While Diana would later claim William had to be induced because she was having such a difficult time with the pregnancy and the press coverage, the fact that she left the hospital in a maternity dress would seem to belie this. As "Diana, An Extraordinary Life' says, "at 4:30 AM on 21 June her labour pains began ... Diana was so unprepared almost all she had with her was the green maternity dress she was wearing." (page 86).

This pregnancy also was significant for Diana in that it was the start of another important and close relationship - with the designer Catherine Walker, who would become a friend and shape her public 'look' for the rest of her life. Initially, Diana was ordering maternity clothes from the same designers she had been patronizing. They did their best to accomodate her, but the differently proportioned shape of the pregnant woman was something most had never wanted to work with - or as David Sassoon succintly said, 'It wasn't my thing," ('Diana, Her Life In Fashion', page. 52). One who had found a niche in maternity wear, however, was Catherine Walker's Chelsea Design Company. Sometime in the fall of 1981, Diana came across one of their brochures. Paradoxically, although the line had been exclusively maternity clothing. Walker had planned to discontinue this as she was coming out with a full-scale collection, but Diana's orders for maternity dresses that November put that plan on hold. She made several maternity dresses for Diana, many similar in style to this one.