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    1. Celebrity
    2. Royals

    Why Princess Grace of Monaco Advised Princess Diana "It Gets Worse" on the Eve of Her Royal Wedding, Per Former Staff Member

    "You learn to cope..."

    Amy Mackelden's avatar
    By Amy Mackelden
    Published 11 May 2026 In News

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    Princess Diana wears a strapless black taffeta Emanuel dress and poses next to Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco and King Charles on March 9, 1981 in London, United Kingdom
    (Image credit: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)
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    Princess Diana married King Charles on July 29, 1981, at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Almost three decades earlier—on April 19, 1956—Grace Kelly had wed Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, meaning she was perfectly placed to advise Charles's bride.

    Princess Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell, opened up about Princess Grace's alleged interaction with Diana on the eve of her wedding to Charles in the book A Royal Duty.

    "I have never seen such a beauty as Princess Grace," Burrell wrote. "That evening she even outshone the bride-to-be, and her tiara was every bit as magnificent as The Queen's. Lady Diana was captivated."

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    According to Burrell, Diana and Grace "struck up an immediate rapport," which led to them becoming "locked in conversation." Essentially, the former actress quickly became a "role model and inspirational figure" to the young Diana, the ex-butler shared. The fact that Grace had been "an outsider...who had married into royalty" only endeared her further to Diana.

    Princess Diana wears a strapless black taffeta Emanuel dress and poses next to Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco and King Charles on March 9, 1981 in London, United Kingdom

    "Diana asked Princess Grace for any tips or advice."

    (Image credit: Bettmann/Getty Images)

    A Royal Duty

    Paul Burrell
    'A Royal Duty'
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    Per Burrell, Princess Diana allegedly viewed Princess Grace as "a film star used to the media glare; a woman in a royal marriage where love was infected by duty."

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    In his book, the former royal employee revealed, "[Diana] asked Princess Grace for any tips or advice. 'You will be just fine,' said the former actress. 'It gets worse, but you learn to cope.'"

    Princess Diana wears a strapless black taffeta Emanuel dress and poses next to Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco and King Charles on March 9, 1981 in London, United Kingdom

    "It gets worse, but you learn to cope."

    (Image credit: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)

    The Way We Were

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    It's undeniable that Princess Diana and Princess Grace both had totally unique experiences when marrying into royalty. As a result, it makes sense that Princess Grace might have been able to offer some important words of advice to a young Princess Diana prior to her marriage to King Charles.

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    Weekend Editor

    Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.

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    Queen Elizabeth, Princess Diana (1961 - 1997) and Prince Charles at Victoria Station, London, where they will welcome a state delegation from Nigeria, March 1989.
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