Princess Diana’s favourite places in London

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While not a born-and-bred Londoner, the city became Princess Diana's home for twenty years until her death 21 years ago today.

From the nightlife in Soho to her home in Kensington, London is where she lived, married, partied, brought up sons William and Harry, and ultimately loved to be – and it was her desire to mingle with the public that made London love her back.

It has been more than two decades since she walked these streets, but you can still follow in her footsteps at the landmarks and leisure spots that Princess Diana’s frequented and favoured.

Kensington Palace

AFP/Getty Images

Diana’s life in London began as a teenager well before she married Prince Charles, but her best known London home has to be Kensington Palace. She moved there after their wedding and remained at the Palace even after the couple divorced. It was from here that Diana drove sons William and Harry to school – a highly unusual decision for a Princess but one that she insisted upon – and where a sea of flowers was famously laid the day after her death. Today, parts of the Palace are open to the public, with an exhibition of her clothes currently on display.

Kensington Gardens, W8 4PX, hrp.org.uk

Café Diana

(PA Archive/PA Images)
PA

Only those who’ve been to Café Diana, which sits opposite Kensington Palace Gardens, can know how strange the place is. In many respects it is entirely unremarkable, a bog-standard caff that pours out perfectly fine coffee and still doesn’t really like people paying by card. Ordinary enough – except the place is a shrine to the late Princess, with photos of her adorning the walls, one signed. These are broken up with letters from Diana herself, the typewriter ink now greying on paper long yellowed. It is perhaps a little odd, but in its way quite sweet. The place first opened 30 years ago and Diana was frequently in over the nine years that followed, usually bringing William and Harry for Orangina and cake, or a fry-up, while she stuck to coffee and water and occasionally a croissant.

5 Wellington Terrace, W2 4LW, cafediana.co.uk

St Paul’s Cathedral

City workers eat their lunches in front of St Paul's Cathedral during the sweltering lunchtime break in August this year
Getty Images

St Paul’s played a hugely significant role in Diana’s life, when it hosted her wedding to Prince Charles on July 29, 1981. More than 750 million people around the world tuned in to see the ceremony, which saw her father, the Earl Spencer, walk her down the aisle at the beautiful and historic venue. Traditionally, Westminster Abbey was the venue of choice for Royal weddings, but the sheer demand for space meant it was St Paul’s that provided the spectacular backdrop to the event.

St. Paul's Churchyard, City of London, EC4M 8AD, stpauls.co.uk

Launceston Place

This discreet, upmarket spot named for its Kensington address was a favourite with Diana for its classic British cooking – and for serving it without making much of a fuss. She was there often and they once named a dish for her, the Soufflé Diana, which no longer is on the menu. The restaurant has always drawn in the locals, though things were rather on a downturn a couple of years ago. A refurbishment last year brightened the place up and they’re lucky to have Ben Murphy as head chef, who has revived the cooking with an array of delicate, inventive plates that exceed anything they’ve done for years. These are a blend French and British inspiration; Murphy was under the tutelage of Pierre Koffman, after all. It’s a neighbourhood restaurant – but what a neighbourhood, and what a restaurant.

1A Launceston Place, Kensington, W8 5RL, launcestonplace-restaurant.co.uk

L’Escargot

It’s little surprise Diana ate at this Soho institution which, well into its 91st year, still glitters with charm and fizzes like Champagne. Absolutely everyone has come in over the years. There’s a reason: though its struggled through debt and the apparently never-ending decline of Soho (we still think it’s pretty great), it has grown old with elegance and a little winking naughtiness. It has an old school French dining room , with paintings all over and bright red walls, and the light jumping between the chandelier crystals. You all but smell the smoke from cigarettes clutched in ivory holders. A little has changed since Diana was in – her favoured dish of tuna with lentils is no longer on the menu – but the wine list is still stonkingly good, the snails still sleep swaddled in garlic butter and the price is still appropriately outrageous. A treasure on Greek Street.

48 Greek Street, Soho, W1D 4EF, lescargot.co.uk

San Lorenzo

Diana leaving San Lorenzo in 1994
Rex Features

Princess Diana was a fan of dining out and while Soho was a favoured choice by night, it was a closer to home spot that for made for the perfect lunch spot. Italian trattoria San Lorenzo in Knightsbridge was known as a celebrity hangout, balancing its glitzy clientele – Joan Collins and Jack Nicholson among them – with a traditional approach to food and a feisty mamma at the helm in the legendary Mara Berni. Diana would take William and Harry for lunch at the Beauchamp Place restaurant, which is located just down the road from Harrods and Harvey Nichols, where the Princess liked to shop.

22 Beauchamp Place, Knightsbridge, SW3 1NH, sanlorenzolondon.co.uk

Royal Vauxhall Tavern

AFP/Getty Images

In 1988, Queen frontman Freddie Mercury dressed Diana as a man and managed to smuggle her into the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, accompanied by Kenny Everett and his co-star Cleo Rocos, who revealed the details in her book. The other punters were all too diverted by the presence of Mercury and Everett to recognise her and she went about her night looking “like a beautiful young man”. The RVT remains one of London’s best loved queer institutions, with drag and cabaret throughout the week.

372 Kennington Lane, Lambeth, SE11 5HY, vauxhalltavern.com

Royal Opera House

(PA Wire/PA Images)
PA

Princess Diana loved to dance, having even enjoyed a brief stint as an instructor before her marriage to Charles. She also loved the ballet, attending performances at the Royal Opera House regularly and striking up a close friendship with Royal Ballet dancer Wayne Sleep. In 1985, at a private show for the venues supporters, Diana appeared on stage with Sleep in a move that shocked the audience – Diana had arranged it as a top secret surprise for Charles who was also in the audience that night. The song? Uptown Girl by Billy Joel, of course.

Bow Street, Covent Garden, WC2E 9DD, roh.org.uk

Bombay Brasserie

Diana clearly liked dining out close to home – this too is in Kensington. The Bombay Brasserie has done Indian fine dining exquisitely for more than 35 years and still attracts a high-end crowd looking for a discreet place to enjoy such things; on a recent visit four Bollywood stars were clearly enjoying themselves close by. Once it drew blockbuster names: Mick Jagger came, as did Princess Diana, who showed up with Freddie Mercury, Kenny Everett and Cleo Rocos – evidently they were something of a set – and drank peach Bellinis. It still has a terrific bar, the service is impeccable and its pleasingly grand: there are newer top end Indian places, but this long-standing gem can still give its younger rivals a run for their money.

Courtfield Road, Kensington, SW7 4QH, bombayb.co.uk

The Harbour Club

Diana leaving The Harbour Club in 1995 (PA Archive/PA Images)
PA

This Chelsea gym is as exclusive as you’d expect for one with a string of royal clientele, and is famed as Princess Diana’s workout location – and tennis spot – of choice in the 1990s. Diana didn’t always work out at The Harbour Club though – she moved there after filing a lawsuit against her previous gym for secretly taking pictures of her. In more recent years, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge have both been spotted there.

Watermeadow Lane, Fulham, SW6 2RW, harbourclub.com

McDonald’s, Kensington High Street

Ailis Brennan

Even royals get the fast food craving. Away from the public glare, Diana wanted to give Prince William and Prince Harry as normal an upbringing as possible — and, from time to time, that meant popping down to their local branch on Kensington High Street for a Happy Meal. According to Paul Burrell, her former butler, “Diana would take her boys to McDonald’s for a Big Mac and fries” on a Saturday evening, “before coming back to watch Blind Date”. Burrell's accounts have been called into question before, but this one we'd like to believe.

108-110 Kensington High Street, Kensington, W8 4SG, mcdonalds.com

Princess Diana - In pictures

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