Princess Lilian of Sweden: The royal fashion icon we are obsessed with right now
Welsh model Lilian May Davies was already married when she fell in love with her Prince Charming; Prince Bertil of Sweden. The two lived together for 30 years before marrying in 1976 (Lilian's divorcee status prevented them doing so earlier) but it's not just her real life fairytale that makes her so fascinating, it's her unique sense of style. Whether she was wearing the latest fashions well into her old age, or dressing regally for an official engagement, she was always the best-dressed woman in the room. Here are the most stylish moments of her sartorial reign...
PA Images1/23Lilian Craig, later Princess Lilian of Sweden, and Prince Bertil of Sweden at an restaurant in London during the Second World War
PA Images2/23Prince Bertil and Princess Lilian arriving at the Stockholm opera for a gala evening in 1972
PA Images3/23Marianne Bernadotte and Lilian Craig leave Helsingborg Hospital after a visit with King Gustaf VI Adolf, August 27 1973
PA Images4/23Princess Lilian and Prince Bertil of Sweden, 1977
PA Images5/23Prince Bertil kisses his wife Princess Lilian's cheek just before the wedding banquet at the Royal Palace 7 December 1976
PA Images6/23King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia with their daughter Princess Victoria in the middle, Princess Lilian to the left and the Queen's mother Alice Sommerlath to right, above Walther Sommerlath and Prince Bertil photographed together after the christening ceremony of Princess Victoria on the day of her baptism, 27 September 1977
PA Images7/23Princess Lilian at home in Villa Solbacken, Djurgarden in Stockholm 1982
PA Images8/23Princess Lilian, Prince Carl Philip and Queen Silvia during the celebration of the National Day at Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm, Sweden June 6, 1984
PA Images9/23Princess Lilian with husband Prince Bertil in the kitchen at Villa Solbacken at Djurgården in Stockholm, 1986
PA Images10/23Prince Bertil and Princess Lilian at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden, 1991
PA Images11/23Princess Lilian riding on a mini moped with her husband Prince Bertil outside Villa Mirage in Sainte Maxime on the French Riviera, 1991
PA Images12/23Swedish Queen Silvia and Princess Lilian attend to a gala dinner at restaurant Hasselbacken in Stockholm, held by Iceland's President Olafur Grimsson during his official visit to Sweden, 1998
PA Images13/23Prince Bertil and Princess Lilian at Villa Solbacken in Stockholm, Sweden, 1999
PA Images14/23Roger Moore and Princess Lilian, 2000
PA Images15/23Crown princess Victoria and Princess Madeleine together with Princess Lilian, King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia arriving at the gala dinner tonight to celebrate the 25th wedding day for King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia in Mariefred, 2001
PA Images16/23Princess Lilian and Princess Madeleine during the Nobel Prize awards ceremony, 2002
PA Images17/23Princess Lilian reacts when entertainer and singer Martin Stenmarck jumps up in her lap during his performance at the sports ground in Borgholm, 2005
PA Images18/23Princess Lilian arrives at King Carl Gustaf's private dinner celebration at the Drottningholm Palace outside Stockholm, Sweden, 2006
PA Images19/23Princess Lilian and Peter Wallenberg in the 'Princess Lilian Suite' at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden, 2006
PA Images20/23Princess Lilian and Prince Carl Philip of Sweden arrives for the gala dinner at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, 30 April 2006
Getty Images21/23Princess Lilian attends the Nobel Foundation Prize 2006 at the Concert Hall on December 10, 2006 in Stockholm, Sweden
PA Images22/23Princess Lilian arriving for the Polar Prize ceremony in Stockholm, 2013
PA Images23/23Princess Lilian and Prince Carl Philip celebrating the new millennium in Rikssalen at the Royal Castle
