Lady Diana's sisters husbands children. People's Princess Diana - Lady Di

Diana, Princess of Wales (Diana, Princess of Wales), nee Diana Francis Spencer (Diana Francis Spencer; July 1, 1961, Sandringham, Norfolk - August 31, 1997, Paris) - from 1981 to 1996, the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne. Commonly known as Princess Diana, Lady Diana or Lady Di. According to a poll conducted in 2002 by the BBC broadcaster, Diana was ranked third in the list of the hundred greatest Britons in history.

Diana was born July 1, 1961 in Sandringham, Norfolk to John Spencer. Her father was Viscount Althorp, a branch of the same Spencer-Churchill family as the Duke of Marlborough, and.

Diana's paternal ancestors were carriers royal blood through the illegitimate sons of King Charles II and the illegitimate daughter of his brother and successor, King James II. Earls Spencers have long lived in the very center of London, in Spencer House.

Diana spent her childhood in Sandringham, where she received her primary home education. Her teacher was the governess Gertrude Allen, who taught Diana's mother. She continued her education at Sealfield, at a private school near King's Line, then at preparatory school Riddlesworth Hall.

When Diana was 8 years old, her parents divorced. She stayed with her father, along with her sisters and brother. The divorce had a strong influence on the girl, and soon a stepmother appeared in the house, who disliked children.

In 1975, following the death of her grandfather, Diana's father became the 8th Earl Spencer and she received the courtesy title of "lady" reserved for daughters of high peers. During this period, the family moved to the ancient ancestral castle of Althorp House in Nottrogtonshire.

At the age of 12, the future princess was accepted into a privileged school for girls in West Hill, in Sevenoaks, Kent. Here she turned out to be a bad student and could not finish it. At the same time, her musical abilities were not in doubt. The girl was also fascinated by dancing.

In 1977, she briefly attended school in the Swiss city of Rougemont. Once in Switzerland, Diana soon began to feel homesick and returned to England ahead of schedule.

Princess Diana Height: 178 centimeters.

Princess Diana's personal life:

In the winter of 1977, before leaving for training, she met her future husband for the first time - - - when he comes to Althorp to hunt.

In 1978 she moved to London, where she first stays in the apartment of her mother (who was then most time in Scotland). As a gift for her 18th birthday, she received her own £100,000 apartment in Earls Court, where she lived with three friends. During this period, Diana, who previously adored children, began working as an assistant teacher in kindergarten"Young England" in Pimiliko.

The wedding of Charles and Diana, which took place on July 29, 1981, attracted a lot of attention from the public and the media. In 1982 and 1984, the sons of Diana and Charles were born - the Princes and Wales, who are next in line of succession to the British crown after their father.

By the early 1990s, relations between the spouses were upset, in particular, due to Charles's continued relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles (subsequently, after the death of Diana, who became his second wife).

Diana herself had been in a close relationship with her riding instructor James Hewitt for some time, which she confessed to in a 1995 television interview (Charles had made a similar confession to Camilla a year earlier).

The marriage broke up in 1992, after which the couple lived separately, and ended in divorce in 1996 at the initiative of the Queen.

Shortly before her death, in June 1997, Diana began dating film producer Dodi al-Fayed, the son of the Egyptian billionaire Mohamed al-Fayed, but apart from the press, none of her friends confirmed this fact, and this is also denied in the book of Lady Diana's butler - Paul Barrela, who was a close friend of the princess.

Diana was actively involved in charitable and peacekeeping activities (in particular, she was an activist in the fight against AIDS and the movement to stop the production of anti-personnel mines).

She was one of the most popular women in the world of her time. In the UK, she has always been considered the most popular member of the royal family, she was called the "Queen of Hearts" or "Queen of Hearts" (Queen of Hearts).

On June 15-16, 1995, Princess Diana made a short visit to Moscow. She visited the Tushino Children's Hospital, which she had previously provided charitable assistance to (the princess donated medical equipment to the hospital), and Primary School No. 751, where she solemnly opened a branch of the fund for helping children with disabilities Waverly House.

On June 16, 1995, the ceremony of presenting Princess Diana with the International Leonardo Prize took place at the British Embassy in Moscow.

Death of Princess Diana

On August 31, 1997, Diana died in a car accident in Paris, along with Dodi al-Fayed and driver Henri Paul. Al-Fayed and Paul died instantly, Diana, taken from the scene (in the tunnel in front of the Alma bridge on the Seine embankment) to the Salpêtrière hospital, died two hours later.

The cause of the accident is not entirely clear, there are a number of versions ( alcohol intoxication driver, the need to escape at speed from the persecution of the paparazzi, as well as various conspiracy theories). The only surviving passenger of the car "Mercedes S280" with the number "688 LTV 75", bodyguard Trevor Rhys Jones, who was seriously injured (his face had to be restored by surgeons), does not remember the events.

On December 14, 2007, a report was presented by the ex-commissioner of Scotland Yard, Lord John Stevens, who stated that the British investigation confirmed the conclusions according to which the amount of alcohol in the blood of the driver of the car, Henri Paul, at the time of his death, was exceeded three times, than is acceptable in French legislation. In addition, the speed of the car exceeded the permissible in this place twice. Lord Stevens also noted that the passengers, including Diana, were not wearing seat belts, which also played a role in their deaths.

Princess Diana was buried on September 6 at the Spencer family estate of Althorp in Northamptonshire, on a secluded island.

Who bothered Princess Diana

Diana has been repeatedly called "the most photographed woman in the world" (some sources share this title between her and Grace Kelly).

Many books have been written about Diana in various languages. Almost all of her friends and close employees spoke with memories. There are several documentaries and even feature films. There are both fanatical fans of the memory of the princess, insisting even on her holiness, and criticism of her personality and the pop cult that has arisen around her.

As part of the album Black Celebration (1986) by the band Depeche Mode the release of the composition "New Dress" took place, in which the author of words and music, Martin Gore, ironically plays up how close the media paid attention to the life of Princess Diana.

When Diana, Princess of Wales, died 20 years ago, not only her ex-husband Prince Charles took her body back from Paris, but so did her sisters, Lady Sarah MacCorquodale and Baroness Jane Fellows. And at her funeral, her brother Charles, Earl Spencer, walked behind the gun carriage that carried her body before delivering a speech at her funeral.

They played a pivotal role as Diana's grieving siblings, and since then they've done everything to keep their beloved sister's memory alive, whether by maintaining relationships with nephews Prince William and Prince Harry, chairing the late Princess's charitable foundations, or remembering her in their memoirs.

Let's see who are Princess Diana's siblings and what are they doing now?

Lady Elizabeth Sarah Lavinia MacCorquodale was born in 1955 (six years before Diana) and has always been known by her middle name, Sarah. Despite living in a boarding school when Diana was a child, the sisters were close and it was Sarah who eventually introduced Diana to Prince Charles.

The Spencers have always been close to the royal family. Their maternal grandmother, Lady Ruth Fermoy, was a lady-in-waiting to the Queen Mother, and their paternal grandmother, Countess Cynthia Spencer, was to the Queen Elizabeth. Sarah and Prince Charles moved in the same social circles, and they even had a brief romantic relationship in 1977, when Sarah was 22 and Charles was 28. However, Sarah gave an interview to reporters, saying that nothing serious between them was not, and therefore she did not marry him. The relationship ended soon after.

Sarah married and gave birth to three children - Emily, George, and Celia, who were friends of the young Prince William and Prince Harry, and often spent holidays with them. They were at William and Kate Middleton's wedding in 2011, and William, Kate and Harry were at Emily's wedding in 2012. Harry represented the family at Cousin George's wedding in South Africa in 2016.

After Diana's death, Sarah became president of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, which raised over $128 million over 15 years for various charities around the world.

Like her older sister Sarah, Jane has always been known by her middle name. Born in 1957, she was four years older than Diana and, like Sarah, was in a boarding school during Diana's childhood years. The sisters got along well and Diana was a bridesmaid when Jane married the Queen's assistant private secretary (later secretary), Robert Fellows at Westminster Abbey in 1978.

Just as older sister Sarah first introduced Charles and Diana when she and the prince dated, Jane also played a role in their relationship. Jane accompanied her husband to Balmoral in the summer of 1980, and since Charles was going to be there at the time, it was suggested that Diana be there too. It was there that the press first learned about the new relationship between Charles and Diana.

Jane has three children: Laura, Alexander and Eleanor. Like Lady Sarah's children, the three were childhood friends of William and Harry, and they all vacationed together on more than one occasion. Laura is now one of Princess Charlotte's godparents.

Like her sister, Jane has also become involved in philanthropic work, including running Connect, an organization that works with young offenders, travels to prison, and helps those at risk of falling into a life of crime.

Charles was born three years after Diana, and growing up they were both only too aware of their parents' failed marriage. Spencers' connections with royal family were strengthened when the queen became one of Charles's godparents.

The younger Spencer worked in the media for many years, was a correspondent for NBC from 1986-1995, and hosted the Today morning show and the nightly News. When he married model Victoria Lockwood in 1989, Prince Harry was the pageboy at his wedding.

Charles and his wife moved to South Africa where they had four children: Kitty, Eliza, Kate, and Frederick. He was 27 years old when their father died and inherited the Althorp family estate, where Diana was later buried.

After Diana was buried at Althorp, Charles also built a museum in her memory. The Earl was so focused on the literary field, publishing several books about his family history and the history of the royal family, two of which became bestsellers. He also founded the Althorp Literary Festival where Bill Bryson and Helen Fielding performed.

After his divorce from Victoria Lockwood, he remarried in 2001 and had two more children, Edmund and Lara. However, he divorced again in 2007 and married Karen Gordon just a couple of weeks after his nephew Prince William married Kate Middleton in 2011. In 2012, he became a father for the seventh time when his daughter Charlotte was born.

, "Queen of Hearts", "Queen of Hearts" from the English Queen of Hearts. She certainly deserved the love of not only the British, but the whole world. Her sad story won many hearts. You can think about Diana, in general, as you like, you can deify her, she can be reduced from a pedestal to another popular, but empty person. But Diana undoubtedly took her place in the history of both her country and this world, and, undoubtedly, among the positive characters. No wonder she is one of the three most famous Englishmen in the world. Queen of hearts. One can argue about many things, but Diana was actually a good mother, and she really did charity work from the bottom of her heart, she knew how to help others. It is a pity that I could not help myself, to deal with my fate. And be colder, as befits a person.

Princess Diana - biography.

Diana was born on July 1, 1961 in Sandringham, Norfolk. Her father John Spencer is Viscount Althorp. Diana also had royal blood in her veins through the illegitimate sons of King Charles II and the illegitimate daughter of his brother and successor, King James II. Lady Diana will become only in 1975 after the death of her grandfather, it is from that time that Diana's father will receive the title of count, and Diana will become a lady.

Princess Diana spent her childhood at Sandringham, where she received her primary education at home. Then she went to school. But at the age of nine, Diana is sent to Riddlesworth Hall, a boarding school. However, for rich children to study in closed schools of this type was quite in the order of things. Diana was not particularly successful in her studies, although she was hardworking. She was also very kind to her classmates. Like everyone else, she dreamed of a vacation that could finally be spent at home. She spent her holidays alternately with her mother, then with her father, who by that time were already divorced. At 12, Diana is transferred to West Hill Girls' School in Sevenoaks, Kent. Her sisters, Sarah and Jenny, were already studying there. Jenny was quite happy with this school, but Sarah rebelled against strict rules more than once. Sarah, by the way, was a fairly good athlete, she loved tennis. Diana studied ballet, danced step, but unlike her sister and mother, she played tennis at a fairly low level.
Diana did not pass the final exams at West Hill, she failed in all subjects.

In 1976, Diana's father remarried to Raine, who had previously been the wife of the Earl of Dartmouth, he married her just two months after her divorce. John Spencer's daughters disliked him new wife, which, moreover, was quite power-hungry and tried in every possible way to command in the house. After older sister Sarah, they began to sing along under their breath "Raine, Rain, get out."

In 1977, the future Princess went to study in Switzerland. In the same year, she first saw Charles, who came to Althorp to hunt. The Elpin Wiedemanet Institute in Switzerland was a rather expensive private school that prepared girls for entry into society. They also took a two-year secretarial course and learned how to cook. The main focus was on studying French. Speaking a language other than French was strictly forbidden. The very rules that reigned in the Institute were also very strict. Diana didn't like it there. She mostly communicated with Sophie Kimbell, also an Englishwoman, and, of course, in English. She ends up flying home to Chelsea, her mother's apartment in London.

In general, Diana never received at least some kind of education. The only thing she could count on if she was not an aristocrat was unemployment benefits.

In London, Diana soon buys her own apartment, thanks to her share of the family's finances and an inheritance from her American great-grandmother Frances Wark. Her friends live in Diana's apartment - first Sophie Kimbell, whom she met while studying at a Swiss institute, then Caroline Pravd, Diana's friend from West Hill School, who at that time studied at the Royal College of Music. Then two more friends of Diana join them - Ann Bolton, who worked as a secretary, since her friends still had to think about money, and Virginia Pitman, who usually cooked for everyone, and Diana washed dishes.

Diana also went to work. At one time she worked as a cleaner, then as a health visitor, by the way, while still at West Hill School, the girls had duties to take care of one of the elderly, to participate in charity in an orphanage. Diana worked as a nanny. Among her employers, for example, were Patrick and Mary Robinson, who remembered Diana as an "exceptionally intelligent and excellent with children" nanny.

Lady Di and Prince Charles.

Diana had a dream to become, but the moment for the realization of this dream was lost, and now Diana dreamed of becoming a ballet teacher. By the way, she always loved children and knew how to find with them mutual language. And she even managed to work for a while at Mrs. Wakani's dance school. But Diana did not pay enough attention to this work, because, according to Mrs. Vakani, "She loved social life". Then Diana worked as a teacher in a kindergarten. And also a prince appeared in her life, Prince Charles, and she did everything to conquer him.

Wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles.

On July 29, 1981, their wedding took place. In 1982 and 1984 the sons of Diana and Charles and Harry were born. But their marriage did not become successful and happy. Charles still loved Camilla Parker Bowles. And Diana, realizing that her ideal dreams of ideal family never come true, begins an affair with his riding instructor, James Hewitt. Since 1992, Charles and Diana lived separately, but divorced only in 1996 at the insistence of the Queen, who was no longer able to endure all these scandals. After all, for the queen, Diana became a constant source of scandals, a woman who cannot behave with dignity, having taken such a high position, a woman who did not put up with the behavior of her husband, with his betrayals, but she should have. The queen did not like Diana, who spoiled the reputation of her son and the royal family. But Diana was loved by the people, loved by ordinary Englishmen. Diana overshadowed Charles in everything.

In raising her sons, Diana, firstly, tried to protect them from excessive media attention, but at the same time to teach them how to behave in public. And she also gave them the opportunity to feel like quite ordinary children: this is how they received education at school, and not at home, on vacation Diana allowed them to wear sweatpants, jeans and T-shirts, they went to the movies, ate hamburgers and popcorn, and how everyone stood in line for the rides. Diana was actively involved in charity work and soon began to take her sons with her, for example, when visiting hospitals. And, of course, William and Harry loved their mother very much.

After her divorce from Charles, Diana dated film producer Dodi al-Fayed, son of Egyptian billionaire Mohamed al-Fayed. It is with him that she will go to her last way through the Paris tunnel. They left the hotel, got into the car ... An accident occurred in the tunnel in front of the Alma bridge on the Seine embankment. Dodi al-Fayed and the driver died at the scene. Diana is in the hospital in two hours. The only survivor of this accident was Diana's bodyguard, who was severely injured and later stated that he did not remember any details about this accident.

Diana's death was not without conspiracy theories, the search for the guilty. According to the official version, the driver was guilty, in whose blood the amount of alcohol was significantly exceeded and who was driving too high speed. Perhaps they were trying to hide from the paparazzi.

The death of Diana was a tragedy not only for the British, but for many people around the world.

Princess Diana was buried at the Spencer family estate of Althorp, on a secluded island in the middle of a lake.

Although Princess Diana died in 1997, the world will never forget her. There was everything in her life, from charity to personal secrets and problems that people do not know or suspect anything about, since everything was carefully hidden by the royal family.
20. Diana never promised to obey Prince Charles.


During their lavish wedding to Prince Charles in 1981, Charles and Diana removed the part of the ceremony where Diana had to promise to obey her husband. At that time, this act has already caused a flurry of criticism. In 2011, during the wedding ceremony, Kate Middleton repeated the act of Diana and missed the words of the oath of obedience to her husband, Prince William.
19. She was not a diligent student

Princess Diana
Princess Diana twice failed the O-level exam, which is the equivalent of a high school diploma in the US, and was considered a child with no academic and scientific aptitude at her alma mater, West Heath Girls' School. But, nevertheless, the future princess was fond of music and sports.
18. Sister Diana first dated Prince Charles

Princess Diana and Prince Charles
Diana's sister, Lady Sarah Mac Corquodale, did date Prince Charles before Diana met him. Her relationship did not go far with the prince, and Sarah stated to the press that she did not even think about marrying Charles, even if he became the king of England. In spite of former relationship Charles and her sisters, Diana remained close to Sarah.
17. She battled negative attitudes towards those infected with AIDS, despite the queen's disapproval

Princess Diana at the conference
In the 80s, the planet was rapid growth such a disease as AIDS, and many then believed that this disease was transmitted through touch. Diana tried to refute this notion, often seen holding the hands of AIDS patients and speaking out in support of research in this area. But the Queen of Great Britain did not approve of Diana's activities and believed that she could "get into trouble."
16. She suffered from bulimia and depression.

Princess Diana
Diana did not hide the fact that her husband believes that she is overweight, and this hurt her. Since her relationship with Charles was strained, she chose bulimia as the only way keep your weight under control, harming your health and suffering from deep depression.
15. Diana's engagement ring was bought from a catalog.

Diana's wedding ring
It is customary in royal families to do Jewelry to order, but Diana broke this tradition, choosing her own wedding ring from the Garrard catalog. The cost of the ring was $42,000, but the most important thing is that anyone who pays that amount can buy it. After Diana's death, the ring went to William, who presented it to his chosen one, Kate Middleton, during their engagement.
14. Diana was the godmother of 17 children

Princess Diana and children
Diana had 17 godchildren and goddaughters, and very often she was taken as a godparent without her consent and presence. Among the godchildren are Lady Edwina Grosvenor, daughter of the Duke of Westminster, George Frost, son famous journalist David, and Domenica Lawson, a little girl with Down syndrome.
13. Diana found herself in a state of enmity with her mother.

Princess Diana
By the time Diana died, she had not spoken to her mother for a long time, as she did not approve of her divorce from Prince Charles and new relationships with other men. Diana's butler, Paul Burrell, later stated that shortly before the disaster, Diana's mother accused her daughter of cheating with other men on the phone after her divorce from the prince.
12 She Called Camille Parker-Bowles A "Rottweiler"

Princess Diana
Diana was never shy about giving nicknames to women who appeared in her husband's field of interest. Camilla, on the other hand, considered Diana "a miserable creature." But in this confrontation, Britain took the side of Diana. After the death of the princess, a negative attitude towards Camilla has remained in society to this day.
11. Princess Diana was the most featured person on the cover of People magazine.
Princess Diana on the cover of a magazine
Throughout her life, and even after her death, Diana appeared 55 times on the cover of the popular People magazine in the world. This is an impressive record that has yet to be broken by Diana's son, Prince William. As of October 2014, he has appeared on the cover of the magazine 29 times.
10. Diana did not reveal the gender of her second child.

Princess Diana with family
Diana once said that her second pregnancy with Prince Henry strengthened her relationship with Charles. Despite this, she did not tell Charles the gender of her unborn child - and not only him. Most likely, it was an attempt at least so to gain control, although not significant, over his life.
9. One of the campaigns in which Princess Diana took part won Nobel Prize


Princess Diana
Many are aware of the active peacekeeping and the position of Diana, her negative attitude towards the use of mines against civilians during military conflicts. But there was in the life of the princess a campaign to ban the use of mines, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which in 1997 won the Nobel Peace Prize. Unfortunately, this became known only a few weeks after the death of Diana.
8. Her wedding dress was absolutely ruined on the wedding day

Wedding Dress
Princess Diana's wedding dress was beautiful and incredibly expensive, but, unfortunately, the designers did not think through all the nuances, including the fact that Diana would be taken to the church in a small carriage. The fairy-tale effect was completely destroyed when Diana arrived at St. Paul's Cathedral in a rumpled dress.
7. While pregnant with Prince William, Princess Diana fell down the stairs.

Princess Diana
In 1982, Diana made everyone worry, including Queen Elizabeth. The fact is that in the third month of pregnancy, Diana fell down the stairs. Fortunately, both she and the child remained alive and well. Many believed that Diana did this deliberately in order to attract the attention of the family due to her mental disorder.
6. There are many famous personalities among Diana's relatives.

The Royal Family
Despite her non-royal origins, Diana would be proud of her family tree. Among her relatives were Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Queen of Scots, Mary, an 18th-century British duchess, Georgiana Cavendish, about whose life a movie was made in Hollywood. In family ties, Diana was with Audrey Hepburn and George W. Bush.
5. Princess Diana once invited Cindy Crawford to Buckingham Palace.
Princess Diana in 1992
Even those who disliked Diana considered her a real mother. Diana was a good and loving mother. In 1996, she invited supermodel Cindy Crawforth to Buckingham Palace only because her son William was secretly in love with her. Diana and the American star remained friends after this meeting until the end of their days.
4 Diana Misnamed Prince Charles During Her Wedding Ceremony

Wedding ceremony
During the wedding ceremony in 1981, Diana made a mistake in the long name of her fiancé and instead of the name Charles Philip Arthur George, she pronounced Philip Charles Arthur George.
3. Diana voluntarily gave up her royal title

Princess Diana
After the divorce, Diana did not want to be called "Your Highness". She became the first princess to choose to give up her title in order to gain absolute freedom from royal control. Although, as she herself admitted, she did it with regret.
2. During the accident, Diana was not wearing a seat belt.

Princess Diana
Perhaps Diana could have saved herself in that terrible car accident if she had been wearing a seat belt. But not a single Mercedes-Benz passenger used seat belts on that ill-fated day, including the drunk driver. Trying to break away from the paparazzi cost Diana Spencer her life.
1. Freddie Mercury took Diana to a gay club

Princess Diana
Princess Diana was friends with the leader rock band Queen, Freddie Mercury, and he, according to comedian Cleo Rokos, once took the princess to a gay bar, while she was wearing a man's outfit. As Rokos recalls, Diana looked like a handsome young man and no one recognized her. Unfortunately, there is no other evidence about this case; even Freddie Mercury himself kept silent about it.

The tragic death of Diana was perceived by many as a personal tragedy, dedicated to her great amount books, films and music. Why Princess Diana was so popular among the common people, we will try to understand this material.

Childhood and family

Diana became the third girl in the Spencer family, she has two older sisters - Sarah (1955) and Jane (1957). A year before her birth, a tragedy occurred in the family - a boy born on January 12, 1960 died ten hours after birth. This event had a serious impact on and so not ideal relationship between parents, and the birth of Diana could no longer correct this situation. In May 1964, the long-awaited heir Charles was born to the Spencer couple, but their marriage was already bursting at the seams, his father spent all his time hunting and playing cricket, and his mother got a lover.

Diana from early childhood felt like an unnecessary and unloved child, deprived of attention and love. Neither mother nor father ever told her simple words: "We love you". The divorce of her parents was a shock for an eight-year-old girl, her heart was torn between her father and mother, who no longer wanted to live as one family. Francis left the children to her husband and left with her new chosen one for Scotland, the next meeting of Diana with her mother took place only at the wedding ceremony with Prince Charles.

AT early childhood Diana's upbringing and education were handled by governesses and home teachers. In 1968, the girl was sent to the prestigious West Hill Private School, where her older sisters were already studying. Diana loved to dance, drew beautifully, went in for swimming, but the rest of the subjects were given to her with difficulty. She failed her final exams and was left without a matriculation certificate. School failures were due more to lack of self-confidence and low self-esteem than to low intellectual ability.

In 1975, John Spencer inherited the title of earl from his deceased father, and a year later he married Raine, Countess of Dartmouth. The children disliked their stepmother, boycotted her and refused to sit at the same table. Only after the death of her father in 1992, Diana changed her attitude towards this woman and began to warmly communicate with her.

In 1977, the future princess went to Switzerland to continue her education. Homesickness made her return without finishing educational institution. The girl moved to London and got a job.

In English aristocratic families, it is customary for grown-up children to work on an equal footing with ordinary citizens, so Diana, despite her noble birth, worked as a teacher in the Young England kindergarten, which still exists in the respectable London district of Pimlico and is proud of its connection with the royal family .

She lived in a small apartment given to her by her father as an adult, and led the usual way of life for English youth. At the same time, she was a modest and well-mannered girl, shunned noisy London parties with marijuana and alcohol, and did not start serious novels.

Meeting Prince Charles

The queen was not satisfied with this state of affairs, and she began to consider Diana as a possible bride for her son. And Sarah happily married a calm, reliable man with a wonderful sense of humor, bore him three children and lived a happy family life.

The queen's desire to marry her son as soon as possible was caused by his relationship with Camilla Shand, a smart, energetic and sexy blonde, but not well-born enough to become the heir to the throne. And Charles liked such women: experienced, sophisticated and ready to carry him in their arms. Camilla was also not averse to becoming a member of the royal family, however, as a smart woman, she had a fallback in the person of officer Andrew Parker-Bowles. And here is Andrew's heart for a long time occupied by Princess Anne, Charles's sister.

The marriage of Camilla and Bowles became a solution to two problems for the royal family at once - at that time Charles served in the Navy, and when he returned, he met his beloved already in the status of a married lady. That didn't stop them from continuing. love relationship, which did not stop with the advent of Lady Diana in the life of the prince. Looking ahead, we add that eight years after the death of Lady Spencer, the prince married Camilla.

Diana, on the other hand, was a modest pretty girl without a train of scandals and with an excellent pedigree - an excellent match for the future heir to the throne. The queen persistently suggested that her son pay attention to her, and Camilla was not against the marriage of her lover to a young, inexperienced lady who did not pose any threat to her. Submitting to the will of his mother and realizing his duty to the dynasty, the prince invited Diana, first to the royal yacht, and then to the palace, where, in the presence of members of the royal family, he proposed to her.

The official announcement of the engagement took place on February 24, 1981. Lady Dee showed the public a luxurious sapphire and diamond ring, which now adorns the finger of Kate Middleton, the wife of her eldest son.

The coldness and aloofness of the royal family negatively affected Diana's psyche, childhood fears and insecurities returned to her, and bulimia attacks became more frequent. Before the wedding, the girl lost 12 kilograms, her wedding dress had to be sutured several times. She felt like a stranger in the royal palace, it was difficult for her to get used to the new rules, and the environment seemed cold and hostile.

On July 29, 1981, a magnificent wedding ceremony which was seen on television screens by about a million people. Another 600,000 spectators greeted the wedding procession on the streets of London, all the way to St. Paul's Cathedral. On that day, the territory of Westminster Abbey barely accommodated everyone who wanted to take part in this historic event.

Princess Diana's wedding. Chronicles

Not without incidents - luxury dress from taffeta was badly wrinkled during a ride in a horse-drawn carriage and did not look in the best way. In addition, the bride, during the traditional speech at the altar, mixed up the order of the names of Prince Charles, which violated etiquette, and also did not swear to her future husband in eternal obedience. The royal press attachés pretended it was meant to be, permanently changing the text of the wedding vow for members of the British court.

Birth of heirs and problems in family life

Officially, the pregnancy of the Princess of Wales was announced on November 5, 1981, this news caused rejoicing in English society, people were eager to see the heir to the royal dynasty.

Diana spent almost the entire pregnancy in the palace, gloomy and deserted. She was surrounded only by doctors and servants, her husband rarely went into her chambers, and the princess suspected something was wrong. She soon found out about his ongoing relationship with Camilla, which Charles did not even try to hide very much. The betrayal of her husband oppressed the princess, she suffered from jealousy and self-doubt, was almost always sad and depressed.

The birth of the first-born William (06/21/1982) and the second son Harry (09/15/1984) did not change anything in their relationship. Charles still sought solace in the arms of his mistress, and Lady Di shed bitter tears, suffered from depression and bulimia, and drank handfuls of sedative pills.

intimate life spouses practically disappeared, and the princess had no choice but to find herself another man. They became Captain James Hewitt, a former military man, courageous and sexy. In order to have a reason to see him without arousing suspicion, Diana began to take riding lessons.

James gave her what a woman could not get from her own husband - love, care and the joy of physical intimacy. Their romance lasted nine years, it became known in 1992 from the book by Andrew Morton "Diana: her true story". Around the same time, recordings of intimate conversations between Charles and Camilla were made public, which inevitably led to loud scandal in the royal family.

Diana and Charles divorce

At first, Diana's popularity played into the hands of the royal court. She was called the "queen of hearts", "the sun of Britain" and "the people's princess" and put on a par with Jacqueline Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor and other great women of the twentieth century.

But over time this world love finally destroyed the marriage of Charles and Diana - the prince became jealous of his wife for her fame, and Lady Di, feeling the support of millions, began to boldly and confidently declare her rights. She decided to demonstrate to the whole world evidence of her husband's infidelities, told her story on a tape recorder and handed over the recordings to the press.

After that, Queen Elizabeth disliked Princess Diana, but the royal family could not stay away from the scandal, and on December 9, 1992, Prime Minister John Major officially announced the decision of Diana and Charles to live separately.

In November 1995, Lady Dee gave the BBC a sensational interview in which she spoke in detail about her suffering caused by her husband's infidelities, palace intrigues and other unworthy acts of members of the royal family.

Candid interview with Princess Diana (1995)

Charles responded by portraying her as a psychopath and hysterical and demanded an official divorce. The queen supported her son, appointed ex-daughter-in-law generous allowance, but stripped her of the title Your Royal Highness. On August 28, 1996, the divorce proceedings were completed, and Diana again became a free woman.

last years of life

Diana really wanted to believe that men love her not only for her title, but also for her personal qualities, and Pakistani cardiac surgeon Hasnat Khan seemed to her like that. She fell in love with him without looking back, met his parents and even covered her head as a sign of respect for Muslim traditions.

It seemed to her that it was in the Islamic world that a woman is protected and surrounded by love and care, and this was exactly what she was looking for all her life. However, Dr. Khan understood that next to such a woman he would always be forced to remain on the sidelines, and was in no hurry with a marriage proposal.

In the summer of 1997, Diana accepted the invitation of the Egyptian billionaire Mohammed al-Fayed to relax on his yacht. Influential businessman, owner luxury real estate in London, I wanted to get to know such a popular person better.

So that Diana would not be bored, he invited his son, film producer Dodi al-Fayed, to the yacht. Lady Dee at first considered this trip as a way to arouse jealousy in Dr. Khan, but she herself did not notice how she fell in love with the charming and courteous Dodi.

Tragic death of Princess Diana

The driver's blood was found to contain alcohol several times higher than allowable rate, besides, the car was moving at great speed, trying to break away from the paparazzi chasing him.

The death of Diana was a huge shock to the world community and caused a lot of rumors and speculation. Many blamed for the death of the princess royal family, believing that this accident was set up by the British intelligence services. Information appeared in the press that a man on a motorcycle blinded the driver with a laser in order to avoid Diana's pregnancy from a Muslim and the subsequent scandal. However, all this is from the field of conspiracy theories.

Funeral of Princess Diana

All of England mourned the death of the "People's Princess", because before that, not a single person of royal blood had been so loved by the common people. Under pressure from the public, Elizabeth was forced to interrupt her vacation in Scotland and give her former daughter-in-law the necessary honors.

Diana was buried on September 6, 1997 at the Spencer family estate in Althorp, Northamptonshire. Her grave is hidden from prying eyes on a secluded island in the middle of the lake, access to it is limited. Those wishing to honor the memory of the "People's Princess" can visit the memorial located near the burial place.

Reasons for universal love

For example, Diana became one of the first famous people to talk about the problem of AIDS. The disease was discovered in the early 80s, and even ten years later, little was known about the virus and how it spread. Not all doctors dared to contact those infected with HIV, fearing to catch a deadly disease.

Traveling around third world countries, Diana communicated with patients with leprosy: “When I met them, I always tried to touch them, hug them, to show that they are not outcasts, not outcasts.”

Having visited Angola in 1997 (there was a Civil War), Diana walked through a field that had just been cleared of mines. No one guaranteed complete security - the likelihood that mines remained in the ground was very high. Returning to Britain, Diana launched an anti-mine campaign, urging the army to abandon this type of weapon. “Angola has the highest percentage of amputees. Think about it: one out of 333 Angolans lost a limb to mines.”

During her lifetime, Diana did not achieve "deminization", but her son, Prince Harry, continues her work. He is a patron of The HALO Trust, a charitable organization whose goal is to free the world from mines by 2025, that is, to neutralize all old shells and stop the production of new ones. Volunteers cleared mines in Chechnya, Kosovo, Abkhazia, Ukraine, Angola, Afghanistan.

In her native London, the princess regularly visited centers for the homeless and took Harry and William with her so that they could see with their own eyes reverse side life and learned compassion. Later, Prince William claimed that these visits were a revelation for him and he is grateful to his mother for this opportunity. After Diana's death, he became a patron of the charities she had previously supported.

At least three times a week, she went to children's hospices, where they kept children dying from oncology. Diana spent at least four hours with them. “Some will survive, others will die, but as long as they are alive, they need love. And I will love them,” said the princess.

Diana changed the face of the British monarchy. If earlier they were associated among the common people with yet another suffocating measures like raising taxes, then after her actions, as well as a 1995 BBC interview (“I would like monarchs to have more contact with the people”), the monarchy turned into a defender of the disadvantaged. After the tragic death of Lady Dee, her mission continued.