Diana, Princess of Wales (1961-1997) was one of the first "celebrity" royals, loved all over the world and photographed wherever she went. Married briefly to Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, she seemed to many to be the ultimate princess. Sadly she was deeply unhappy in her marriage and craved a privacy which she was never able to achieve, even when the marriage ended. Diana died, tragically, in a car crash, in 1997.
A Short History of Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana was born in 1961. Her family was part of the
British nobility and had many connections with the British Royal Family. When
her father inherited the title of Earl Spencer in 1975, she became Lady Diana
Spencer.
Diana wasn't academic, and left school at 16. She
worked at various jobs in London and was a teaching assistant at a nursery
school (pre-school) when she and Prince Charles began
"courting", becoming engaged to be married in February 1981. In July
of the same year their fairytale wedding took place, watched by 750 million
people on television and 600,000 people lining the streets near the ceremony!
The shy 21-year-old known as "Lady Di" became Her Royal Highness, the
Princess of Wales, and was adored all over the world.
In June 1982 Prince William was born,
followed, in September 1984, by Prince Harry. Diana was very closely
involved in their upbringing and tried to give them as normal a childhood as
possible. She became very involved in a number of charities, working hard for
AIDs, cancer and leprosy sufferers, raising awareness of landmines, helping
homeless people and always paying special attention to children.
Unfortunately, her marriage to Prince Charles began to
fall apart. By 1992 the couple separated, and in 1993 Diana announced her
withdrawal from public life. In 1996 they were divorced.
The following year, on 31st August, Diana was
tragically killed in a car crash in Paris. Her sons were just 15 and 12.
Her brother, Earl Spencer, captured the essence of
Diana at her memorial service:
"Diana was the very essence of compassion, of
duty, of style, of beauty. All over the world she was a symbol of selfless
humanity. All over the world, a standard bearer for the rights of the truly
downtrodden, a very British girl who transcended nationality. Someone with a
natural nobility who was classless and who proved in the last year that she
needed no royal title to continue to generate her particular brand of magic."
As August 2017 marked the 20th anniversary of Diana's death, various tributes to her took place and her sons revealed a new statue to her in the gardens of Kensington Palace.
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