The stylist who suited the royals

WHEN David Sassoon arrived at Buckingham Palace to make a bridesmaid dress for eight-year-old Princess Anne, he royally put his foot in it. So startled was he to see Queen Elizabeth in the nursery, that when he stepped backwards to take a hasty bow, he planted his foot in the corgis' water bowl.

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Nevertheless, the fashion designer went on to dress many of the royal ladies, including Princess Margaret, Princess Michael of Kent and the Duchess of York.

Other clients included Jackie Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Jerry Hall and his designs appeared on the covers of both Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.

However, it is the 70-plus outfits he designed for Diana, Princess of Wales, that he is best known for.

Their fashion partnership began when Diana was a gauche 19-year-old, sent to the Bellville Sassoon shop in Knightsbridge by her mother Frances Shand Kydd.