Who were Princess Diana’s best friends? Besides Elton John and George Michael, she had close bonds with sister-in-law Sarah Ferguson, psychotherapist Julia Samuel, and her former London flatmates
- Diana was spotted at Wimbledon and Elton John concerts with Julia Samuel – who Meghan Markle might have turned to for help during her mental health struggles
- Fans of Netflix’s The Crown will recall Diana’s London flatmates, while she and Fergie bonded over divorces from Prince Charles and Prince Andrew
Julia Samuel
Besides celeb friends like Elton John and George Michael, one of Diana’s best friends was Julia Samuel. Born into the Anglo-Irish Guinness family, she married Michael Samuel, of the Hill Samuel banking dynasty. Her “It Girl” sister Sabrina Guinness even dated Prince Charles in 1979. Her brother is also artist and model Hugo Guinness, known for his illustrations in The New York Times.
Samuel told You magazine in 2015 that she met Diana at a dinner in 1987, and that they instantly clicked. “We started laughing together. There was something about her and something about me that just worked,” she recalled.
Samuel lived in Kensington near Diana, and the princess sometimes even picked up Samuel’s children from school, according to Hello magazine. The friends would often go to the gym, have lunch or visit the cinema together, and they could also be spotted in the royal box at Wimbledon or backstage at an Elton John concert.
