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Loose Women’s Jane Moore took a tongue-in-cheek swipe at fellow panellist Coleen Nolan after she ‘shoved’ her at the start of the ITV show

Loose Women panellist Jane Moore called Coleen Nolan “ghastly” at the start of Wednesday’s ITV daytime show.

As the show kicked off for its mid-week instalment, host Jane, 59, took a tongue-in-cheek swipe at Coleen, as she revealed the 57-year-old shoved her moments before the show.

Jane opened the show saying: “Hello and welcome to your mid-week helping of Loose Women.

“Joining me for lots of laughs and lunchtime chat, it’s the ghastly Coleen Nolan – you just shoved me on air.”

Coleen was open-mouthed in shock for a moment before the pair laughed off the incident and sat down at the Loose Women panel, which has returned to its pre-Covid size with the seats closer together after social distancing restrictions were scrapped.

Jane, 59, took a tongue-in-cheek swipe at Coleen ( 
Image:
ITV)
The pair were joined on the panel by Linda Robson, 64, and activist Shani Dhanda, 35, as they launched into a discussion of lockdown loneliness.

The catty remark came after a similarly heated exchange during Tuesday’s show, as Janet Street-Porter and Coleen exchanged tense words.

Janet offered to dunk her face in a large bowl of ice cold water in a nod to the latest TikTok trend, which can reportedly help improve skin circulation and wellbeing.

“Joining me for lots of laughs and lunchtime chat, it’s the ghastly Coleen Nolan” ( 
Image:
ITV)
As panellist Christine Lampard suggested that Janet and guest Greg Wise do so for as long as they can, Coleen quickly asked: “Can we make it five minutes?”

Janet pointed out that she can’t actually hold her breath for that long, to which Coleen said: “I know, that’s the point!”

“Do you want me to die live on air?” she asked Christine, Coleen and fellow panellist Beverley Knight, as Coleen quickly fired back: “A little bit!”

Coleen was open-mouthed in shock for a moment before the pair laughed off the incident ( 
Image:
ITV)Meanwhile, former panellist Andrea McLean has insisted she has no regrets over her exit from Loose Women.

The presenter made her return to the ITV studios for the first time, and she admits it was weird to be back – although she said she stands by her decision to quit her role on the ITV lunchtime show.

Andrea quit Loose Women in November 2020 after over a decade at the helm of the programme, explaining her decision at the time as she admitted it was a “really big decision” for her.

And making her return to ITV to discuss her new book, Andrea has admitted she felt very scared at the time.

Loose Women airs weekdays at 12.30pm on ITV

Kate Ferdinand appeared on ITV’s Loose Women and detailed her family life with husband Rio Ferdinand in the wake of the loss of his first wife Rebecca Ellison to cancer

Kate Ferdinand has detailed how she was “naive” becoming a step-parent in her husband Rio Ferdinand ’s family as her step-children grieved the loss of their mum.

Rebecca Ellison died in 2015, aged 34, after a short battle with breast cancer, tragically leaving Rio with their three children Tate, 13, Lorenz, 15, and Tia, 10.

The former TOWIE star, 30, met her 43-year-old former footballer husband in 2017 and has since welcomed son Cree during the coronavirus lockdown.

Kate appeared on Wednesday’s instalment of Loose Women to discuss the first episode of her new podcast Blended.

Host Jane Moore kicked off the chat, saying: “When I look at what you stepped into – three children grieving the loss of their mum and Rio obviously lost his wife – you didn’t have any kids of your own and stepped into that situation – it must have been incredibly tricky.”

The former TOWIE star, 30, met her 43-year-old former footballer husband in 2017 ( 
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ITV)
Kate replied saying she was “quite naive” stepping into the situation, adding: “I thought, I’ll be fine.”

She said: “I didn’t really take into consideration the dynamics. I’ve learnt that I’m very resilient and to have a big heart can get you very far in life.”

Later in their conversation, she described the lack of advice available for mothers in her situation, who are “dealing with lots of grief”.

She added: “I wanted to start a community because I feel like when you share a problem, it helps take the pressure off.”

She described the lack of advice available for mothers in her situation, who are “dealing with lots of grief” ( 
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ITV)
The ITV studio chat turned to Mother’s Day, as Kate detailed on the first episode of her podcast how she feels “alone and guilty” on the day as she struggles to celebrate when her step-children have suffered “such a deep loss”.

Kate told the Loose Women panellists of the day: “It was my first year being a biological parent and so it’s really exciting and overwhelming when you become a mother, but also everyone in my house has had such a big loss, so it’s trying to balance those emotions – it’s hard.”

Kate said on her podcast that she “really, really struggled” with the celebratory day even before she was a biological parent due to the family’s tragic loss and “somehow I thought it would be easier when I had Cree but actually last year was probably the toughest Mother’s Day to date”.

Kate appeared on Wednesday’s instalment of Loose Women to discuss her new podcast. ( 
Image:
ITV)“It’s a strange feeling the world is celebrating this day and there is a real big loss in my house but also it was my first Mother’s Day – a day in another life that I would really look forward to, but here I am surrounded by my family”, the reality star continued.

“How can I have the audacity to celebrate myself when all my family have had such a deep loss?

“I felt really alone and quite isolated. I didn’t know anyone in a similar situation or going through the same sort of thing as me.”

Loose Women airs weekdays at 12.30pm on ITV

Loose Women panelist Nadia Sawalha spoke about being pregnant with her two daughters Maddie and Kiki and reckons that having her children actually saved her life

Loose Women panelist Nadia Sawalha has revealed that being pregnant was ‘the only time’ she really loved her body.

The 57-year-old star, who is mum to two daughters Maddie and Kiki, had a lot to say on Thursday’s show as they spoke about having babies.

Nadia was joined on the panel by Jane Moore, Katie Piper and Charlene White as she discussed the possibility of machines being able to grow human life outside of the body.

“It’s been created for those who are unable to have children,” Charlene explained as she said the option of doing so could be just two generations away.

Loose Women panelist Nadia Sawalha has revealed that being pregnant was ‘the only time’ she really loved her body ( 
Image:
ITV)

Looking shocked, Nadia said: “An incredible invention for those people who can’t but at the same time you worry where that could end up.

“I was lucky enough, I loved being pregnant. It was the only time I really loved my body, I was the most body confident,” she continued.

“I felt like the cleverest person in the whole world that I was just chatting to people while growing a lung!”

Nadia and fellow panelist Jane Moore discussed the option of women using a surrogate to have a baby ( 
Image:
ITV)

“The thing is with me, I was an absolute reprobate before I got pregnant. I was a smoker, I was a drinker, I was a partier,” Nadia continued.

“I often say actually, in a way my children saved my life because I think I was on a terrible trajectory. But I got pregnant and it’s almost like it was the training to fix all of that, the drinking, the smoking.”

The legendary star recalled how Princess Diana helped her avoid a wardrobe malfunction in ‘My Name Is Barbra’

Barbra Streisand shared a sweet anecdote about Princess Diana in her new memoir My Name Is Barbra. Photo: Todd Williamson/Getty; Georges De Keerle / FSP / Liaison Agency

Barbra Streisand writes in her new memoir My Name Is Barbra that Princess Diana once had her back — literally!

The singer, actress and EGOT winner reflected in the text, published on Tuesday, about how the late Princess of Wales once helped her avoid a near wardrobe malfunction during a night out at the London premiere of The Prince of Tides in 1992. The opening was held as a benefit for the AIDS Crisis Trust, and Streisand, 81, said that she was “impressed” with how hands-on Diana was with her outreach in hospitals to destigmatize HIV/AIDS.

According to Streisand, Princess Diana was just as lovely in person when they sat together during the film screening at Leicester Square, and the royal urged her to embrace the applause.

Trying to follow royal protocol, which dictated waiting for the princess to stand first, Streisand wrote that she didn’t stand up until Princess Diana insisted she did. She added that Diana gave her a “little push” — and a quick zip!

Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty
Barbra Streisand Pulls Back the Curtain on Famous Friends, Lasting Love and More in New Memoir (Exclusive)

“The zipper on my skirt had come down a bit as I was sitting, and she noticed and quickly started to zip it up for me as I got to my feet,” Streisand wrote, remembering her remarks (with a reference to Yentl) and the cheers of the crowd.

“When I finally sat down, Diana turned to me and asked, ‘Do you know how wonderful you are?’ ” she wrote. Streisand said the comment came as a shock, as longtime songwriter Marilyn Bergman asked her the same thing at Bon Soir, the New York nightclub where she got her start, 30 years before.

“I certainly didn’t know it then. Did I know it now? I’m not sure…maybe a little. I thought Diana was wonderful. I wonder if she knew how wonderful she was,” Streisand said in her memoir.

Princess Diana arrives for the premiere of The Prince of Tides at Odeon Leicester Square, London in February 1992.Chris Grieve/Mirrorpix/Getty

Barbra Streisand Spills the Tea on Prince Charles Sending Her Flowers from Highgrove — ‘Before He Met Diana’

Princess Diana wasn’t the only member of the British royal family who charmed the star — King Charles reportedly had a crush on Streisand before he married Prince Diana in 1981!

In July 2021, The Times reported that then-Prince Charles said he found the American actress “dazzling” when he was a young man. Soon after, Streisand returned the compliment — and spilled the tea on their friendship origin story.

“It was so sweet,” Streisand told U.K. presenter Ross King of the “special memories” Charles had shared with the British outlet.

Prince Charles and Barbra Streisand chat at Warner Bros. studio in California in 1974.Mark Sennet/Getty

“The Way We Were” singer confirmed the prince’s story about how they crossed paths in 1974. Prince Charles was serving in the Royal Navy, which brought him to San Diego, where she was working.

“He asked to meet me. So he came to the recording studio,” she shared, adding a signature quip. “I offered him a sip of tea and I thought, ‘They didn’t have to test me for poison or something? No.’ “

From there, “we became friends, and I loved spending some time at Highgrove for a weekend fundraiser and going through his gardens,” Streisand said.

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Art for the audiobook My Name Is Barbara, written and read by Barbra Streisand.Courtesy of Penguin Random House Audio

Though the performer noted that her closeness with Charles “was before he met Diana,” she did add, “I had a very funny line on stage when he came to see [my] show. I said, ‘You know, if I played my cards right, I could have wound up being the first Jewish princess!’”

My Name Is Barbra is out now.

Celebrate Barbra Streisand’s incredible career with the new PEOPLE Special Edition Barbra Streisand, available on newsstands and Amazon.com.

Andrea McLean left Loose Women after 13 years on the ITV panel show to focus on her career as a self-help author and focus on the brand she runs with her husband – and now a move to Florida could be on the cards

After 13 years on Loose Women, the decision to leave the show was a huge one for Andrea McLean.

Those around her – including her fellow panellists – told her she’d regret it.

But, determined to start a new life, she stuck to her guns and now, two years later, those regrets have failed to materialise. In fact the very opposite.

“I have no regrets at all, 100%,” says Andrea.

 

“I look back really fondly on my time there, and I was so lucky. I had the best job in the world but it just didn’t fit anymore.

“That’s not a bad thing, we all change and you’re not the same person a decade later.

“Most of us will outgrow our jobs at some point.”

She made the decision to step down from the Loose Women panel to concentrate on a new career as a self-help author ( 
Image:
ITV)

Andrea with her family at the gala performance of Dirty Dancing in October 2021 ( 
Image:
Dave Benett/Getty Images)
She made the decision to step down from the panel to concentrate on a new career as a self-help author and focus on This Girl is On Fire – the brand she runs with her third husband Nick Feeney.

She adds: “Because I was doing This Girl is On Fire on the side it just became clearer that this is what I wanted to be doing.”

And leaving the ITV show has even made her re-think her home life too and there’s a move to Florida in the pipeline, once her children Finlay, 20 and Amy, 15 have flown the nest.

The 52-year-old says: “Moving to Florida is something that won’t happen for a while because of the kids and schooling, but eventually we would like to live there for the winter.

“Our business is online so we can operate from anywhere.

“The way I see it is I’m in my fifties now, I may have only 30 or so winters left so if I can choose to spend them somewhere warm then I definitely will.”

In fact, the star, who shot to fame as a weather presenter on GMTV, says she now even looks back fondly on her time taking part in Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.

Andrea has previously claimed the gruelling experience in 2019 where she was interrogated by Ant Middleton led her to confront traumatic experiences from her past, causing her to have an emotional breakdown.

“I am so glad I did that show – it was the best thing I ever did,” reveals Andrea, who left early after catching hypothermia.

“It was really hard and one of the worst experiences because of that, but I’m happy I did it because it changed the course of my life. I’m so fond of the guys because they did their job.

“They were scary, big men but they were amazing.”

Last week, Andrea released her latest book You Just Need to Believe It, a guide to a 10-day challenge that claims to help people find happiness, break out of their comfort zone and find inner strength.

“This is the first book where I’ve tried and tested it before putting it out, because it’s based on a challenge that I did with my community,” says Andrea.

“I know it works and it’s a really nice feeling. The feedback coming in so far has been beautiful.

“People have already got in touch with me to say they’ve been making changes and it’s wonderful to hear.”

Andrea McClean has no regrets since leaving Loose Women twShe also reveals that she’s set to take This Girl is On Fire to the next level by launching an app so users around-the-world can access content on the go, such as podcasts and masterclasses.

In June, Andrea and Nick both became certified life coaches, and she says working with her husband on their brand day-to-day is a mix of being “challenging” and “interesting”.

She adds: “It’s all of those words, but it’s also been great.

“When you work on a business you both run, nobody cares about it as much as both of you do so you’re not coming home from work and talking about something and your other half doesn’t care.

“The joy of it is that we think about it 24 hours a day, but that can also be a downside, so for us it’s been really important to try and find moments where we have a day off…which doesn’t always work.”

And while she has recently been doing online presenting work for This Girl is On Fire, on Monday night Andrea will be returning to the stage in front of an audience for the first time since leaving Loose Women when she hosts a variety performance to raise money for Ukraine.

The sold-out Concert for Ukraine will be taking place at Eastbourne’s Royal Hippodrome Theatre, but will also be available for viewers elsewhere in the country to live stream from home this evening.

It is looking to raise funds for UNICEF’s Ukraine Emergency Fund, which is providing families with clean water and food, giving information to people seeking refuge and delivering essential supplies such as medicine.

“Getting involved with hosting the concert was a no-brainer, I said yes before the words were properly out when I was asked,” says Andrea.

“I’ve done some presenting in front of online audiences, but this is going to be the first time standing in front of hundreds of people in real life.

“I’m really excited for it, and not nervous at all because everybody involved has really committed to it being a brilliant night.”

Andrea says that personally she has been giving donations of money and clothes to organisations helping Ukraine, but tonight is an opportunity to help raise thousands of pounds.

Andrea McLean shot to fame as a weather presenter on GMTV ( 
Image:
ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
She adds: “It was really important to work with a charity such as UNICEF, because they are so experienced.

“You know that this money is going to be put exactly where it needs to be very quickly.”

The show will feature performances from several celebrities from stage and screen, including AJ and Curtis Pritchard, X Factor winner Dalton Harris and former Strictly Come Dancing professional Chloe Hewitt as well as talent from local schools in Eastbourne.

Andrea will be co-hosting the evening with Olympic gold medal-winning figure skater Robin Cousins, and says she’s excited to see him again after he judged her during her Dancing on Ice stint in 2006.

“I hope he’ll remember as it was a long time ago,” says Andrea.

“Robin was an absolute dream on Dancing on Ice, he was so sweet and lovely so I am really looking forward to connecting with him again.”

And despite Andrea’s new career change as a life coach, she says she wouldn’t rule out any other future appearances on reality TV shows if they came up.

“My mindset is if it looks like fun and something I’d enjoy or learn from, then life is too short to take myself seriously,” she says.

“I’ll always give something a go and the great thing about telly is that there’s all kinds of crazy stuff that people can ask you to do.”

Andrea with her family at the gala performance of Dirty Dancing in October 2021 ( 
Image:
Ken McKay/REX/Shutterstock)

You Just Need to Believe It: 10 Ways in 10 Days to Unlock Your Courage and Reclaim Your Power by Andrea McLean ( 
Image:
DAILY MIRROR)
And for now, Andrea is also enjoying being in her fifties. “I care less about what people think about me,” she says.

“I spent many years tied up in knots, thinking if I did everything well then everyone would like me.

“But now I realise that is completely irrelevant and it’s made me breathe out and I feel a lot more myself.”

*Concert for Ukraine can be streamed stream.theatre from tonight at 7pm. To donate to the UNICEF appeal separately visit unicef.org.uk/unicef/ukraine

Andrea’s new book You Just Need to Believe It: 10 Ways in 10 Days to Unlock Your Courage and Reclaim Your Power is out now, £12.99

Loose Women favourite Andrea McLean left in December 2020, after 13 years as a host, and on Monday she returned to the ITV series to discuss life after the series

Loose Women welcomed back Andrea McLean to the ITV show, for the first time since she quit the panel almost a year and a half ago.

Andrea returned to the set for the first time, this time as a guest and not on the panel, which she said felt “really nice” but “out of body”.

The host filmed her final episode in December 2020, and on Monday she returned to reveal all on her life post the show.

Speaking of the “brave” decision to try something new, Andrea told her former colleagues about her new book, and how departing her role with them became a “catalyst” for it.

Loose Women welcomed back Andrea McLean to the ITV show, for the first time since she quit ( 
Image:
ITV)

She said: “At the time so many people were saying to me, ‘oh gosh, what a brave thing to do’, I mean also what a stupid thing to do, it’s the middle of a pandemic and you’re quitting your job to follow your dreams.

“At the time I felt like it was just something I needed to do. Now I look back and it was a brave decision, because I remember saying I needed to jump to see if I could fly.

“I didn’t know if I was gonna face plant or fly…. I’m so glad I did, I love what I do.”

Co-host Ruth Langsford also asked about a future TV return ( 
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ITV)
Discussing her fourth book, she added: “I wanted to put a challenge together for the lovely women who joined me, to show them how to do brave things and move away from fear because I was still really scared.

“People thought I’m really brave, I’m not feeling fear but I am, so I put this 10-day challenge together. Ruth, I had no idea whether it was gonna work or not. I knew it worked for me but I didn’t know if it would work for anyone else.”

Andrea also spoke about her nervous breakdown which she suffered three years ago, and this is something she opened up about on Loose Women at the time.

Reflecting on this, she said: “That is what I love about this show, I was able to talk about it, and people reached out to me and I helped other people through that.

“I think I built a little tool kit up in that time, which felt really dark and horrible but what it made me do is realise that one, I never wanna go back to that place again, but also I need to stop looking for… someone else will fix me, I’ll feel better then. Actually you need to learn to fix yourself.”

Co-host Ruth Langsford also asked about a future TV return, and suggested she hadn’t ruled out a Loose Women comeback.

Ruth said to her: “You haven’t shut the door completely on TV or Loose Women…” to which Andrea replied: “Never!”

When it came to saying goodbye all over again, Ruth told her how they all missed her being on the show, with Andrea saying she would have to come back soon.

Ruth told her how they all missed her being on the show, with Andrea saying she would have to come back soon ( 
Image:
ITV)Andrea previously told The Mirror that she still has “no regrets” about leaving the series, as she finds her feet with her new venture.

She said: “I have no regrets at all, 100%. I look back really fondly on my time there, and I was so lucky. I had the best job in the world but it just didn’t fit anymore.

“That’s not a bad thing, we all change and you’re not the same person a decade later. Most of us will outgrow our jobs at some point.”

‘The Crown’ star tells PEOPLE she studied up to delicately depict the Princess of Wales

Queen Elizabeth in December 2021; Elizabeth Debicki at The Crown’s Los Angeles premiere on November 12; Princess Diana in June 1997. . Photo: Victoria Jones – Pool/Getty; Robin L Marshall/WireImage; Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty

Elizabeth Debicki takes her final bow as Princess Diana in season 6 of The Crown, concluding the series a year after Queen Elizabeth’s death.

Speaking to PEOPLE ahead of the show’s season 6, part 1 premiere on Thursday, Debicki, 33, says that Netflix’s hit drama inspired by the lives of the British royals drew a new “empathy” for the family since its debut in 2016.

“It’s been a long journey people have had with the show, and I think it’s one of the beautiful things The Crown has been able to do, is open up in this imaginary way, the very private lives of these public figures and create this huge empathy, I think, for the audience to experience in regards to characters that you may not have known so much about before,” Debicki exclusively tells PEOPLE.

“I’ll say personally, the loss of the Queen was an enormous sadness. She was a pinnacle, and I think she’s much missed and much loved in my adopted country and around the world as well,” adds the Australian actress of Queen Elizabeth’s death. “So everybody’s intention has always been to sort of tell the stories as authentically as we can and make these people as human as possible, make the characters as human as possible.”

The Crown‘s Khalid Abdalla on Whether Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed Were ‘Falling in Love’ Before Deadly Crash

The Crown paused production when the monarch died at age 96 in September 2022, and showrunner Peter Morgan told Variety he was then compelled to change the show’s ending.

The cast famously changed every two seasons to reflect the royals aging through the decades. Debicki plays the Princess of Wales in seasons 5 and 6, closing the role originated by Emma Corrin in season 3. Netflix announced in 2020 that Debicki would portray Diana in seasons 5 and 6, and the star says she put much into the study of the People’s Princess.

Elizabeth Debicki attends the Los Angeles premiere of The Crown on Netflix on November 12.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

“I came into this experience of playing the role very naive. I didn’t know a lot. I kind of had a kind of imprint in terms of who this person was, and I always imagined her as just this kind of extraordinarily beautiful princess and humanitarian figure,” says Debicki, who was 7 when Diana died.

The Crown alludes to the tragedy in the latest installment, though the moment of impact is not shown — a turn previously confirmed by PEOPLE.

On Aug. 31, 1997, the Princess of Wales and love interest Dodi Fayed were traveling by car in Paris with a driver and a bodyguard. The four were pursued by paparazzi when their vehicle slammed into a support column of the Pont de l’Alma tunnel, flipped and came to a rest in front of oncoming traffic. Dodi and the driver died instantly, while Diana died a few hours later.

Twenty-six years later, Debicki tells PEOPLE that the weight of playing Diana for the major streaming series was not lost on her.

Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana in season 6 of The Crown on Netflix.Daniel Escale/Netflix

Elizabeth Debicki Says Filming Princess Diana Paparazzi Scenes in The Crown Was Like ‘Being Underwater’ (Exclusive)

“I did a lot of research for this role. I probably spent about a year doing research and that just filled in all these pieces and made me have such deep, deep respect and love for this person who I didn’t know so much about. The battle that she went through in terms of media, public perception. I didn’t know things about the divorce and how difficult all of that was for everybody in the family,” she says.

According to the actress, one thing she was delighted to discover was Princess Diana’s sense of fun.

“One of the things that surprised me that I loved finding out is that she had this kind of really wonderful, very cheeky sense of humor, that she was just so warm and human with people. That’s what she was so loved for, and it was so needed, too,” Debicki says of the royal rebel.

Princess Diana attends a dinner at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. in 1985.Terry Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty

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“She was a real groundbreaker in terms of her ability to move through perceptions or stigmas and really just use herself as the vessel to enact huge humanitarian change. She was prolific in that and she gave us so much. I was constantly surprised at how far she was moving the needle, whether it was talking about mental health issues, AIDS or landmines,” she says of Diana’s lasting legacy. “When we lost her, the world lost a woman who could create amazing change on a humanitarian level as well.”

The show closes with the premiere of part 2 on Dec. 14, told in six episodes. The last saga is expected to conclude multiple storylines, from Queen Elizabeth (Imelda Staunton) mulling the future of the monarchy, then-Prince Charles (Dominic West) and Camilla (Olivia Williams) taking the next step in their relationship while Prince William (Ed McVey) falls for classmate Kate Middleton (Meg Bellamy) at college.

The Crown season 6, part 1, is now streaming on Netflix.

As the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death is marked this week, her former bodyguard Ken Wharfe reflects upon her impact and legacy

Photo: Jayne Fincher/Getty Images

Twenty-five years after the death of Princess Diana, her legacy is felt most through her beloved sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.

When William congratulated England’s national women’s soccer team on the field at Wembley Stadium on July 31, he opted for hugs instead of the formal handshakes normally associated with his role as President of the Football Association.

“He was hugging the players and engaged in close conversation,” Princess Diana’s former bodyguard Ken Wharfe tells PEOPLE. “That was classic Diana.”

For Wharfe, who was the main police bodyguard looking after Princess Diana and her sons from 1987 to late 1993, the living legacy of Diana is in her sons William, 40, and Harry, 37.

Prince William. Jonathan Moscrop/Getty

The brothers adopted her unique way of engaging with the public — transforming sometimes drab royal events to memorable occasions for those who witness them.

For more on Princess Diana, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.

“It is their style of operating that has certainly changed [the monarchy],” Wharfe adds.

Prince Harry. Chris Jackson/Getty

Like many of those who knew her, Wharfe — who has co-written Diana — Remembering the Princess along with journalist Ros Coward — is reflecting on his memories of the late princess as the 25th anniversary of her death is marked this week.

Wharfe had a front-row seat as she raised awareness on a number of causes, including AIDS, homelessness and leprosy — work that took her to those most vulnerable in society. He also saw first-hand how the initial cautiousness and wariness of the royal family when it came to Diana’s modern approach to her role.

Princess Diana. Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty

“Most people meet royals from the other side of the metal barrier. There was no chance for personal dialogue. And yet there was for Diana,” Wharfe says. “She’d single out somebody, engage in conversation, and ask about their health, relationship, their dress or whatever, that would ricochet around the crowd, and everyone would be talking about it.

“And they’d say, ‘We never get this with the Queen or Prince Charles.’ “

Wharfe also saw the pain Diana experienced amid her husband Prince Charles’ affair with his now-wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

“I was around in the ’80s and I witnessed on a daily basis with Diana how Camilla was top of the agenda for discussion. It was a thorn in her side. I often wonder how she managed to do her work, away from that discussion, as it became an obsession,” he says.

During Charles and Diana’s joint tour of India in February 1992, it became clear that Charles and Diana were estranged. And Wharfe witnessed the historic moment when Diana sat alone at the Taj Mahal.

When one of the journalists asked Diana what it felt like to be at the historic mausoleum, Diana quietly asked Wharfe, “What do I say?”

“I wasn’t the press adviser, but I said, ‘Say it was a healing experience.’ So she said that and one of the photographers then shouted out, ‘What do you mean by that?’ She got slightly angry and said, ‘You work it out for yourself.’ And we moved on,” Wharfe tells PEOPLE. “She was a consummate performer.”

12 Ways Princess Diana Broke with Tradition and Paved a New Path for the Royal Family

Five years later, tragedy struck in the early hours of August 31 when Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris. Wharfe, a former policeman, has studied the evidence and carried out his own analysis of the crash and agrees with the findings of the official inquest into Diana’s death in 2008 that Diana and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed died because of the “unlawful, negligent driving of the Mercedes and the following vehicles” occupied by the paparazzi. The jury added that the speed or manner of the driving of chauffeur Henri Paul “caused or contributed to” the crash.

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But many people — so desperate for answers as to why someone so famous and beloved could die in such a way, at such a young age — have sought out other explanations.

“That’s why the conspiracy theories abounded,” he says. “Even today, people still tell me they don’t believe it was something as simple as a car accident. It was a series of calamitous blunders. It’s no wonder that people just couldn’t believe it was as simple as that.”

She was the most photographed woman in the world. Here, the shots that stand the test of time

Cara Lynn Shultz is a writer-reporter at PEOPLE. Her work has previously appeared in Billboard, Forbes, and Reader’s Digest.

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The Bride-to-Be

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Diana – then, in 1980, a kindergarten teacher at the exclusive Young England school in Pimlico, London – keeps a close hold on two of her students in one of the first shots of the future princess, which would also be among her first controversies. The backlit Diana didn’t realize her skirt was transparent.

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The Royal Engagement

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In the first photograph of the royal couple, Charles, Prince of Wales, then 32, poses with his fiancée, Lady Diana Spencer, 19, outside Buckingham Palace on Feb. 24, 1981 – just moments after announcing their engagement to the world. Nearly three decades later, Diana’s son William proposed to longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton with his late mother’s iconic engagement ring.

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The Princess Bride

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The train of Princess Diana’s Emmanuel ivory taffeta and antique lace wedding gown was 25-feet long, and it took her three and a half minutes to walk down the carpeted aisle at St. Paul’s. The planning of the dress was a lonely affair, as designer Elizabeth Emanuel recalled, “Nobody really came to fittings with her.”

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The Big Event

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More than 600,000 people crowded the streets of London to see Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles make their way through the streets of London on July 29, 1981, their wedding day. Their international audience was even larger: Almost 1 billion people watched from home.

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Sleeping Beauty

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“I felt compelled to perform,” Diana had said, “To do my engagements and not let people down.” Still, she filled her schedule – but couldn’t help but fall asleep during a 1981 event. (It was later revealed that, at the time, she was pregnant with William.

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Baby Talk

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“I felt the whole country was in labor with me,” Diana said of her pregnancy with William, who was born June 21, 1982. Diana stayed only a day in the hospital. “It had been quite a difficult pregnancy,” she later admitted. “I hadn’t been very well throughout it, so by the time William arrived, it was a great relief.”

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A Full Dancing Card

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During the royal couple’s first visit to the U.S., in 1985, Princess Diana danced at the White House with John Travolta, while then-Prince Charles chatted up Nancy Reagan. Later that night, the Princess waltzed with Neil Diamond and Clint Eastwood.

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The Game’s Afoot

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Amid rumors of living separate lives within their troubled marriage, Princess Diana openly flirted with polo players while her husband looked the other way at a November 1985 polo match in West Palm Beach, Fla.

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Reaching Out

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The Princess raised awareness and understanding of the HIV virus – then a new and frightening illness – by reaching out and holding hands with an infected man on April 19, 1987. “HIV does not make people dangerous to know, so you can shake their hands and give them a hug,” she had said. “Heaven knows they need it.”

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A Vision in White

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Princess Diana cemented her role as a fashion icon with memorable looks like this pearl-encrusted dress — described as the “Elvis look” — by designer Catherine Walker. Worn during a trip to Hong Kong in 1989, she topped it off with a pearl and diamond tiara that was a wedding gift from the Queen.

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No Storybook Ending

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“Here was a fairy story that everybody wanted to work,” Diana had said about her marriage to Prince Charles. But relations between the two were visibly frosty on Nov. 3, 1992, at a memorial service in Korea. A month later, on Dec. 9, Prime Minister John Major announced their separation. “I desperately wanted it to work,” Diana later said. “I desperately loved my husband.”

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Time to Go Yet?

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While their parents looked the other way, Prince William and Prince Harry checked their watches during a lengthy veteran’s parade on April 12, 1995.

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In Danger for a Cause

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The Princess famously donned a flak jacket and a face shield while touring an Angolan mine field, on behalf of the Red Cross, on Jan. 15, 1997. Diana later said that land mines – and the destruction they cause – is “something to which the world should urgently turn its conscience.”

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Sisters in Charity

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Mother Teresa and Princess Diana – both active champions for human rights – met on June 18, 1997, at the Missionaries of Charity in the south Bronx. “Diana is my daughter,” the nun often said.

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A Doomed Romance

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“Diana is besotted,” PEOPLE reported when the Princess was photographed with her beau, Dodi Fayed, on his father’s $32 million yacht off the coast of Sardinia. It would be one of the last photos taken of the couple, who died in a fatal car crash in Paris the following day, Aug. 31, 1997.

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A Sad Goodbye

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More than a million people lined the streets on Sept. 6, 1997, as Princess Diana’s casket made the four-mile-long journey from London’s Westminster Abbey to the Spencer family home in Northamptonshire. A card addressed to “Mummy” from Harry, then 12, rested among the flowers.

The Duchess of Sussex returned home to Los Angeles in an outfit inspired by the late princess on May 13

Escher Walcott is a Writer/Reporter at PEOPLE, covering stories in Entertainment, Style, Human Interest.She joins having written for several popular news publications, including Glamour, Refinery29, NYLON and Evening Standard, discussing the latest fashion trends, pop culture news, and pressing social matters.

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Princess Diana in London in 1994; Meghan Markle spotted returning to Los Angeles on Monday, May 13, after a three-day visit to Nigeria. Photo: Tom Wargacki/WireImage; BACKGRID

Meghan Markle is channeling one of Princess Diana’s quintessential fashion moments with her latest outfit.

The Duchess of Sussex, 42, sported a chic outfit reminiscent of Princess Diana’s staple look of a blazer and all-white ensemble on her return to Los Angeles after her and Prince Harry’s Nigeria trip on Monday, May 13.

Meghan was pictured at Los Angeles International Airport wearing the Jamilla linen blazer in camel by Loro Piana, paired with a white sweater also by the brand and white jeans, channeling her late mother-in-law’s signature ’90s look.

The Duchess of Sussex also wore a pair of white and tan leather and canvas YSL Chris slippers — nearly identical to the flats worn by Princess Diana in 1994.

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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry (not pictured) return to Los Angeles on Monday, May 13, after a three-day visit to Nigeria.BACKGRID

Meghan was snapped wearing the same outfit in a photo posted by Ghana-Jamaica Chamber of Commerce president, Derrick Cobbinah, on Instagram during what appeared to be one of her last engagements with Prince Harry during their three-day Nigeria trip, before departing on May 12.

The oversized blazer and monochrome white base layer was a look favored by Princess Diana when it came to her off-duty dressing throughout the 1990s.

Princess Diana pictured in her favorite off-duty look in London in 1994.Tom Wargacki/WireImage

Diana was pictured on several occasions sporting the chic style combination while out and about in London during her time off from public engagements.

Meghan has adopted a similar way of dressing when it comes to her own engagements, often opting for sleek, monochrome looks.

Princess Diana is still admired for her blazer and white base layer combo.Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix/Getty Images

During her trip to Nigeria last week, the Duchess of Sussex took a departure from her usual aesthetic, going instead for sweeping dresses and bold colors.

Among the striking ensembles worn during her stay in the West African country was a blush silk Heidi Merrick ‘Windsor’ dress, a red Oríré ‘Dire’ dress and a bright yellow Carolina Herrera column gown.

Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex in Nigeria in May 2024.KOLA SULAIMON/AFP via Getty, Emmanuel Osodi/Anadolu via Getty, KOLA SULAIMON/AFP via Getty

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Meghan continued to honor her mother-in-law during the trip when she wore a necklace that belonged to the late princess to a reception for military families in Abuja, Nigeria, on May 11. The delicate gold and diamond cross necklace was a recent gift from Harry to his wife, PEOPLE exclusively revealed.