short a year later. On the fateful Sunday of August 1997, the People’s Princess and her then-partner, Dodi Al Fayed, lost their lives in a car crash in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris. The two had flown in from Sardinia the day before and were heading to Dodi’s apartment in the wee hours of the morning, per Town & Country. Henri Paul, the head of Ritz security was driving the car and was allegedly overspeeding in the tunnel that caused the crash. An autopsy report later revealed that he was drunk. Henri and Dodi were pronounced dead upon arrival while the Princess was breathing when help came before losing her life to cardiac arrest. Her bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, survived the accident.