Princess Diana's go-to breakfast from the '90s is going viral

One thing TikTok does better than anything else is turn everything into content. A random recipe, a forgotten song or even a decades-old fashion moment can suddenly be everywhere.

And sometimes, that’s not a bad thing.

A few months ago, a sound clip of Connie Francis’ "Pretty Little Baby" from 1961 resurfaced and went viral, filling For You pages worldwide. It wasn’t even a chart-topper back then, yet today it has millions of listeners humming along.

Francis herself once reflected that God kept her alive long enough to see the world finally fall in love with her hidden masterpiece. That’s the magic of the internet: past and present collide, giving us new reasons to fall in love with things that once seemed lost in time.

Fashion works the same way. Princess Diana’s “revenge dress” or her understated “old money” off-duty looks are still referenced daily by stylists, TikTok creators and fashion editors alike.

Scroll long enough, and you’ll find people not just recreating her iconic outfits but also her daily habits, including what she ate for breakfast.

Princess breakfast

The internet has coined the term “Princess Breakfast” to describe any simple breakfast dressed up to resemble a royal feast, such as yoghurt bowls with dark chocolate shavings, cherries, pistachio butter and a drizzle of honey.

It’s sugary, aesthetically inviting and borderline whimsical.

When TikTok creator Karissa Stevens shared a video about Princess Diana’s daily overnight oats, viewers felt it captured Diana’s effortless elegance. As one commenter put it: “Princess Diana was always that girl.”

And it’s true. According to Darren McGrady, Diana’s former personal chef at Kensington Palace, overnight oats were her breakfast of choice in the ’90s, after she began prioritising her health and relationship with food.

According to "Vogue India", in 1992, Andrew Morton published his biography on the Princess of Wales, "Diana: Her True Story". It revealed devastating information regarding Diana's eating condition, which had long been suspected by the public but had never been documented so thoroughly.

This is an aspect of Diana's life that deserves to be acknowledged gently and respectfully, in recognition of the courage it took to share her struggles with the world, ultimately inspiring many to seek help and prioritise their own well-being.

“The bulimia started the week after we got engaged and would take nearly a decade to overcome,” the princess recorded herself saying. “My husband put his hand on my waistline and said: ‘Oh, a bit chubby here, aren’t we?’ and that triggered off something in me and the Camilla thing.”

In a 2023 YouTube video, McGrady shared how he made her breakfast fresh every morning, keeping it wholesome, nourishing and quietly glamorous.

Long before TikTok made overnight oats a trend, they were invented in Switzerland in the late 19th century.

According to Yahoo, Dr Maximilian Bircher-Benner, a nutritionist, created Birchermüesli, a dish of oats soaked in milk and lemon juice, topped with fruit and nuts. It was originally served at his health clinic as a way to nourish patients with simple, natural ingredients.

Today, overnight oats are a go-to lifestyle food: practical, photogenic, and easy to customise. They make a nutritious meal or snack, can be enjoyed hot or cold, and are simple to prepare with endless flavour options.

Try adding cinnamon, peanut butter, or chopped bananas and honey, and breakfast becomes something special. For even more variety, consider topping your oats with a sprinkle of coconut flakes, a handful of mixed berries, or a spoonful of almond butter.

These extra toppings can transform your morning meal into a personalised delight.

Princess Diana’s overnight oats recipe

If you’d like to channel a little royal energy into your mornings, here’s Darren McGrady’s recipe for Diana’s favourite breakfast:

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 cup Greek yoghurt
• 1 Honeycrisp apple
• Blueberries and walnuts for topping
• Honey, to taste

Method

1. The night before, soak rolled oats in orange juice, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

2. In the morning, fold in Greek yoghurt and sweeten with honey.

3. Grate a quarter of an apple into the mixture and stir.

4. Scoop into a bowl, top with blueberries and walnuts, and enjoy your royal start to the day.

Health benefits of soaking oats overnight

Fuller for longer: A bowl of soaked oats in the morning will support you in feeling full and satisfied. According to research, people who eat porridge for breakfast feel fuller for longer and consume fewer calories at lunch.

Nutri-dense: Soaked oats improve oat digestibility and allow nutrients in the grain to be more easily absorbed by your body. Soaking helps the starches break down and reduces the natural phytic acid, which may help your body utilise the oats’ nutrients much more efficiently.

Gut healthy: Overnight oats are healthier for your gut. Rolled oats contain 8.5 grams of resistant starch. By soaking rather than cooking, the oats retain more of the resistant starch. Resistant starch is a type of prebiotic fibre that your body cannot digest. Instead, it passes through your digestive system till it reaches your gut

Psychologists, who study nostalgia, say that revisiting the past gives people a sense of comfort and belonging in the present. Perhaps that's why these micro-trends, whether it’s music, fashion, or food, stick. They’re not just about aesthetics. They connect us to a shared cultural memory.