Queen Camilla Unexpectedly Carries 'Lady Dior' Handbag Famously Worn and Named After Princess Diana

It was a style surprise to see the Queen with a handbag closely associated with the late Princess of Wales

Janine Henni is a Royals Staff Writer for PEOPLE Digital, covering modern monarchies and the world’s most famous families. Like Queen Elizabeth, she loves horses and a great tiara moment.

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Queen Camilla at Wimbledon on July 10, 2024; Princess Diana at London Lighthouse in October 1996. Photo: Jordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty; Mathieu Polak/Sygma via Getty

Queen Camilla has added a new accessory to her royal wardrobe with an unexpected connection to Princess Diana.

The Queen, 76, debuted a surprising new handbag this week, sporting the Small Lady Dior Bag in beige at two royal engagements. The luxury handbag (which retails for $6,000) was famously renamed the Lady Dior after Princess Diana, who was known as Lady Diana Spencer before her marriage to the future King Charles. The style was one of Diana’s favorite go-to handbags.

Queen Camilla first showcased the Dior purse at Wimbledon on July 10, where she watched the tennis tournament from the front row of the Royal Box alongside her sister, Annabel Elliot. At one point, the Queen placed the bag on her lap and reached inside for something.

Queen Camilla at Wimbledon on July 10, 2024.ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP via Getty

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The Queen carried the handbag once more on July 11, when she and King Charles visited the Senedd in Cardiff, Wales. The royal couple made the trip to mark the 25th anniversary of the Welsh Parliament’s devolution from the U.K. government. Queen Camilla was seen with the bag draped over her arm as they exited the building

It was a style surprise for Queen Camilla to make a fashion statement so closely associated with the late Princess Diana, as such choices are not typically in her repertoire. Diana reportedly avoided wearing the logo of another luxury French label, Chanel, after her 1996 divorce, as the interlocking “C” insignia reminded her of Charles and Camilla, who famously had an extramarital affair during Diana’s marriage to Charles.

Queen Camilla leaves the Senedd on July 11, 2024 in Cardiff, Wales.Samir Hussein/WireImage

A black version of the Lady Dior Bag, initially named the Chouchou (French for “favorite”), was gifted to Princess Diana in 1995 before its official release. Diana was reportedly smitten with the bag, carrying it on numerous occasions and even requesting a navy blue version “to match her eyes,” according to Dior’s history.

Diana showcased the blue version at the Met Gala in New York City in 1996, and later that year, Dior renamed it the “Lady Dior” bag in her honor, as reported by Vogue.

Princess Diana at the Met Gala in New York City in December 1996.Richard Corkery/NY Daily News via Getty Images

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Today, the fashion house offers the Lady Dior bag in a variety of sizes, colors and materials. Queen Camilla isn’t the only royal with a version of this iconic accessory in her collection.

Meghan Markle accessorized with a black Dior Lady D-Lite handbag, an iteration of the original released in 2019, after appearing with husband Prince Harry at the Global Citizen Live concert in New York City in 2021.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry leave the the Global Citizen concert in Central Park on September 25, 2021 in New York City.Gotham/GC Images

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While maintaining the same silhouette as the classic Lady Dior, the D-Lite has the additional feature of a reversible and removable shoulder strap that makes it slightly sportier and more versatile than the classic pocketbook shape — a fresh spin for a modern wearer on the move.

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