[339] In 2018, Diana ranked fifteenth on the BBC History's poll of 100 Women Who Changed the World. [244][245] She is said to have spoken of her distress when "he" ended their relationship. [298], In January 2017, a series of letters that Diana and other members of the royal family had written to a Buckingham Palace steward were sold as a part of a collection titled "the private letters between a trusted butler and the royal family". Diana Frances Spencer was born on 1 July 1961 at Park House, Sandringham, Norfolk. [287] People close to Diana believed the action was intended to defame her. [56], Five years into the marriage, the couple's incompatibility and age difference of 12 years became visible and damaging. [140], In 1988, Charles and Diana visited Thailand and toured Australia for the bicentenary celebrations. [230] "We, as a part of society, must ensure that young people—who are our future—are given the chance they deserve," she said. [191][192] Diana noted: "HIV does not make people dangerous to know. [74], During 1992 and 1993, leaked tapes of telephone conversations reflected negatively on both Charles and Diana. If you’d like to get involved in the fight against landmines, visit icbl.org, mineaction.org, or contact your local representative to let them know it’s an issue about which you feel strongly. [22][146], In her desire to play an encouraging role during the Gulf War, Diana visited Germany in December 1990 to meet with the families of soldiers. [405] In February 2013, OCAD University in Toronto announced that its new 25,000 square foot arts centre would be named the Princess of Wales Visual Arts Centre. … It is for the people I visit or who come to see me. Princess Diana of course owned other cars such as the first-generation Ford Escort RS Turbo which preceded the Jaguar, and not least the Mercedes-Benz 500SL W129 and the Audi 80 Convertible which both came later. [22], The Princess began her work with AIDS patients in the 1980s. [22] In April 1985, Charles and Diana visited Italy, and were later joined by Princes William and Harry. [233], After her 1996 divorce, Diana retained the double apartment on the north side of Kensington Palace that she had shared with Charles since the first year of their marriage; the apartment remained her home until her death the following year. In 1978, she moved to London, where she lived with flatmates and took on various low-paying jobs. "[19] Alicia Carroll of The New York Times described Diana as "a breath of fresh air" who was the main reason the royal family was known in the United States. [230] Diana used to take young William and Harry for private visits to Centrepoint services and homeless shelters. The tour was a success and the couple drew immense crowds, though the press focused more on Diana rather than Charles, coining the term 'Dianamania' as a reference to people's obsession with her. [143] She made several lengthy visits each week to Royal Brompton Hospital, where she worked to comfort seriously ill or dying patients. [164] According to Tina Brown, in her early years Diana possessed a "passive power", a quality that in her opinion she shared with the Queen Mother and a trait that would enable her to instinctively use her appeal to achieve her goals. "[48] On 21 June 1982, Diana gave birth to the couple's first son, Prince William. [262][263] The coffin was taken to a private mortuary and then placed in the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace. [20] She joined her sisters at West Heath Girls' School in Sevenoaks, Kent, in 1973. [311] Those who communicated with her closely describe her as a person who was led by "her heart". [366][367][383] Among her iconic outfits are a décolleté by David and Elizabeth Emanuel worn by a newly engaged Diana at a charity event,[377] a cocktail dress by Christina Stambolian, commonly known as the "Revenge Dress", which she wore after Charles's admission of adultery,[384] an evening gown by Victor Edelstein that she wore to a reception at the White House and later became known as the "Travolta dress",[366][352][375] and a Catherine Walker pearl-encrusted gown and jacket dubbed the "Elvis Dress",[383][375] which she wore for the first time on an official visit to Hong Kong. Back then, armies considered that antipersonnel landmines were a legitimate weapon somehow,” Chayer wrote me in an email. Jordanova also observed that "Diana herself was not anti-establishment" and that is "Better to remember her by trying to decipher how emotions overshadow analysis and why women are the safeguards of humanitarian feelings. [277][278] Diana also left her butler Paul Burrell around £50,000 in cash. Give alms to the first person who asks each day. The Princess made her inaugural overseas tour in September 1982, to attend the state funeral of Grace, Princess of Monaco. [19][39] At the altar, Diana inadvertently reversed the order of Charles's first two names, saying "Philip Charles" Arthur George instead. Only a couple of days after Megs and Harry got married, the Queen had Meghan acompany her on the royal train. Shortly afterwards he won custody of Diana with support from his former mother-in-law, Lady Fermoy. [407] Diana's granddaughter, Charlotte Elizabeth Diana (born 2015),[408][409] and her niece, Charlotte Diana (born 2012),[410] are named after her. [19], In March 1997, Diana visited South Africa, where she met with President Nelson Mandela. The royals express their love for the Olympics (and each other!) On 20 December, Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen had sent letters to Charles and Diana, advising them to divorce. [93][94][95], In the same year, the News of the World claimed that Diana had made over 300 phone calls to the married art dealer Oliver Hoare. [343], Sally Bedell Smith characterised Diana as unpredictable, egocentric, and possessive. [149] From 1991 to 1996, she was a patron of Headway, a brain injury association. Diana's marriage to Charles, however, suffered due to their incompatibility and extramarital affairs. [292] The Union Jack was first lowered to half-mast on the day of Diana's funeral and has set a precedent, as based on the previous protocol no flag could ever fly at half-mast over the palace "even on the death of a monarch". For other uses, see, Memorial in Harrods Department Store to Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed, Tribute to Diana on 1998 Azerbaijan postage stamps. The government’s policy on this has been an extremely careful one and the statements made by the Princess of Wales have not been in line with that policy.”, I am not a political figure. As Princess of Wales, Diana undertook royal duties on behalf of the Queen and represented her at functions across the Commonwealth realms. [107] The combination of illnesses from which Diana herself said she suffered resulted in some of her biographers opining that she had borderline personality disorder. [191][198] As the patron of Turning Point, a health and social care organisation, Diana visited its project in London for people with HIV/AIDS in 1992. [335] In 1999, Time magazine named Diana one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century. [391][392] In 2019, Tory Burch used Diana's early '80s style as an inspiration for her Spring 2020 show at New York Fashion Week.[394]. "[357][358] An early example of the effect occurred during her courtship with Charles in 1980 when sales of Hunter Wellington boots skyrocketed after she was pictured wearing a pair on the Balmoral estate. Diana came to prominence in 1981 upon her engagement to Prince Charles, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, after a brief courtship. [310], Diana's relationship with the press and the paparazzi has been described as "ambivalent". [17] Diana became known as Lady Diana after her father later inherited the title of Earl Spencer in 1975, at which point her father moved the entire family from Park House to Althorp, the Spencer seat in Northamptonshire. [220] In September 1996, after being asked by Katharine Graham, Diana went to Washington and appeared at a White House breakfast in respect of the Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research. [22] Lord Spencer said of his sister, "She proved in the last year that she needed no royal title to continue to generate her particular brand of magic. [178][179] In June 1995, she travelled to Moscow. Her outstanding community spirit was recognised with an award from West Heath. [89], Although she blamed Camilla Parker Bowles for her marital troubles, Diana began to believe her husband had also been involved in other affairs. In July 1996, the couple agreed on the terms of their divorce. Millions more watched the event around the world. Each of them was left with £6.5 million which was invested and gathered substantial interest, and an estimated £10 million was given to each son upon turning 30 years old in 2012 and 2014 respectively. [22][143] In her capacity as the vice-president of British Red Cross, she was interested in playing an important role for its 125th anniversary celebrations. [199] She later established and led fundraising campaigns for AIDS research. Prince Hans Prince Felix Prince Philip Vincent Cassel Nassau Royal C Prince Albert Of Monaco Princess Katherine Reportage Photo. [105][106], Journalist Martin Bashir interviewed Diana for the BBC current affairs show Panorama. [22] She left West Heath when she was sixteen. [22] Her final official engagement was a visit to Northwick Park Hospital, London, on 21 July 1997. [37], Twenty-year-old Diana became Princess of Wales when she married Charles on 29 July 1981. 5 mins read. Diana's activism and glamour made her an international icon and earned her enduring popularity as well as unprecedented public scrutiny, … Diana was born into the British nobility and grew up close to the royal family on their Sandringham estate. [180][181][182] In October 1996, for her works on the elderly, she was awarded a gold medal at a health care conference organised by the Pio Manzù Centre in Rimini, Italy. In November 2002, a £4,000 bronze plaque was unveiled by Earl Spencer at Northampton Guildhall as a memorial to his sister. Town & Country participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. Every item on this page was chosen by a Town & Country editor. [352][362] In the years after her marriage and then her divorce, Diana grew more confident in her choices,[352][364][377] and her style underwent a change, with her new choices consisting of blazers, one-shoulder and off-shoulder dresses, two-tone themed suits, military-styled suits, and nude-coloured outfits. [316], Diana was widely known for her encounters with sick and dying patients, and the poor and unwanted whom she used to comfort, an action that earned her more popularity. [19] Following the engagement, Diana left her occupation as a nursery teacher's assistant and lived for a short period at Clarence House, which was the home of the Queen Mother. Prince Charles subsequently courted Diana in London. Diana's body was clothed in a black long-sleeved dress designed by Catherine Walker, which she had chosen some weeks before. Photo of diana for fans of Princess Diana 21005808. She also moved her offices to Kensington Palace but was permitted "to use the state apartments at St James's Palace". In October 1993, Diana wrote to her butler Paul Burrell, telling him that she believed her husband was now in love with his personal assistant Tiggy Legge-Bourke—who was also his sons' former nanny—and was planning to have her killed "to make the path clear for him to marry Tiggy". [227] The Diana Princess of Wales Health Education and Media Centre in Noida, India, was opened in her honour in November 1999, funded by the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund to give social support to the people affected by leprosy and disability. [270], The initial French judicial investigation concluded that the crash was caused by Paul's intoxication, reckless driving, speeding (65 mph), and effects of prescription drugs. [81] Penny Junor suggested in her 1998 book that Diana was in a romantic relationship with Mannakee. For all the talk about … All over the world she was a symbol of selfless humanity. [228][229] She supported organisations that battle poverty and homelessness. [122] She received a lump sum settlement of £17 million (equivalent to £32,144,626 in 2019) as well as £400,000 per year. [269] The original plan was for Diana to be buried in the Spencer family vault at the local church in nearby Great Brington, but Lord Spencer said he was concerned about public safety and security and the onslaught of visitors that might overwhelm Great Brington. Princess Diana visiting English National Ballet. [223][224][225] In November 1987, a few days after the death of Jean O'Gorman from cancer, Diana met her family. [37] She then lived at Buckingham Palace until the wedding,[37] where according to biographer Ingrid Seward her life was incredibly lonely. Christina Hambley Brown CBE (born 21 November 1953), is a journalist, magazine editor, columnist, talk-show host, and author of The Diana Chronicles, a biography of Diana, Princess of Wales.Born a British citizen, she now holds joint citizenship after she took United States citizenship in 2005, following her emigration in 1984 to edit Vanity Fair.By marriage, she is legally titled Lady Evans. [149] The two women met each other again that year[150] and developed a personal relationship. [6], On 30 August 1961,[7] Diana was baptised at St. Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham. On 5 November 1981, Diana's pregnancy was announced. Heslop agreed. [15] Diana's relationship with her stepmother was particularly bad. [232] Following his remarks, charity organisations that were supported by Diana defended her, and Peter Luff called O'Hear's comments "distasteful and inappropriate". Her coffin, draped with the royal flag, was brought to London from Paris by Prince Charles and Diana's two sisters on 31 August 1997. [22] She also excelled in swimming and diving, and studied ballet and tap dance. C.D. Byline Investigates. “Now, everybody goes 'mines, yes of course they’re banned, why would we have it?' [159] The Princess visited many other countries, including Belgium, Nepal, Switzerland, and Zimbabwe, alongside numerous others. [107] Dodi Fayed and the driver, Henri Paul, were pronounced dead at the scene; the bodyguard of Diana and Fayed, Trevor Rees-Jones, was the only survivor. [27] In London, she took an advanced cooking course, but seldom cooked for her roommates. [315] Diana's mother also defined her as a "loving" figure who could occasionally be "tempestuous". [221] She also attended an annual fund-raiser for breast cancer research organised by The Washington Post at the same centre.