She's so real for this.
Princess Diana was never one to shy away from making a fashion statement. After all, the royal quite literally created the concept of a revenge dress in an off-the-shoulder little black dress that will go down in history as one of her most iconic style moments.
There was one instance, however, when Lady Di wanted to keep a certain look out of the public eye and pulled a bikini bait-and-switch on the press. Back in 1990, while on a family vacation in the British Virgin Islands, Princess Diana famously wore a cheetah print, one-piece swimsuit and matching sarong that is still highly regarded as one of her best outfits. But it turns out, the look was just a cover up for her real bikini: a “microscopic” red bikini, according to former royal correspondent and TV show host Jane Moore.
Moore recalled the moment during an episode of British reality show, I'm a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!. Diana had reportedly agreed to take photos on one day of her trip as long as the press leave her alone for the rest of her getaway. Diana would "go on holiday and all the media go as well, and then her detectives would come over and go, 'Right, if you leave her alone all week, on Wednesday morning she’ll come on to the beach on the island and you can take some photos,'" Moore remembered.
Moore recounted a specific time, most likely the aforementioned 1990 trip to Necker Island, when papparazzi was allowed to snap photos of Diana on the beach from a boat. Diana could be seen on the beach in the animal print swimwear while her sons Prince Harry and Prince William played in the sand. In an effort to evade having photos in her actual beachwear, Lady Di waited until the boat got far enough away to slip out of her getup and change into a tiny red bikini.
However, once the members of the media noticed the quick change, they began capturing more pictures and trying to get a closer look. "We turn the boat around, and just when we’re so far away, she’s come back out onto the beach in the most microscopic red bikini that you’ve ever seen," Moore said. "All the photographers were throwing money at our boat guy going 'Turn around!'"
Moore added that Princess Diana was known for making “deals” with the media and maintaining a relationship with the media. “She played it very well,” Moore said.