Princess Diana’s former hairstylist is slamming “evil” comments criticizing Catherine, Princess of Wales’ new blond look.
Sam McKnight, who was Dianaโs hairstylist from 1990 until her tragic death in 1997, defended the former Kate Middleton after she debuted a longer blond hair style when she and husband Prince William visited the Natural History Museum in London on Sept. 4.
“I am shocked, horrified, dismayed and disgusted by all the nasty comments about the Princess of Wales today. A womanโs hair is very personal to her, itโs armour, defence, confidence and so much more,” McKnight wrote in a message he posted the same day on Instagram.
โI cannot believe how evil and lacking in any kind of empathy are the comments, the majority made apparently by other women, attacking a vulnerable other young woman, who has no choice, by dint of who she married, and the role she took on, to bravely face the public,” he continued.
McKnight went on to reference Kateโs 2024 cancer diagnosis in his message, saying he believed the mom of three would prefer to “be away from the public arena.”
“She has brilliantly and quietly, unselfishly represented our country, the soft power we still have as a nation,” he wrote, adding, “Cancer affects individuals differently, but is life-changing for everyone. So FFS LEAVE HER ALONE. SHAME ON YOU.”
Kate announced in March 2024 that she had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer. She later shared in January 2025 that she was in remission.
The debut of Kate’s new longer blond hair comes two months after she visited patients at a hospital in Essex, England, on July 2. While at the hospital, Kate spoke candidly to patients about her cancer journey.
โYou put on a sort of brave face (with) stoicism through treatment. (When) treatmentโs done, then itโs like, โI can crack on, get back to normal again,โโ she said, according to video footage from the BBC.
โBut,” she added, “actually the phase afterwards is really difficult, youโre not necessarily under the clinical team any longer, but youโre not able to function normally at home as you perhaps once used to.”
Cancer, she told the patients, can be hard on the patient and also his or her loved ones. “Through first diagnosis or post treatment and things like that, it is a life-changing experience both for the patient but also for the families as well,” said Kate.
โYou have to find your new normal and that takes time,” she said, adding, “and itโs a rollercoaster. Itโs not one smooth plane, which you expect it to be. But the reality is itโs not, you go through hard times.”
