What Princess Diana Would Look Like Today 》

Has any member of British royalty captivated the public quite as much as Princess Diana?

Diana first caught the world’s eye because of her great beauty. But she was always more than a pretty face. As she dealt with an impossible marriage to Prince Charles, the world discovered that Diana was generous, rebellious, mischievous, and downright fun.

In a modern world that often seems to be anything but fun, many people wish we still had Diana around for inspiration. Born on July 1, 1961, Diana have recently turned 61 years old had she not died in a tragic car accident in 1997. What, then, would Princess Diana look like today?

We decided to get to the bottom of this question. Keep reading to discover some surprising answers given by artists, artificial intelligence, and even a Princess Diana lookalike!

What would Princess Diana look like today?

Our first look at a modern Diana comes from an Instagram account dedicated to Prince William and Kate Middleton. So thanks to Instagram user @catherineandwilliam5, we have a compelling idea what an elderly Diana would look like.

Diana’s eyes and mouth are instantly recognizable. And the digital addition of a few years hasn’t changed her iconic face. Modern audiences might find the hair a little old-fashioned, but what can we say? Diana in her prime made that hair into an international sensation, and we can definitely imagine an older Diana continuing to rock that look!

Modern Diana: another take

Another take on what a modern Diana would look like comes to us from YouTube. On the popular media platform, talented artist SOLID JS posts videos where he walks audiences through high-speed artistic projects.

In this case, SOLID JS started with a photo of a younger Diana. In less than four minutes of photo manipulation, the user created a larger-than-life version of what Diana would look like at 60 years old. Ultimately, we found this one to be a bit more realistic than the earlier Instagram entry. It probably helps that SOLID JS gave Diana a new hairstyle, though her bright eyes and dazzling smile make her very easy to still recognize.

If you think this artist’s version of Diana today is realistic, wait till you see what Diana looks like according to Artificial Intelligence!

Diana as imagined by Artificial Intelligence

For better or for worse, we live in a time where art and artificial intelligence often intersect. For example, social media users frequently post the bizarre art they have created using the DALL-E Mini generator online. And in the hands of a skilled artist, AI provides a great way of seeing what celebrities would look like when they are older.

One such skilled artist is Hidreley Diao. He is a digital artist who has used AI to help him “age up” many celebrities, including Princess Diana, and posting the results to Instagram.

While this was an impressive effort, we thought it had a lot of shared DNA with the earlier Instagram post. Specifically, this rendition assumes Diana would maintain the same hairstyle, same fashion, and so on. Color us crazy, but we can’t help but think a fashion and style icon like Diana would change things up over the years!

Princess Diana’s lookalike reveals what she would look like today

Not convinced by digitally-aged Dianas? In that case, you may be interested in the fact that a modern Princess Diana walks among us!

On July 1, 2021, in honor of Diana’s 60th birthday, former Diana impersonator Nicky Lilley appeared on British TV show This Morning to show what the Princess of Wales might look like today (via The Irish Mirror). Lilley worked as a Diana impersonator for a few years before Diana’s death after she kept getting mistaken for the princess in public.

*Nicky Lilley worked as a Princess Diana lookalike in the ’90s.*

Many fans of the show thought the whole concept and segment were fairly “tasteless.” Still, considering how much Lilley looked like Diana many years ago, she may provide the most realistic look at what an older Diana would really look like. You can watch the clip of Lilley on This Morning below.

Diana lives (on the small screen)

The people who want to see what Diana would look like at 60 share one thing in common: they all wish Princess Diana was still alive. While that is sadly not the case, she does live on in one powerful way: through appearances on the hit Netflix show The Crown.

Diana made her debut in the show’s fourth season and was played by Emma Corrin, 26. For the upcoming fifth season, Diana will be portrayed by 31-year-old Elizabeth Debicki.

Are these appearances true to the real Diana? It depends on who you ask. For instance, IndieWire reports that The Crown previously worked with Jemima Khan, a veteran British producer and personal friend of Princess Diana. She was meant to serve as a consultant and co-writer to make sure that the show’s storylines accurately reflected the real Princess Diana.

However, things didn’t shake out that way. Khan later revealed, “When our co-writing agreement was not honored, and when I realized that particular storyline would not necessarily be told as respectfully or compassionately as I had hoped, I requested that all my contributions be removed from the series and I declined a credit.”

In other words, it sounds like Khan doesn’t think the show really does Diana credit. At the end of the day, it seems like Diana fans should look more to Prince William and Prince Harry to see Diana’s modern legacy rather than the fictionalized royal adventures on the telly.