Outrage at Princess Diana 'Romance' Lingerie Ads in China

(Sky News) - A Chinese lingerie company has unveiled a new range of underwear featuring a lookalike model of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, on the 13th anniversary of her death, Sky News reported Wednesday.

Under the slogan "Feel the romance of British royalty," the ad features the "Princess" wearing a tiara, necklace and blue bra and knickers as she plays a cello to a child.

The controversial poster has been splashed on giant billboards in shops and airports throughout China for millions to see.

The firm which has produced the lingerie, Jealousy International, is based in China's southern Guandong province. On its website, the manufacturer has a section on the "Diana" range with the further slogan "Free your mind, free your style" and confusingly describes Diana's taste as "French Romantic."

The apparent attempt to exploit the princess' image is the latest example of how companies have sought to capitalize on her popularity.

Britain has restrictions on using images of the Royal Family to promote products but is powerless to act against companies doing so abroad.

Clarence House, which represents Prince Charles, declined to comment on the ad but a British journalist who spotted it while at Shenzhen airport in the south of the country was appalled.

Sam Chambers, who has worked in China for a decade, was reported as saying: "I was just going to collect my baggage from the carousel when I saw it flash up on a rolling advertising screen and couldn't quite believe what I was seeing."

Princess Diana -- who had two children, Princes William and Harry, with Charles before they divorced -- died on August 31, 1997, in a car crash in a tunnel in Paris.

Source: Sky News