A TikTok star who bears a striking resemblance to the late Princess Diana has revealed what it’s like to look like the late royal – with strangers screaming at her in the street and abuse on social media.
Rose van Rijn, 20, from The Netherlands, is a full-time content creator and has 1.1 million followers on the social media platform, where she makes videos showing off her 70s look.
Although she started her account with long hair, when viewers told her how much she looked like the Princess of Wales, Rose decided to chop off her locks and embrace the connection to the royal.
She now dedicates her account to makeup and hair tutorials, with fans constantly in awe of how much her features compare to those of the late princess.
“On TikTok and Instagram, I hear I look like Diana multiple times every day,” she told Jam Press.
“I have got it about four times in public so far.
“When I was filming for my Diana lookbook there was a group of people screaming Diana at me.
“I thought that was kind of funny because that meant I did the hair and outfit very well.
“It’s not really that I look in the mirror and be like ‘wow I look like Diana’.
“I really don’t think that’s the case. I don’t see it myself that much.
“I guess because I’m so used to my face and people on the internet are not.”
But the likeness is both a blessing and a curse, as some die-hard fans of the late royal leave negative comments, telling Rose to “stop being Diana”.
She said: “Sometimes I get comments that I should stop trying to be Diana and that hurts a bit because I would never want to do that.
“No one could ever replace her. Not me, not anyone.
“It’s just awful to get comments like ‘Please be yourself’ from people that don’t know me at all, because it’s my whole thing to recreate vintage icons.
“I’ve been doing it for years. Diana just happened to be the one that blew up the most.”
Although a lot of Rose’s content focuses on the princess, she is also inspired by other icons from the era, like Olivia Newton-John, Karen Carpenter, Diana Ross and Farrah Fawcett.
She said: “In my first viral video where I still had long hair there were a lot of comments that said I looked like Diana.
“That gave me the idea to recreate her hair. When I cut the hair I did see a bit what people meant.
“I do get inspired by Princess Diana’s 80s fashion but I always give it my own 70s twist.
“It’s a huge compliment to be compared to such a beautiful woman but sometimes I think it’s a bit irrelevant.
“When I for example make a video about something that has nothing to do with Diana, the comments are still full of the ‘Omg you look so much like Diana’.
“I really am not complaining ’cause I’m so very grateful for all that I have but sometimes I wish people could focus on what I have to say rather than only focus on the resemblance to Diana that they see.
Rose’s love for the vintage scene started when, as a teenager, she found an ABBA CD and fell in love with the music.
Since then, she has gained millions of followers on her social media platforms, where she spends hours putting each look together.
She said: “It takes so long! The hair is the biggest thing, if I want it to be perfect it can take over an hour.
“The makeup is usually done in 15 minutes.
“I almost always buy my clothes second-hand, in vintage and thrift stores but also a lot online like on Etsy and Depop.
“There are also a few vintage-inspired shops that do really well in creating authentic pieces.
“Getting your clothes second-hand is cheaper than going to fast fashion stores, and a plus is that these clothes last longer as well.
“Clothing back then had much better quality!”
Rose also reveals she has chronic Lyme disease, which causes tiredness, aches and loss of energy, but she works on her social media accounts when she feels well enough.
She added: “It certainly isn’t easy. My life is far from what it seems on social media.
“Even though I have improved so much the past year, I still spend a good amount of my days in bed.
“I’d say the hardest thing still is that people underestimate it so much!
“Part of that is because I don’t like my friends and my followers to see me that sick so I guess it’s also on me but I wish people would be aware of how this still affects my life every day.
“When I’m not filming I’m always resting and being sick. That’s the reality of living with a chronic illness I guess.”
