The New Zealand Herald is bringing back some of the best stories of 2021 from our premium syndicators, including The New York Times, Financial Times, The Times of London and The New Zealand Listener.

Today we look at Princess Diana's famous wedding dress, what it's like to be a criminal psychiatrist, Elijah Wood's latest career move, Covid billionaires, and a tragedy on Mt Ruapehu.

The story behind the dress

She was the Princess with the eyes of the world on her; Elizabeth and David Emanuel were the anointed designers charged with making her the perfect wedding dress. At a time when Diana's marriage has come under scrutiny once again, Bethan Holt talks to Elizabeth about the couple's not-so-happy ever after...

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Princess Diana with David and Elizabeth Emanuel, discussing outfits for her 1986 Middle East tour. Photo / Getty Images

Inside the mind of a serial killer: Kiwi criminal psychiatrist reveals all

Gwen Adshead has spent her career trying to understand what drives her patients to commit their heinous crimes. She reveals what she has learnt.

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High security psychiatric hospital Broadmoor Hostpital in Berkshire where Gwen Adshead worked as a forensic psychiatrist. Photo / Getty Images

Horror, hobbits and me: Elijah Wood on his new Ted Bundy film

Twenty years after battling the forces of Sauron in The Lord of the Rings, Elijah Wood is tackling another kind of evil. He talks about his new film No Man of God — in which he plays the FBI agent who got inside Ted Bundy's head.

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Twenty years after Lord of the Rings, Elijah Wood tackles another kind of evil in No Man of God. Photo / Getty Images

Fragile wealth: Covid spawned more billionaires than ever, but will the bubble burst?

Billionaires are at a record number but how fragile is their wealth? Rich List compiler Robert Watts reports on those who cashed in during the lockdown digital-shopping bonanza and asks when the bubble might burst.

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More people have become billionaires in the past year than at any point in British history. Photo / Getty Images

Disaster on Ruapehu: The epic act of Kiwi heroism you've never heard about

A never-before-published account of the 1990 Ruapehu tragedy, in which six military personnel died, reveals why three soldiers who were decorated for heroism deserve higher honours from their country.

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Private Sonny Te Rure nurses badly frostbitten hands, while Private Rayner Berger talks to a visitor in hospital after the tragedy. Photo / NZ Herald archive