Diana Frances Spencer , most commonly known as Princess Diana or Lady Di was born on 1st [618496]

Diana Frances Spencer , most commonly known as Princess Diana or Lady Di was born on 1st
of July 1961 and died on 31st of August 1996, when she was only 36. Despite the fact that she
was not born a princess, her parents, Frances and Johnnie Spencer belonged to one of Great
Britain’s oldest and most powerful families. Many members of the Spencer family had served
the royal family as equerries or aides throughout hundreds of years; therefore they were treated
as close family friends.
Diana was the third child to be born in the family, while having two older sisters and a younger
brother. 18 months before she was born, her p arents were longing for a son to carry on their
name, but that heir died only after 10 hours. This often gave the young girl the sensation that she
was unwanted in the family and that her parents would have preferred having a boy instead of
her.
The family lived at Park House, a large estate in Norfolk, England. The property was located
near the royal family’s domain of Sandringham and the Spencer children would occasionally
spend time with the royal family. However, the age difference between Diana and the prince was
of 13 years, thus the two did not get the chance to meet during these visits. The first time they
came in contact with each other was in 1977 at a hunting party at Althorp. The prince considered
her to be “a very jolly and amusing and attractiv e 16-year-old—full of fun.”.
She then decided that she wanted to find a job and since she enjoyed working with children, at
Young England Kindergarten. The owner of the school, Kay Seth -Smith affirmed about her that:
“She was very good at getting down to t he children’s level both physically and mentally. She
was quite happy to sit on the floor, have children climbing all over her, sit on the low chairs
beside them, and actually talk to them… They responded incredibly well to her’’. Nonetheless,
the purpos e of most aristocratic girls of her social class was to find an honorable husband and
have children.
In 1980, one of Diana’s friends asked her for a weekend at the countryside and amongst other
activities, they got a chance to watch Prince Charles playing polo and after the match ended they
started talking. Diana asked the prince how he was handling the recent loss of his godfather,
Lord Louis Mountbatten, who had been assassinated nine months earlier. The fact that he had
met someone who was not afraid to touch more sensitive subjects truly captivated Charles and he
decided that he wanted to meet this woman again.
A few weeks after their discussion, Charles invited Diana to go see a performance of Verdi’s
Requiem at London’s Royal Albert Hall where Diana at tended with her grandmother. This way,
more invitations followed. By February 1981, the pressure put on Diana was merciless. She has
spent a lot of time in Prince Charles’ company, also weekends at the numerous homes owned by
the royal family. Diana was in love with Charles, and Charles appeared to care for her, too. Both
the royal family and the court advisors believed that Prince Charles could not make a better
match. Therefore, on 6th of February 1981 the prince asked Diana to marry him at Windsor

Castle and she accepted right away. When asked about his engagement, Prince Charles told the
press that ’’I am delighted and frankly amazed that Diana is prepared to take me on”.
The weeding took place on the date of 29th of July, 1981 and it mainly went smoothl y; the only
problem occurred during the vows when Diana mixed up Charles’s names and instead of calling
him “Charles Phillip Arthur George.” she called him “Phillip Charles Arthur George” After this,
the couple walked down the aisle and then rode back to B uckingham Palace through the delirious
cheers of the crowd. More than 750 million television viewers watched the ceremony and the
royal processions in more than 70 countries. Now Diana was the Princess of Wales and the
future queen of England. The celebrat ion did not end with the arrival of Diana and Charles at the
Buckingham Palace because soon afterwards they, together with the royal family and the
members of the wedding party, appeared on the palace balcony. These were cheered by the
crowds and then the couple was called to kiss. To the exalted delight of the crowd, Diana and
Charles complied.
The newly married couple was about to spend their honeymoon on a Mediterranean cruise on the
royal yacht Britannia. Even though Diana was eager to spend her honeymo on away from the
public eye and to enjoy more of her husband’s company, things did not go as planned. At
Broadlands, Charles showed more interested in fishing than in talking to Diana. Also, he brought
a set of philosophical books that he expected Diana to read and then discuss them with him at
dinner. This was an utterly disappointment for Diana, since she hated academics and wasn’t
concerned with philosophy. It was hardly the romantic honeymoon with her Prince Charming
that she had hoped for. Hence, inste ad of getting to spend time with her husband, Diana spent
much of the time sleeping or visiting the servants’ quarters, where she was talking to the staff.
With the end of the honeymoon cruise, the couple spent a month at the royal Scottish property of
Balmoral. Once more, Charles left Diana by herself while he spent his time fishing or hiking
through the great outdoors. Also, a lot of pressure from the press and public was put on Diana.
Even though she was convinced that by the end of the wedding the publi c would not show its
interest with her anymore, the reality was different. It appeared that no one could get enough of
the princess. She felt as if people were observing her every move. Hence for someone who only
a couple of months before was living a comm on life, this was a dizzying new world.
Diana knew that probably her most important royal obligation was to give birth to an heir to the
throne. The princess truly enjoyed taking care of children and she was very enthusiastic to raise a
family of her own. So in the late summer of 1981, the news that she was pregnant with her first
child brought her and Charles great satisfaction. The main struggle throughout her pregnancy
was the attention from the press. Not only was Diana in a very weak state of mind, but the press
showed an even more significant interest in her now that she was pregnant. In December 1981,
after an incident in which Diana was cornered by a group of photographers in a candy shop,
Queen Elizabeth decided that it was her duty to intervene. Sh e solicited a meeting at
Buckingham Palace with all the newspapers, magazines, and television editors and insisted that

the royal family wanted Diana to be left alone once and for all. Despite the fact that this
intervention made the press back off for a w hile, in the end, it did not really make much of a
difference.
Besides the stress caused by the media attention, Diana had another fear. Her wish was to give
birth to her baby in a hospital, despite the fact that the royal family expected her to do it at home.
She checked into St. Mary’s Hospital in London and on June 21, 1982, after a long and
complicated labor, Diana gave birth to her first son. She and Charles named him William Arthur
Philip Louis. The royal family and the nation rejoiced.
The following months were probably some of the happiest in the royal marriage. Both Diana and
Charles loved being parents and since they had grown up with parents who were either absent or
distant, their goal was that their son would have a very different upbringing.
On August 4, 1982, by the time William was christened, Diana’s happiness was beginning to
fade. One of the reasons had to do with the fact that she was suffering from post -partum
depression and that also felt pushed around by the royal family, who seemed to ignore her and
her desire to be an involved mother. Her feelings reached a critical point at the christening. Diana
wrote, “At William’s christening I was treated like nobody else’s business. Nobody asked me
when it was suitable for William —Endless pictur es [were taken] of the Queen, Queen Mother,
Charles, and William. I was excluded totally that day.” Once more, Diana felt desperately lonely,
despised, and out of place in an unfamiliar new world.
During the early days of 1984, Diana and Charles were thril led to discover that Diana was
pregnant once again. She was delighted that Charles cut back on his public obligations to spend
more time with his family. Diana later said that the six weeks before their second child was born
were the happiest of their marr iage.
There was just one cloud on the horizon. Charles kept saying that he wanted a daughter this and
truly expected the baby to be a girl. On September 15, 1984 Diana returned to St. Mary’s
Hospital in London and gave birth to her second son. Charles was recognizably dissatisfied and
he also commented negatively about the baby’s red hair, which was a characteristic Spencer trait.
Diana was desolated —and furious. That moment marked the end of any love she felt for him.
Diana later wrote, “Then suddenly as H arry was born it just went bang, our marriage, the whole
thing went down the drain… Something inside me closed off”. The new baby was given the
name Henry Charles Albert David, but he would be called Harry. In spite of his displeasure at
having a second so n, Charles ended up loving the baby tremendously. He and Harry would
develop a warm, close relationship.
In 1987, different magazines narrated about how Prince Charles had spent 38 days at Balmoral
Castle in Scotland without his wife or children. Reporters —and the public —clamored for an
explanation. Eventually, the queen intervened and told Charles and Diana that they had to spend
more time together in public in order to avoid other scandalous rumors. Charles and Diana

conformed to the idea that they could not disappoint the British public with the reality about their
relationship, and decided to undertake more official duties together. The royal rumors died down
for a while. However, the truth was that Charles and Diana were growing distant.
Each of them a lso had separate private lives. Around the time of Prince Harry’s birth, Charles
was spending more and more time with his old friend Camilla Parker Bowles. Diana, meanwhile,
found a friend in cavalry officer James Hewitt.
Despite the stress caused by her f ailing marriage, Diana kept up her numerous public
appearances. She took a special interest in helping people who were less fortunate. As her
marriage unraveled, Diana became more and more concerned with her public image. Newspapers
and television stations narrated about her many visits to hospitals and her work with AIDS
patients, homeless families, and disabled children. It was something common to find Diana
carrying out these charitable duties. By the early 1990s, she was the president or patron of more
than 29 charities, ranging from the Royal Ballet to the National AIDS Trust. At the same time,
Diana began giving more serious public speeches. She wanted to be seen in a new and positive
light. On the other hand, Charles put up with a terrible public imag e. He was also the sponsor of
many charitable causes, for example The Prince’s Trust, which held annual rock concerts to raise
money in order to help Britain’s at -risk young people. Nevertheless, he was primarily seen as
being absent with the general publi c.
1992 was the year that Queen Elizabeth II would refer to as her “annus horribilis,” which is Latin
for “horrible year.”. It was during this year that Prince Andrew, Duke of York separated from his
wife, Sarah Ferguson, and also when Princess Anne and he r husband, Mark Phillips got
divorced. Also, in November, a devastating fire at Windsor Castle had destroyed part of the royal
palace and its irreplaceable artwork. When the queen asked for public tax money to pay for the
50-million dollar cost of rebuildi ng, British citizens protested determinately. They also solicited
that members of the royal family would start paying taxes on their vast riches. Dissatisfaction
with the monarchy was higher than it had been in many years.
The year 1992 also saw the very b eginning of the end of Charles and Diana’s marriage. On
November 25, Charles told Diana he wanted a separation with which she agreed. Starting with
that moment, Diana would live at Kensington Palace and Charles would live at Highgrove. On
December 3, Diana drove to Ludgrove, the boarding school that William and Harry attended, to
tell them the news since she wanted the boys to hear about their parents’ separation from her
rather than reading it in a newspaper or hearing it from someone else. The only thing left to do
was to make the separation official. On December 9, 1992, John Major, British Prime Minister
announced the royal separation to the 651 members of the House of Commons, one of Great
Britain’s governing bodies. He declared that the couple would no t divorce, and that Diana would
still be queen when Charles became king. The monarchy would not permit a divorce between
Charles and Diana, but from this point forward the marriage was over.

Diana was happy to be freer from the restrictions of the royal fa mily. Still, she was not pleased
about being separated from her children. Although the boys were at boarding school, they
usually came home every weekend. Now, Diana would only spend time with them every other
weekend. The princes spent alternate weekends at Prince Charles’s home at Highgrove.
Diana was also concerned about the royal duties in the boys’ lives. It was very important to her
for her sons to experience and enjoy life beyond the palace walls. Therefore, in 1993, Diana
wrote a will expressing her wish that if she should die, Charles had to share the upbringing of the
boys with Diana’s mother. She also stated that if she and Charles were to die, William and Harry
would be raised by her family and not the royal family. Despite this, Diana’s desires would not
come true. Diana might have been separated from Prince Charles, but she was not hidden away
from the dazzle of public appearances. She still fulfilled her royal duties.
For a long period of time, she had tried to keep her personal life out of the papers, and on
December 3, 1993, Diana stated the following: “I hope you can find it in your hearts to
understand and to give me the time and space that has been lacking in recent years.” She also
stated that even though she knew when she married Prince C harles that there would be a lot of
attention from the media, she had not imagined “the extent to which it would affect both my
public duties and my personal life in a manner that’s been hard to bear.”
By the time Diana was trying to pull back from the spo tlight, Prince Charles was stepping into it.
For some time, he had been trying to set the record straight about his negative public image;
therefore Charles’s advisors decided that the Prince should be interviewed by the much
appreciated British journalist Jonathan Dimbleby. The program took place on June 29, 1994 and
aproximately14 million British viewers watched an unexpectedly sincere interview in which
Prince Charles talked about how many difficulties he had dealt with in his marriage. The most
astonish ing part of the interview was when Prince Charles’s admitted that he had developed a
close relationship with another woman, but only after his marriage had fallen apart. People
quickly realized that the woman to whom Charles hinted at was Camilla Parker Bo wles.
Diana was going through a difficult time in her private life as well. For a couple of years, she had
had a private relationship with a British cavalry officer named James Hewitt. Diana felt
significantly deceived the moment when Hewitt later publishe d details of their relationship in his
book titled ’’Princess in Love’’. James Hewitt wasn’t the only inadequate choice Diana made
when it came to romance. She had dated several men, but Diana was repeatedly heartbroken
when the relationships fell apart af ter a short time. Her friends began to wonder if Diana would
ever find the right man to love.
Eventually, in September 1995, Diana met Hasnat Khan, a Pakistani heart surgeon, who had
performed surgery on one of her friend’s husband. Slowly, the two became very close, and Diana
was soon immersing herself in his world, reading medical journals and learning about Pakistani

customs. He also insisted that their relationship stay private, so the two were hardly ever seen in
public together and managed to escape t he attention of the paparazzi.
By 1994, Diana felt more frequently under attack. By keeping silent and out of the public eye,
Prince Charles seemed to be getting more respect. His television interview, together with several
biographies of the couple, prese nted a picture of a stable man who had had to deal with a
mentally unstable wife. During 1995, Diana was approached by a television reporter named
Martin Bashir, who wanted to interview her for a British show called Panorama. Even though
she was advised no t to do the interview, Diana had faith that telling her side of the story on TV
was the only way to regain the public’s trust and put an end to the unfavorable depiction
presented by Prince Charles and the royal family. On November 5, the interview was tap ed
secretly and aired on November 20. The show created a sensation considering it was watched by
23 million people in Great Britain, as well as millions more around the world. Diana talked
sincerely about her emotional struggles and how miserable she felt throughout her marriage.
Despite admitting to have a relationship with James Hewitt, she also clarified that her marriage
to Prince Charles could never have been successful because of his long -term relationship with
Camilla Parker Bowles. Diana also expres sed her wish to be “the queen of people’s hearts,”
someone who loved others and was loved by them, rather than being an actual queen sitting on
the throne. The royal family was angry at this interview. The media and the public, however,
took Diana’s side. Newspaper headlines called Diana “magnificent” and “brave.”
Just four weeks after the Panorama broadcast, Queen Elizabeth demanded both Charles and
Diana to start divorce proceedings. Lastly, on February 28, 1996, Diana and Charles met face -to-
face in the prince’s offices at St. James Palace. As soon as the meeting ended, she announced the
divorce to the public, along with the news that she would retain her title. On August 28, 1996,
the final divorce announcement was published. Despite the fact she was sti ll known as the
Princess of Wales, the queen deprived her of the title “Her Royal Highness.” Diana was hurt by
this decision, and the people seemed to realize that the loss of this title was clearly a cruel act of
revenge by Queen Elizabeth. Although Diana was saddened by the loss of her royal status, she
refused to let people see her true feelings. Instead, she was content that she could finally enjoy
her freedom and that the divorce was allowing her to start a new life.
By July 1997, Diana was growing tir ed of Khan’s fury and distrust. She had received an
invitation to spend some time in the tropical paradise of St. Tropez at an property belonging to
businessman Mohamed Al Fayed whose plan was to introduce Diana to his attractive, single, 41 –
year-old son, Emad, better known as Dodi. The man had a reputation for being a ladies’ man,
and different publications were soon portraying the pair’s romance and calling them “The
Princess and the Playboy”.
Diana came back from her vacation feeling invigorated and energized and she was looking
forward to seeing Dodi again. No sooner had Diana returned from Milan than Dodi invited her to
Paris for a romantic weekend together. Although the pair had known each other for less than two

weeks, their connection was very cl ose. They spent as much time as they could together during
the next month, while newspapers and tabloids continuously rumored about the new relationship.
On August 30, Diana and Dodi arrived in Paris after another Mediterranean cruise on the Jonikal.
Their staying would be a brief one because Diana planned to go back to London the next day to
see her sons after their holiday at Balmoral. She was excited to spend a few days with them
before they went back to school. Dodi and Diana arrived in Paris in the aft ernoon. Dodi’s driver,
Henri Paul, got them safely to a hotel called the Ritz, despite being chased by a pack of paparazzi
on motorcycles that almost caused a car crash.
Diana and Dodi were planning to eat dinner at a restaurant outside of the hotel, but s ince the
press made a fuss about their presence, they decided to return to the Ritz. They ordered a meal at
the hotel’s restaurant, but once again, the paparazzi seemed to keep them under observation too
closely. Around 10:00 pm, Diana and Dodi went upstai rs to have their dinner in a private suite,
away from the public’s intrusive eyes. After dinner, they chose to leave the hotel by the back
entrance, hoping they could escape the paparazzi.
On the morning of August 31, at 12:20 am, their car pulled away. In spite of all their efforts, a
group of photographers figured out what was happening and was waiting at the Ritz’s back
entrance. As soon as the Mercedes pulled away, they went behind them. By the time Dodi’s car
pulled onto the street, approximately six c ars and motorcycles were in hot pursuit. Paul drove
into the Alma Tunnel, which crosses under the Seine. The car’s speed was so fast that when it hit
a dip at the entrance, it almost became airborne. Even though the driver deviated fiercely in order
to avo id hitting the car, it was too late to avoid a horrifying tragedy. The Mercedes brushed
against one of the tunnel’s columns, and then smashed straight into another column with a
booming crash. The collision twisted the car around before it slammed into the wall. An
American tourist gave the following details of the scene : “Photographers were swarming all
over the car, snapping as many photos as they could.” A policeman at the scene also added, “The
camera flashes were going off like machine gun fire.”
Six minutes after the accident, the first ambulance arrived. The situation was very critical. Diana
was taken to the Pitié -Salpêtrière hospital on the opposite side of the Seine. It was not the closest
hospital to the scene, but it was the best equipped to ha ndle such severe emergencies. Only after
2:00 am the ambulance pulled in, and by that time Diana had already gone into cardiac arrest.
Prince Charles was shocked when he found out that Diana had been so dangeriously injured.
According to press narrative, h e and the queen decided not to wake William and Harry to tell
them yet. When Diana’s death became official, Prince Charles’s visible grief shocked everyone
who saw him. As reported by the royal aides, Charles cried out and then burst into uncontrollable
tears. Queen Elizabeth, who was not an expressive person, remained calm the moment she heard
the news.

Shortly after Diana’s death, word reached the media around the world. People all over the world
reacted to Diana’s death with a colossal display of emotion s. As the public expressed its grief,
arrangements were made to bring Diana’s body back to London. Her sisters, Sarah and Jane,
prepared to go to Paris and escort the body home. Prince Charles declared that he would also join
them in the trip, but the quee n reportedly said that such an action would be would not be
appropriate. Charles would usually obey his mother’s directions, but this time he refused. He told
her that the public would always condemn the royal family if none of its members escorted
Diana. Finally and hesitantly, the queen agreed with him.
Public dissatisfaction grew stronger especially when the royal family made only a brief statement
regarding Diana’s death, and wasn’t flying Buckingham Palace’s flag at half -mast as a sign of
official mour ning. Soon enough, it became clear how wrongly the queen had misjudged the way
in which the world was mourning Princess Diana and how upset they were with the royal
family’s apparent unconcern. Anthony Barrett, an expert on Britain’s constitution, declared ,
“The monarchy must bow its head, or it will be broken.” Newspaper headlines blared, “Where Is
Our Queen? Where Is Her Flag?” and “Show Us You Care.” Eventually, on Thursday,
September 4, four days after Diana’s death, the royal family arrived at Buckingh am Palace and
the following afternoon, the queen adressed to the nation, paying a firm tribute to her daughter –
in-law.
Diana’s final journey was made in a coffin covered with royal flags and flowers and carried
through the streets on a horse -drawn carriage . More than 2.5 billion people watched the funeral
procession on television, as well as the service that followed at Westminster Abbey. It was the
greatest television event in history, captivating more viewers than even Charles and Diana’s
wedding.
After t he funeral, Diana’s coffin was loaded into a hearse and driven to the Spencer family’s
property at Althorp. There, in a private service attended only by the Spencer family, Diana was
buried on an island in the middle of the lake. Finally, the “Queen of Hea rts” was at peace.