How Tall Was Princess Diana? Late Royal Was Taller Than Both Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton!
Decades after her death, Princess Diana continues to influence the world as we know it. The first wife of Prince Charles made the most of her public influence, and her iconic photos had an immeasurable impact on the world.
Diana was photographed crossing minefields, holding the hand of a patient with HIV, and holding hands with Mother Teresa. But her pictures weren’t just political.
Diana was a fashion icon in her day, and like her daughters-in-law — Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex — she was constantly being photographed. The fact that she was very tall undoubtedly helped her pull off some of her most epic looks.
Princess Diana was tall
Princess Diana measured an impressive five feet, 10 inches tall. That makes her taller than the average woman.
In the UK, the average woman is only around 5 feet 3 inches tall, according to some sources. Women in the US tend to be taller, with an average height of 5 feet 4 inches.
Diana’s modelesque stature puts her a few inches above her daughters-in-law, too. Kate is 5 feet 9 inches tall, so she likely wouldn’t have to bend her neck to look up at her mother in law, if the two had ever met. But Meghan is a full head shorter than Diana was, at 5 feet 6 inches tall.
Despite the fact that Meghan is much closer to average height, she still manages to project an air of grandeur, and she’s become a style icon herself. Some of her most iconic looks may even rival her late mother-in-law’s.
Meghan’s shorter stature doesn’t seem to impede her, but Diana’s height did negatively affect her life in a few ways. First, she was precluded from becoming a dancer when she grew too tall. Dancing was a passion of Diana’s, and as a girl, she dreamed of becoming a ballerina. Her height prevented her from fulfilling that dream, and it also may have caused problems in her relationship with Prince Charles.
Prince Charles didn’t want to seem shorter than Princess Diana
While Buckingham Palace claims Prince Charles was taller than Diana, at 5’11”, the reality is he may be shorter than her. At best, the two were the same exact height. Some sources, such as Harper’s Bazaar, have analyzed photos of the prince and concluded that his actual height may be as low as 5 feet 8 inches tall. Photos of Prince Charles and Diana together often make him look taller than she is.
Many of these pictures have been manipulated, because Prince Charles, or the royal establishment, didn’t want to admit that Prince Charles was actually shorter than his first wife. Harper’s Bazaar suspects this is in an effort to promote traditional gender roles, where the male is a protector and the female a nurturer. As history has proven, Diana and Prince Charles had anything but a traditional relationship. In fact, Princess Diana was famous for bucking tradition entirely.
How tall is Camilla Parker Bowles?
Although Diana was probably the same height as Prince Charles during their relationship, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, the prince’s current wife, is probably shorter than Prince Charles. She stands at 5 feet 8 inches tall, so even if the lower estimates of Prince Charles’ height are correct, they’re around the same height.
He may not be shorter than his new wife, but Prince Charles is definitely shorter than his sons. Prince William and Prince Harry are both over six feet tall. The boys clearly inherited their mother’s height. Neither of Diana’s sons has to worry about fixing photos to appear taller than their spouses.
