Diana Francis Spencer, commonly known as Princess Diana or Diana, the Princess of Wales, was a British princess, wife to King Charles, and the mother of Prince William and Prince Harry. She became one of the most famous people in the world before sadly passing away in a car accident in Paris in 1997.
Princess Diana was born Diana Frances Spencer on July 1, 1961, at Park House near Sandringham in Norfolk, England. Her parents, the then Viscount and Viscountess Althorp, John Spencer and Frances Shand Kydd, were very wealthy and, at the time, lived at Queen Elizabeth II's estate at Sandringham, renting Park house. Diana's father had been a royal equerry for both Queen Elizabeth II and her father, King George IV.
After her father later inherited the title of Earl Spencer in 1975, Diana was called Lady Diana. When she was only six years of age, her parents split, and Diana was caught in an ugly custody dispute. She was sent to boarding school and later attended the West Heath Public School in Kent, where she was a great student. Also, she was a great athlete, especially excelling in swimming. She went on to work as a nanny in London
Princess Diana's parents were John Spencer and Frances Shand Kydd, known at the time as the Viscount and Viscountess Althorp. She had two elder sisters, Jane and Sarah, and a younger brother, Charles.
She married then-Prince Charles, now King Charles, on 29 July 1981, at St Paul's Cathedral in London. they had two children, Prince William, born in 1982, and Prince Harry, born in 1984.
Princess Diana met her future husband, Charles, for the first time in 1977, when she was 16 years old, for the first time. Charles was a guest of Diana's eldest sister, Lady Sarah, who he was dating, at a party at Althorp. Already at that point, according to the book The Diana Chronicles, Diana said she wanted to marry Charles, explaining that he was "the one man on the planet who is not allowed to divorce me."
However, in the 1992 book Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words by Andrew Morton, Diana was claimed to have called Charles a "sad man." No matter what she thought at the time, Diana and Charles ended up dating. The couple married in July 1981.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana welcomed Prince William and Prince Harry, which secured the line of succession. From the outside, it looked like the perfect marriage, but sadly, that wasn't the case. Both were very unhappy in their marriage and by 1986, they both had engaged in affairs.
Charles famously saw Camilla Parker Bowles, who later would become Queen Camilla and Princess Diana allegedly was having an affair with army captain James Hewitt. On December 9, 1992, Charles and Diana announced their separation. Their divorce was finalized on August 28, 1996.
Among other things that weren't seen as "royal behavior" among other family members, Diana wasn't scared to talk about her problems. She openly spoke about her private issues, and in the 1992 biography Diana: Her True Story, author Andrew Morton gave details about Diana's eating disorder.
At the time, it had not been confirmed, but in the book, the source of the information was Diana herself. She had recorded herself saying that she had suffered from bulimia. She revealed that the eating disorder had begun just weeks after her and Charles' engagement and took nearly a decade to overcome.
Princess Diana never called herself the People's princess. Two years prior to her death, in the infamous BBC interview, she stated that she never wanted to become queen but rather a queen of people’s hearts.
Following her tragic passing in 1997, it was former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair called Diana “the people’s princess" when he described the shocking loss.
Princess Diana left royal life behind amid her divorce from Charles. She began dating Dodi Al Fayed, but despite the fact that she no longer was a working member of the Royal family, the press wouldn't leave her alone. During a high-speed chase from the paparazzi in Paris on 31 August 1997, the car Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed traveled in crashed in the Pont D' Alma tunnel, killing both.
Sergeant Xavier Gourmelon, a firefighter who was on the scene, said Princess Diana's last words were, "My God, what’s happened?"
Yes, even though Diana had divorced Charles, she was still regarded as a member of the royal family, thus being a princess.
Princess Diana's final resting place is located on a tree-covered island at her family's Althorp Estate, known as Oval Lake Grave. The path to Oval Laked is lined with 36 oak trees, one for each year of her life.
Although her gravesite is not accessible to the public, visitors can pay tribute to the late royal at a memorial on the property. Royal family members, including Prince William, Prince Harry and their wives Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton, have laid flowers in Diana's honor by her grave, traveling to the gravesite in a small wooden boat.
July 1st, 2025, would have been Diana's 64th birthday.
At the time of her death, Princess Diana's estate was valued at approximately 21.7 million pounds, according to court documents.
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