This note with Buckingham Palace letterhead was written to Benny Ong by Anne Beckwith-Smith, the Princess of Wales’ longest-serving Lady-in-Waiting. Dated 23 May 1985, the letter was a thank you note from Princess Diana to Benny Ong for his cashmere dress gift with matching earrings. Benny Ong was a Singaporean fashion designer in London well-known for his designer cocktail and evening wear. As one of Britain’s top fashion designers in the 1980s, Benny Ong counted the Princess of Wales among his royal clientele. He contributed to Princess Diana’s fairytale princess style with several outfits that he designed for her the early 1980s, such as the iconic demure peach crepe dress with its white crepe collar and cuffs that she wore at the 1981 Royal Ascot and two piece crepe de chine shirt and green skirt that she wore on her Australia tour in 1983.
