PRINCESS DIANA

About

The late Diana, Princess of Wales was born The Honourable Diana Frances Spencer on 1 July 1961 in Norfolk. She received the style Lady Diana Spencer in 1975, when her father inherited his Earldom.

Diana, Princess of Wales, died on Sunday, 31 August 1997, following a car crash in Paris.

CHILDHOOD

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted

CHILDHOOD

Diana Spencer, the fourth child of Frances and Edward Althorp, was born on July 1, 1961. She would later gain the title Lady Diana Spencer after her father became the Earl Spencer in in 1975.

Before she was Diana, Princess of Wales, she was Lady Diana Frances Spencer, born to a family with 500 years of nobility. She lived mostly with her father after that, though he apparently left her to the care of nannies and boarding schools.

Timeline

1992

1980-1981

1984

Diana and Charles’ separation became public knowledge in December 1992. The 2018 book Charles at 70: Thoughts, Hopes and Dreams claimed that the prince “desperately” wanted to get out of the wedding in the first place when he “discovered just how awful the prospects were, having had no chance to get to know Diana beforehand.”

Prince Harry was born in September 1984. Diana stuck to the same routine she used when showing off William, posing on the steps at the hospital with her newest bundle.

Diana met Prince Charles for the first time in November 1977. She was 16 at the time and he was dating her sister Sarah. The heir became interested in Diana in 1980 when she watched him play polo, and they soon began their relationship.

Charles proposed to Diana in February 1981, despite their nearly 13-year age difference. The couple tied the knot in July 1981 at St Paul’s Cathedral.

PRINCESS DIANA THROUGH THE YEARS

1970s

1986

Before taking her place in the royal family, the future princess worked as a kindergarten teaching assistant.

“She was very informal and really enjoyed the laughter and the fun,” William said in 2017’s Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy.

1997

1982

The Princess of Wales died in a car crash on August 31, 1997, as she tried to evade paparazzi in Paris. Her funeral was held on September 6.

Her first pregnancy was announced in November 1981. Prince William arrived in June 1982, and Diana introduced her baby boy to the world on the steps of the Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s Hospital.

FACTS ABOUT PRINCESS DIANA

Up until she was 9 years old, Diana was homeschooled before attending boarding school for the rest of her education. She failed her O-Level exams twice and dropped out of school when she was 16. She attended school in Switzerland for one semester before she met Prince Charles.

Diana made history in April 1987 when she was photographed shaking an HIV patient's hand without wearing gloves. The photo helped spread the message of HIV awareness and educate the public's perception of the illness.

Princess Diana was a trailblazer, activist, style icon, and one of the most influential people of the 20th century.

FACTS ABOUT PRINCESS DIANA

Before she met Prince Charles and became a princess, Diana worked many odd jobs, including as a nanny and a school teacher. She was paid only $5 an hour to play with children, do laundry, and clean. She also worked as a kindergarten teacher part-time in London's Pimlico area.

To honor their late royal mother, Princes William and Harry commissioned a statue in her memory that was unveiled on what would have been Diana's 60th birthday, on July 1, 2021, at her favorite royal spot: the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace.

Diana studied ballet and wanted to become a professional dancer, but grew too tall to continue. Diana's ballet teacher Anne Allan opened up about her time with the princess, saying “she had dance in her soul".