Princess Diana’s stylist reveals how she decided on her signature short haircut

The Princess of Wales arrives at the premiere of Ridley Scott's "1492: Conquest of Paradise" in central London October 19, 1992. Reuters/Dylan Martinez

Princess Diana’s signature short hair was not planned, according to man who cut the late royal’s hair. The mother of Princes William and Harry attained the chic cut by giving one man free reign to her hair.

Celebrity stylist Sam McKnight has revealed in his new book, “Hair by Sam McKnight,” about the moment Diana decided on her iconic hairstyle.

It was in 1990 when Diana was asked to pose for British Vogue magazine. Photographer Patrick Demarchelier requested to bring his own team of hair and makeup artists, which included McKnight. The hair stylist was only told the client was “someone important,” never knowing that it was Diana herself who would need beauty treatment.

“I made her hair look short in the tiara for the shoot and she decided she liked it,” McKnight wrote. “As she was leaving, Diana asked, if I had free reign what would I do to her hair. I suggested cutting it short, and she, to my surprise, agreed, and we did it there and then.”

And that was the start of Diana’s trademark hair, as well as McKnight’s friendship with the People’s Princess. He would visit Diana every week while he was in London to do her hair.

“We’d watch [British soap opera] ‘Brookside’ at the palace together while I was doing her hair and I went on a number of her official trips.”

The stylist also claimed to be responsible for Diana’s slicked-back look. He tried slicking her hair back in a private shoot, and then had her hair styled that way during a public event.

“Even though she was a bit nervous, she was still open to new ideas regarding her look. So for the Council of Fashion Designers Awards in New York, we decided she would try it out in public – the flowing day the front pages spoke volumes,” he wrote (via People magazine).