She had many celebrity friends and admirers. Diana developed close connections with stars like Liza Minnelli, Paul and Linda McCartney, and Elton John, who praised her work with the HIV/AIDS community and performed "Candle in the Wind" at her funeral in September 1997.
She had a sweet nickname for Prince William. Diana lovingly called William "Wombat" when he was young. In an interview, the prince recalled, "It began when I was two. We went to Australia with our parents, and the wombat, you know, that's the local animal. . . . So I just basically got called that." He added, "Not because I look like a wombat — or maybe I do."
She wasn't afraid to challenge stigmas. Diana opened the UK's first AIDS hospital ward in 1987, during which an image of her shaking hands with a patient while not wearing gloves helped fight the stigma surrounding the disease. She also defied the taboos of leprosy during a hospital visit in Indonesia; against the advice of palace officials, Diana was photographed sitting on patients' beds, shaking their hands, and touching their bandaged wounds.
She had a favourite fashion designer. French-born designer Catherine Walker created many of Diana's most famous — and photographed — looks, including the fire-engine-red dress she wore to a 1995 dinner in her honour in Argentina. Though Catherine died in 2010, her looks can also be seen on Diana's daughter-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge, who is often snapped in the gorgeous designs during appearances.