Skip to main contentSkip to footer

This is the one piece of clothing Princess Diana used to try to trick the paparazzi

Her former personal trainer has spoken out in an interview

princess diana
Fiona Ward
Acting Fashion and Beauty Editor
Share this:

Princess Diana's former personal trainer, Jenni Rivett, has revealed that the much-loved royal had a very clever way of trying to trick the paparazzi – and it involved one particular piece of clothing. Speaking to Kate Thornton in an interview for Yahoo's series The Royal Box, she said: "Every single session, all the media camped outside with their cameras and lenses... I remember one of her strategies was that she was going to wear the same Virgin Active sweatshirt for every single session."

princess diana gym

Diana's trusty Virgin sweatshirt

Kate then replied, "So that the picture lost its currency?" to which Jenni said: "Exactly. And I thought that was very clever of her." Jenni was Diana's fitness trainer for seven years, and revealed that the People's Princess often confided in her. She said of the first time she ever met Diana: "I was very nervous. She just came bounding through, and I remember standing looking up to this beautiful tall figure - and she said, 'Jenni, what can you do with this body?'"

MORE: Lady Kitty Spencer wears a black 'revenge' dress just like her aunt Princess Diana and it looks incredible

"We did become very close, and she confided in me obviously," she added. "And sometimes I used to say to her, 'Please don't tell me that story, because if it's in the press tomorrow you're going to think it's me!'"

Jenni Rivett

Diana's former personal trainer, Jenni, gave the interview

Touching on Diana's health struggles, Kate asked: "At that time had you understood that she'd had issues with food and eating disorders?" to which Jenni replied, "Yes, we discussed everything because I'm a clinical nutritionist as well, so it was important that we discussed her whole aspect of her health."

READ MORE: An uncovered palace letter has revealed just how much planning went into Princess Diana's incredible wardrobe

Speaking of Diana's own public admission, she said: "It was such a wonderful thing to do to come out in public and say, 'Look this is me, I've had this eating disorder'. It was incredibly brave of her because it helped so many other women." 

More Royal Style

See more