Princess Diana not only looked like a fairytale princess on her wedding day, she smelled like one!
The royal reportedly walked down the aisle of St. Paul’s Cathedral wearing one of her favorite scents: Quelques Fleurs. But according to her makeup artist, it almost wore her.
Barbara Daly, who scored the job of a lifetime when she was chosen as Diana’s wedding day makeup artist, famously revealed that the young princess, then 20 years old, accidentally spilled some perfume on her dress as she tried to put some on her wrists after she put her dress on.
According to Daly, she told her to simply hold that spot on her dress as she was walking to make it seem like she was lifting the front of her dress so she didn’t step on it. She was even spotted trying to cover the spot where the perfume spilled with her hand as she approached the altar.
The floral scent, which features notes of tuberose, jasmine and rose, was launched in 1912 by classic Parisian perfume house, Houbigant. And Diana’s signature scent is now getting a fresh new start, as Perris Group recently acquired Houbigant and is launching the fragrance within the Quelques Fleurs collection.
Of course, the accident went unnoticed by the millions of viewers who tuned in to watch Diana tie the knot with Prince Charles. And all eyes were on her stunning dress (spot or no spot!) as she stepped out of the royal carriage.
Designer Elizabeth Emanuel, who created the voluminous gown with her husband and designing partner at the time, David, told PEOPLE that the young bride-to-be morphed as the weeks elapsed before her 1981 wedding to Prince Charles, losing a notable amount of the “puppy fat” she had when she first walked in.
“Most brides do lose weight,” Emanuel tells PEOPLE. “So we weren’t that worried when she did. She was looking fantastic. She ended up with a 23-inch waist from a 26- to 27- inch.
“She just walked more confidently. She just was suddenly growing up, you know? But I think she felt very good about how she looked.”
Emanuel added, “She was just lovely, really kind of easy going,” she recalls of the low-key Diana. “We never had any special instructions about how to make the wedding dress. That added a bit to the fun of it all, made it bit of an adventure.”
For full PEOPLE coverage of the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death:
•PEOPLE’s special edition Diana: Her Life and Legacy is available now
•Princess Diana: Behind the Headlines is streaming on the new People/Entertainment Weekly Network (PEN). Go to PEOPLE.com/PEN, or download the PEN app on your favorite mobile or connected TV device
