Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her activism and glamour made her an international icon and earned her enduring popularity.
Diana was born into the British nobility and grew up close to the royal family, living at Park House on their Sandringham estate. In 1981, while working as a nursery teacher’s assistant, she became engaged to Charles, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II. Their wedding took place at St Paul’s Cathedral in July 1981 and made her Princess of Wales, a role in which she was enthusiastically received by the public. The couple had two sons, William in 1982 and Harry in 1984, who were then respectively second and third in the line of succession to the British throne. Diana’s marriage to Charles suffered due to their incompatibility and extramarital affairs. They separated in 1992, soon after the breakdown of their relationship became public knowledge. Their marital difficulties were widely publicised, and the couple divorced in 1996.
As Princess of Wales, Diana undertook royal duties on behalf of the Queen and represented her at functions across the Commonwealth realms. She was celebrated in the media for her beauty, style, charm, and later, her unconventional approach to charity work. Her patronages were initially centred on children and the elderly, but she later became known for her involvement in two particular campaigns: one involved the social attitudes towards and the acceptance of AIDS patients, and the other for the international removal of landmines, promoted through the International Red Cross. She also raised awareness and advocated for ways to help people affected by cancer and mental illness. Diana was initially noted for her shyness, but her charisma and friendliness endeared her to the public and helped her reputation survive the public collapse of her marriage. Considered photogenic, she was regarded as a fashion icon.
In August 1997, Diana died after a car crash in Paris; the incident led to extensive public mourning and global media attention. An inquest returned a verdict of unlawful killing due to gross negligence by a driver and the paparazzi pursuing her as found in Operation Paget, an investigation by the Metropolitan Police. Her legacy has had a significant impact on the royal family and British society.
Early life
Diana Frances Spencer was born on 1 July 1961 at Park House, Sandringham, Norfolk,[1] the fourth of five children of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (1924–1992), and Frances Spencer, Viscountess Althorp (née Roche; 1936–2004).[2] The Spencer family had been closely connected with the British royal family for several generations;[3] her grandmothers, Cynthia Spencer, Countess Spencer, and Ruth Roche, Baroness Fermoy, had served as ladies-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.[4] Diana’s father was an equerry to King George VI and Elizabeth II.[5] The royal family attended the wedding of her parents in Westminster Abbey and their reception was held at St James’s Palace.[5] Her parents were hoping for a boy to carry on the family line, and no name was chosen for a week until they settled on Diana Frances, after her mother and Lady Diana Spencer, a many-times-great-aunt who had been a prospective Princess of Wales as a potential bride for Frederick, Prince of Wales.[6] Within the family, she was also known informally as “Duch”, a reference to her duchess-like attitude in childhood.[7]
Diana was baptised on 30 August at St. Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham.[8][6] She had three siblings: Sarah, Jane, and Charles, whose godmother was Queen Elizabeth II.[9] Her infant brother, John, died shortly after his birth one year before Diana was born.[10] The desire for an heir added strain to her parents’ marriage, and her mother was sent to Harley Street clinics in London to determine the cause of the “problem”.[6] The experience was described as “humiliating” by Diana’s younger brother, Charles: “It was a dreadful time for my parents and probably the root of their divorce because I don’t think they ever got over it.”[6] Diana grew up at Park House, situated on the Sandringham estate.[11] The family leased the house from its owner, Queen Elizabeth II, whom Diana called “Aunt Lilibet” from childhood.[12] The royal family frequently holidayed at the neighbouring Sandringham House, and Diana played with Princes Andrew and Edward.[13]
Diana was seven years old when her parents divorced.[14] Her mother later began a relationship with Peter Shand Kydd and married him in 1969.[15] Diana lived with her mother in London during her parents’ separation in 1967, but during that year’s Christmas holidays, her father refused to let her return to London with her mother. Shortly afterwards, he won custody of Diana with support from his former mother-in-law, Lady Fermoy.[16] In 1976, her father married Raine, Countess of Dartmouth.[17] Diana’s relationship with her stepmother was particularly bad.[18] She resented Raine, whom she called a “bully”. On one occasion Diana pushed her down the stairs.[18] She later described her childhood as “very unhappy” and “very unstable, the whole thing”.[19] She became known as Lady Diana after her father later inherited the title of Earl Spencer in 1975, at which point the family moved from Park House to Althorp, the Spencer seat in Northamptonshire.[20] In 1978, her sister Jane married Robert Fellowes, who was private secretary to Queen Elizabeth II between 1986 and 1999.[21]
Education and career
Diana was initially home-schooled under the supervision of her governess, Gertrude Allen.[22] She began her formal education at Silfield Private School in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, and later attended Riddlesworth Hall School, an all-girls boarding school near Thetford, from the age of nine.[23] In 1973, she joined her sisters at West Heath Girls’ School in Sevenoaks, Kent.[24] She did not perform well academically, failing her O-levels twice,[25][26] but her community spirit was recognised with a school award.[27] She left the school at 16.[28] Her brother Charles recalled her as being quite shy up until that time,[29] though she demonstrated musical ability as a skilled pianist,[27] excelled in swimming and diving, and studied ballet and tap dance.[30]
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Coleherne Court in Chelsea, London, where Diana lived between 1979 and 1981. An English Heritageblue plaque is located at the address.
In the mid-1970s, Diana undertook voluntary work at the psychiatric Darenth Park Hospital near Dartford, Kent.[31] In 1978, she spent three months working as a nanny for Philippa and Jeremy Whitaker in Hampshire.[32] After attending Institut Alpin Videmanette, a finishing school in Rougemont, Switzerland, for one term and leaving after the Easter term of 1978,[33] she returned to London, where she shared her mother’s flat with two school friends.[34] In London, she took an advanced cooking course and worked at a series of low-paying jobs; she worked as a dance instructor for youth until a skiing accident caused her to miss three months of work.[35] She then found employment as a playgroup pre-school assistant, did cleaning work for her sister Sarah and several of her friends, and acted as a hostess at parties. She spent time working as a nanny for the Robertsons, an American family living in London,[36][37] and worked as a nursery teacher’s assistant at the Young England School in Pimlico.[38] In July 1979, her mother bought her a flat at Coleherne Court in Earl’s Court as an 18th birthday present.[39] She lived there with three flatmates until 25 February 1981.[40]
Personal life
Diana first met Charles, Prince of Wales, the Queen’s eldest son and heir apparent, in November 1977 when she was 16. He was then 29 and dating her older sister, Sarah.[41][42] Charles and Diana were guests at a country weekend during the summer of 1980, and he took a serious interest in her as a potential bride.[43] The relationship progressed when he invited her aboard the royal yacht Britannia for a sailing weekend to Cowes, followed by an invitation to Balmoral Castle, the royal family’s Scottish residence, to meet his family.[44][45] She was well received by the Queen, the Queen Mother and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Charles subsequently courted Diana in London. He proposed on 6 February 1981 at Windsor Castle, and she accepted, but their engagement was kept secret for two and a half weeks.[40]