One right, one left. At an appointment in Cornwall, Prince William showed up with two wristwatches. Princess Diana not only showed up with two watches in 1981.
Falmouth/Cornwall – When it comes to good style, Princess Diana (36, † 1997) was a pioneer and cared little about supposed no-gos. One of her early avant-garde choices turned out to be one of her most romantic. As the fiancé of today King Charles III (74) young Diana Spencer accompanied her prince charming to a polo tournament at Guards Polo Club in Windsor. Observers were amazed when they discovered a watch on the wrists of the future princess.
Is Prince William displaying two watches as a tribute to his late mother, Princess Diana?
Many decades later, in early February 2023, observers rubbed their eyes when Prince William (40) and Princess Kate (41) visited Falmouth in Cornwall. In fact, the heir to the throne also wore a watch on each wrist. The guesswork began: is it a fashion tribute to his mother, who died young? Or is William competing with his wife and style icon Kate Middleton?
Diana opted for her thin gold metal watch and, as it turned out, her fiancé Charles’ watch with a dark leather strap. Anyone who now thinks that Diana simply kept an eye on the clock while Prince Charles swung the polo mallet on horseback, far from it. A medieval act had inspired Diana when ladies would tie their handkerchief to the back of a knight’s helmet for good luck before a tournament as a token of their favour.
Princess Diana and her penchant for good luck charms and memorabilia
From Diana choosing her family’s tiara (the Spencer tiara) to the Queen’s on her wedding day to an engraved necklace Prince Charles gave her with William’s name engraved on it, Diana had her loved ones always very close to you. This was never more evident than in 1981 when she carried two watches with her at Guards Polo Club in Windsor, England.
Both pragmatic and sentimental reasons provide the explanation for the double clocks
Later, Diana wore her husband’s watch when Charles was abroad. The Princess of Wales at the time was able to set her watch to the local time. The princess elevated the double watches to good luck and kept up the habit. However, Prince William did not follow her example when he appeared in Cornwall. Rather, the Prince of Wales wore a gift from his mother, Princess Diana, an Omega Seamaster 300m, which he has hardly taken off for over 20 years. A Garmin Forerunner 245 smartwatch was visible on his other arm.
Apparently William couldn’t make up his mind or didn’t want to do without his classic model with sentimental value or his fitness tracker. Prince William isn’t the only royal keeping an eye on his fitness. King’s wife Camilla (75) has also been wearing a FitBit Charge with activity tracker for several years. If Camilla at her crowning glory in the smartwatch and Queen Mary crown combo (though without the iconic Koh-i-Noor diamond) will set remains to be seen. Sources used: hellomagazin.com, marieclaire.co.uk
