Princess Diana Well Dressing

Submission 8,020

About

Princess Diana Well Dressing refers to a floral display honoring the memory of the late Princess Diana of Wales, which went viral after people online mocked the presentation for its depiction of Diana. Similar to the Potato Jesus, the lack of resemblance to its subject made the tribute the inspiration for numerous photoshops.

Origin

On September 9th, 2017,^[2] the Chesterfield Borough Council in Chesterfield, England unveiled their 20th anniversary "well dressing" to the late-Princess Diana, who was killed in a car accident in August 1997. The floral display, made in Diana's likeness and commemorating the 20 years since her passing with the dates 1997 and 2017 to the left and right of the centerpiece, is part of the town's yearly well-dressing, a custom in rural England, in which citizens decorate the town pump, well or spring with floral designs.

On September 11, 2017, Twitter^[1] user @shornKOOMINS posted the tribute with the caption "This Diana 'tribute' in Chesterfield town centre is something else." The post (shown below) received more than 2,900 retweets and 6,800 likes in less than 24 hours.

Spread

On September 12th, Chesterfield Borough Council Facebook^[3] account posted the well dressing to a critical response from their followers.

Following the original Tweet, others responded to @shornKOOMINS' tweet with photoshops of the dressing.

Other users posted comparisons to other controversial tributes. Twitter user @mogelpony posted a picture of the Potato Jesus, referencing the infamous restoration of a centuries-old painting of Jesus Christ.

That day, Twitter published a Moments^[4] page about the controversy regarding the memorial. Several news outlets reported on the well dressing including BBC,^[5] The Daily Mail,^[6] The Sun^[7] and more.