Princess Diana reportedly had secretly arranged to have tabloid papers delivered to her within the royal houses.

The news was reported by Marie Claire, which was revealed by the late royal's long-time hairdresser Richard Dalton, who met Diana in 1978 and served as her official hairdresser from 1981 to 1990.

He said that she requested him to assist in evading the palace restrictions in order for her to read gossip.

He explained to People: "She wasn't allowed to see the tabloid newspapers."

Dalton then joked about the setup. He said: "One of the hairdressers smuggled them in. Did I say that? They were smuggled in, but it's not to do with me."

He added: "She used to say, 'Richard, can you bring them in for me?'

"Nobody questioned it because nobody knew. Once I'd got through security and into the pantry, it was all plain sailing from there."

According to Marie Claire, the hairdresser shared that Diana would often flip through the papers while he styled her hair.

He added: "I'd be doing her hair, she'd be flipping through the pages (of a tabloid), and she'd go, 'Ugh'."

"Then another one comes along and then (she'd go), 'Ohhhhhh'."

One of the most hurtful rumors surrounding the princess in the press, Dalton remembered, was about the paternity of Diana's youngest boy, Prince Harry, now 41.

He said: "They always (went) on about, 'Is Charles the father of Harry? Of course he is."

Speculation throughout Diana's life that Major James Hewitt, with whom she had an affair many years after the birth of Harry, was Harry's father because they both had red hair continued to abound.

Dalton rejected the rumor, AOL reported, in that red hair was prevalent among Diana's kin.

He added: "Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, when I used to cut his hair, his hair was bright red. Lady Sarah, also red. The Spencers definitely had red hair"

Dalton has been spurred to recall his memories by his friend Renae Plant, who helped pen his 2024 memoir, "It's All About the Hair – My Decade with Diana."

Renae, creator of the Princess Diana Museum, told: "I felt like she was being whitewashed from history really quickly to make way for Camilla. I feel like that's when I got the motivation to really try to honour her life and legacy in a way where no one else seemed to be doing."

She added that she informed Prince William, 43, and Prince Harry about her plans, saying: "They wrote back and said, 'Thank you', and kind of gave me their blessing."

The Princess Diana Museum, launched online in 2019, now contains more than 2,700 items linked to Diana. It will stage its first physical exhibition in Los Angeles in November 2026 before touring internationally.

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Princess Diana, Royal family news