Princess Diana was scolded by Queen Elizabeth II after wearing a dramatic new hairstyle that overshadowed the monarch's speech at the 1984 State Opening of Parliament.
The account appears in a memoir released by Diana's brother, Earl Charles Spencer, according to a report by suaragarut.
id.
In his 348-page book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, Spencer describes how the late Princess of Wales arrived at the annual event with an ornate updo created by hairstylist Richard Dalton.
The look was topped with the Spencer Tiara and drew immediate attention from onlookers and the press.
Media coverage focused heavily on Diana's appearance rather than the government's legislative agenda outlined in the Queen's address.
A Dramatic Arrival and a Palace Reprimand
Spencer reflected on the public's reaction when his sister arrived at the historic ceremony in a horse-drawn carriage.
"When Diana arrived at Parliament and descended from her horse-drawn carriage, there were gasps of admiration from onlookers," Spencer writes.
"They were used to her trademark look and were surprised that this had been replaced by something so ravishing.
The Spencer tiara looked particularly magnificent atop her sweeping hair, while her bone structure was shown off to great effect."
He notes that the voluminous look was styled into "a bun pinned at the nape of the neck, as favored by some movie stars a generation earlier."
However, the dramatic shift in news coverage triggered an immediate reprimand from the palace after newspapers relegated the monarch's speech to secondary coverage.
"The next day's headlines were about Diana's daring new hairstyle, with the monarch's address to Parliament, detailing the Government's legislative priorities for the year ahead, relegated to a mere footnote in the papers," Spencer writes.
Following the incident, Diana adjusted her public appearances out of respect for the monarch.
"Diana was told off," Spencer reveals.
"And she—ever respectful of 'the boss,' as she called the Queen—from that point on, always wore her hair more simply at events that they both attended."
Spencer also noted that his sister's broader public appeal often challenged court traditionalists: "Her infectious appeal could be challenging for traditionalists at court."
Reflecting on the Queen's reaction to the headline-grabbing appearance, Spencer adds: "But the Queen was not amused."
The memoir touches on other aspects of Diana's relationship with her hair and image.
Her former hairdresser, Richard Dalton, previously shared insights into working with the royal, who died in a 1997 car crash in Paris.
"Diana did express to me that she wished she could do the wedding over again to 'get the hair right.'
However, she never mentioned any other regrets while I did her hair," Dalton said in an interview with PEOPLE.
Dalton also recalled the emotional range he witnessed in his book It's All About the Hair - My Decade with Diana.
"Some days she would be happy, some days quiet, some days talkative and some days sad," Dalton writes.
"I experienced all of these with Diana. [On her low days] sparks would be flying off the hair dryer.
I got used to the stress."
