169 Facts About Diana Spencer

Diana, Princess of Wales was born on Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997, and was a member of the British royal family.

Diana Spencer was the first wife of King Charles III and mother of Princes William and Harry.

Diana Spencer was born into the British nobility and grew up close to the royal family on their Sandringham estate.

Diana Spencer was celebrated in the media for her unconventional approach to charity work.

Diana Spencer raised awareness and advocated for ways to help people affected by cancer and mental illness.

Related searches

Diana Spencer was initially noted for her shyness, but her charisma and friendliness endeared her to the public and helped her reputation survive the acrimonious collapse of her marriage.

Diana Spencer's legacy has had a deep impact on the royal family and British society.

Diana Frances Spencer was born on 1 July 1961 at Park House, Sandringham, Norfolk.

Diana Spencer was the fourth of five children of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp and Frances Spencer, Viscountess Althorp.

Diana Spencer's 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 was a prospective Princess of Wales.

On 30 August 1961, Diana Spencer was baptised at St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham.

Diana Spencer grew up with three siblings: Sarah, Jane, and Charles.

The royal family frequently holidayed at the neighbouring Sandringham House, and Diana Spencer played with the Queen's sons Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.

Diana Spencer lived with her mother in London during her parents' separation in 1967, but during that year's Christmas holidays, Lord Althorp refused to let his daughter return to London with Lady Althorp.

Diana Spencer later described her childhood as "very unhappy" and "very unstable, the whole thing".

Diana Spencer 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.

Diana Spencer was initially home-schooled under the supervision of her governess, Gertrude Allen.

Diana Spencer began her formal education at Silfield Private School in King's Lynn, Norfolk, and moved to Riddlesworth Hall School, an all-girls boarding school near Thetford, when she was nine.

Diana Spencer joined her sisters at West Heath Girls' School in Sevenoaks, Kent, in 1973.

Diana Spencer did not perform well academically, failing her O-levels twice.

Diana Spencer showed a talent for music as an accomplished pianist.

Diana Spencer excelled in swimming and diving, and studied ballet and tap dance.

In 1978, Diana Spencer worked for three months as a nanny for Philippa and Jeremy Whitaker in Hampshire.

Diana Spencer took 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.

Diana Spencer then found employment as a playgroup pre-school assistant, did some cleaning work for her sister Sarah and several of her friends, and acted as a hostess at parties.

Related searches

Diana Spencer spent time working as a nanny for the Robertsons, an American family living in London, and worked as a nursery teacher's assistant at the Young England School in Pimlico.

Diana Spencer lived there with three flatmates until 25 February 1981.

Charles and Diana Spencer were guests at a country weekend during the summer of 1980 when she watched him play polo and he took a serious interest in her as a potential bride.

Diana Spencer was well received by the Queen, the Queen Mother and the Duke of Edinburgh.

Diana Spencer proposed on 6 February 1981 at Windsor Castle, and she accepted, but their engagement was kept secret for two and a half weeks.

Diana Spencer then lived at Buckingham Palace until the wedding, where, according to biographer Ingrid Seward, her life was incredibly lonely.

Diana Spencer was the first Englishwoman to marry the first in line to the throne since Anne Hyde married the future James II over 300 years earlier, and she was the first royal bride to have a paying job before her engagement.

Diana Spencer made her first public appearance with Prince Charles in a charity ball in March 1981 at Goldsmiths' Hall, where she met Grace, Princess of Monaco.

Twenty-year-old Diana Spencer became the Princess of Wales when she married Charles on 29 July 1981.

At the altar, Diana Spencer inadvertently reversed the order of his first two names, saying "Philip Charles" Arthur George instead.

Diana Spencer did not say she would "obey" him; that traditional vow was left out at the couple's request, which caused some comment at the time.

Diana Spencer later confessed that she had intentionally thrown herself down the stairs because she was feeling "so inadequate".

On 21 June 1982, Diana Spencer gave birth to the couple's first son, Prince William.

Diana Spencer subsequently suffered from postpartum depression after her first pregnancy.

Diana Spencer said she and Charles were closest during her pregnancy with Harry.

Diana Spencer was aware their second child was a boy, but did not share the knowledge with anyone else, including Charles as he was hoping for a girl.

Diana Spencer gave her sons wider experiences than was usual for royal children.

Diana Spencer rarely deferred to Charles or to the royal family, and was often intransigent when it came to the children.

Diana Spencer chose their first given names, dismissed a royal family nanny and engaged one of her own choosing, selected their schools and clothing, planned their outings, and took them to school herself as often as her schedule permitted.

Diana Spencer was reported to have described Harry as "naughty, just like me", and William as "my little wise old man" whom she started to rely on as her confidant by his early teens.

Related searches

In 1986 Diana Spencer began a relationship with Major James Hewitt, the family's former riding instructor and in the same year, Charles resumed his relationship with his former girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles.

In 1989, Diana Spencer was at a birthday party for Camilla's sister, Annabel Elliot, when she confronted Camilla about her and Charles's extramarital affair.

Philip wrote to Diana Spencer and expressed his disappointment at the extramarital affairs of both her and Charles; he asked her to examine their behaviour from the other's point of view.

Diana Spencer found the letters hard to take, but nevertheless appreciated that he was acting with good intent.

Between 1992 and 1993, Diana Spencer hired voice coach Peter Settelen to help her develop her public speaking voice.

Diana Spencer said in the tape that Mannakee had been "chucked out" from his role as her bodyguard following suspicion that the two were having an affair.

In October 1993, Diana Spencer 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 his sons' former nanny—and was planning to have her killed "to make the path clear for him to marry Tiggy".

Legge-Bourke had been hired by Charles as a young companion for his sons while they were in his care, and Diana Spencer was resentful of Legge-Bourke and her relationship with the young princes.

Diana Spencer was evidently disturbed and outraged when the book was released, although Pasternak claimed Hewitt had acted with Diana Spencer's support to avoid having the affair covered in Andrew Morton's second book.

However, Diana Spencer denied any romantic relationship with Hoare, whom she described as a friend, and said that "a young boy" was the source of the nuisance calls made to Hoare.

Diana Spencer was linked by the press to rugby union player Will Carling and private equity investor Theodore J Forstmann, yet these claims were neither confirmed nor proven.

The combination of illnesses from which Diana Spencer herself said she suffered resulted in some of her biographers opining that she had borderline personality disorder.

In February 1996, Diana Spencer announced her agreement after negotiations with Charles and representatives of the Queen, irritating Buckingham Palace by issuing her own announcement of the divorce agreement and its terms.

Diana Spencer received a lump sum settlement of £17million as well as £400,000 per year.

Diana Spencer lost the style "Her Royal Highness" and instead was styled Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales.

The Queen reportedly wanted to let Diana Spencer continue to use the style of Royal Highness after her divorce, but Charles had insisted on removing it.

Diana Spencer attended the Trooping the Colour for the first time in June 1981, making her appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace afterwards.

Diana Spencer attended the State Opening of Parliament for the first time on 4 November 1981.

Diana Spencer's first solo engagement was a visit to Regent Street on 18 November 1981 to switch on the Christmas lights.

Diana Spencer made her inaugural overseas tour in September 1982, to attend the state funeral of Grace, Princess of Monaco.

Related searches

Also in 1982, Diana Spencer was created a Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown by Queen Beatrix.

In February 1984, Diana Spencer was the patron of London City Ballet when she travelled to Norway on her own to attend a performance organised by the company.

Diana Spencer had a busy year in 1986 as she and Charles toured Japan, Spain, and Canada.

In 1988, Charles and Diana Spencer visited Thailand and toured Australia for the bicentenary celebrations.

Diana Spencer subsequently travelled to Germany in January 1991 to visit RAF Bruggen, and later wrote an encouraging letter which was published in Soldier, Navy News and RAF News.

In 1991, Charles and Diana Spencer visited Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, where they presented the university with a replica of their royal charter.

In September 1991, Diana Spencer visited Pakistan on a solo trip, and went to Brazil with Charles.

Diana Spencer paid a formal visit to Emperor and, and visited the National Children's Hospital in Tokyo.

In June 1995, Diana Spencer went to the Venice Biennale art festival, and visited Moscow where she received the International Leonardo Prize.

In November 1995, Diana Spencer undertook a four-day trip to Argentina to attend a charity event.

Diana Spencer visited many other countries, including Belgium, Switzerland, and Zimbabwe, alongside numerous others.

Diana Spencer's 36th and final birthday celebration was held at Tate Gallery, which was a commemorative event for the gallery's 100th anniversary.

Diana Spencer carried out 191 official engagements in 1988 and 397 in 1991.

Diana Spencer developed an intense interest in serious illnesses and health-related matters outside the purview of traditional royal involvement, including AIDS and leprosy.

Diana Spencer was the patroness of charities and organisations who worked with the homeless, youth, drug addicts, and the elderly.

Diana Spencer was patron of the Natural History Museum and president of the Royal Academy of Music.

Diana Spencer made several lengthy visits each week to Royal Brompton Hospital, where she worked to comfort seriously ill or dying patients.

In 1987, Diana Spencer was awarded the Honorary Freedom of the City of London, the highest honour which is in the power of the City of London to bestow on someone.

Diana Spencer paid a visit to a children's hospital she had previously supported when she provided them with medical equipment.

In December 1995, Diana Spencer received the United Cerebral Palsy Humanitarian of the Year Award in New York City for her philanthropic efforts.

Related searches

Diana Spencer continued her work with the British Red Cross Anti-Personnel Land Mines Campaign, but was no longer listed as patron.

In May 1997, Diana Spencer opened the Richard Attenborough Centre for Disability and the Arts in Leicester, after being asked by her friend Richard Attenborough.

Diana Spencer's final official engagement was a visit to Northwick Park Hospital, London, on 21 July 1997.

Diana Spencer was scheduled to attend a fundraiser at the Osteopathic Centre for Children on 4 September 1997, upon her return from Paris.

Diana Spencer was not averse to making physical contact with AIDS patients, and was the first British royal figure to do so.

In October 1990, Diana Spencer opened Grandma's House, a home for young AIDS patients in Washington, DC She was a patron of the National AIDS Trust and regularly visited London Lighthouse, which provided residential care for HIV patients.

Diana Spencer later established and led fundraising campaigns for AIDS research.

In March 1997, Diana Spencer visited South Africa, where she met with President Nelson Mandela.

Diana Spencer was the patron of the HALO Trust, an organisation that removes debris—particularly landmines—left behind by war.

In January 1997, pictures of Diana Spencer touring an Angolan minefield in a ballistic helmet and flak jacket were seen worldwide.

Diana Spencer later chose this charity to be among the organisations that benefited from the auction of her clothes in New York.

In February 1996, Diana Spencer, who had been informed about a newly opened cancer hospital built by Imran Khan, travelled to Pakistan to visit its children's cancer wards and attend a fundraising dinner in aid of the charity in Lahore.

Diana Spencer additionally visited patients at the Cook County Hospital and delivered remarks at a conference on breast cancer at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law after meeting a group of breast cancer researchers.

In September 1996, after being asked by Katharine Graham, Diana Spencer went to Washington and appeared at a White House breakfast in respect of the Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research.

Diana Spencer attended an annual fund-raiser for breast cancer research organised by The Washington Post at the same centre.

In 1988, Diana Spencer opened Children with Leukaemia in memory of two young cancer victims.

Diana Spencer remained the patron of this charity and visited several of its hospitals around the world, especially in India, Nepal, Zimbabwe and Nigeria until her death in 1997.

Diana Spencer touched those affected by the disease when many people believed it could be contracted through casual contact.

Diana Spencer was a long-standing and active supporter of Centrepoint, a charity which provides accommodation and support to homeless people, and became patron in 1992.

Diana Spencer supported organisations that battle poverty and homelessness, including the Passage.

Related searches

Diana Spencer was a supporter of young homeless people and spoke out on behalf of them by saying that "they deserve a decent start in life".

Diana Spencer used to take young William and Harry for private visits to Centrepoint services and homeless shelters.

Diana Spencer was a staunch and longtime supporter of charities and organisations that focused on social and mental issues, including Relate and Turning Point.

Diana Spencer became the charity's patron in 1987 and visited the charity on a regular basis, meeting the sufferers at its centres or institutions including Rampton and Broadmoor.

In November 1980, the Sunday Mirror ran a story claiming that Charles had used the Royal Train twice for secret love rendezvous with Diana Spencer, prompting the palace to issue a statement, calling the story "a total fabrication" and demanding an apology.

Diana Spencer moved her offices to Kensington Palace but was permitted "to use the state apartments at St James's Palace".

Diana Spencer was given an allowance to run her private office, which was responsible for her charity work and royal duties, but from September 1996 onwards she was required to pay her bills and "any expenditure" incurred by her or on her behalf.

Diana Spencer was offered security by Metropolitan Police's Royalty Protection Group, which she benefitted from while travelling with her sons, but had refused it in the final years of her life, in an attempt to distance herself from the royal family.

Diana Spencer dated the British-Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan, who was called "the love of her life" by many of her closest friends after her death, and she is said to have described him as "Mr Wonderful".

In May 1996, Diana Spencer visited Lahore upon invitation of Imran Khan, a relative of Hasnat Khan, and visited the latter's family in secret.

Khan was intensely private and the relationship was conducted in secrecy, with Diana Spencer lying to members of the press who questioned her about it.

Diana Spencer is said to have spoken of her distress when he ended their relationship.

However, according to Khan's testimony at the inquest into her death, it was Diana Spencer who ended their relationship in the summer of 1997.

That summer, Diana Spencer had considered taking her sons on a holiday to the Hamptons on Long Island, New York, but security officials had prevented it.

On 31 August 1997, Diana Spencer died in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris while the driver was fleeing the paparazzi.

Diana Spencer's sons walked in the funeral procession behind her coffin, along with her ex-husband the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, Diana's brother Lord Spencer, and representatives of some of her charities.

Diana Spencer's body was clothed in a black long-sleeved dress designed by Catherine Walker, which she had chosen some weeks before.

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.

Diana Spencer decided Diana would be buried where her grave could be easily cared for and visited in privacy by William, Harry, and other relatives.

The will was signed in June 1993, but Diana Spencer had it modified in February 1996 to remove the name of her personal secretary from the list of trustees and have her sister replace him.

Related searches

Many of Diana Spencer's possessions were initially left in the care of her brother who put them on show in Althorp twice a year until they were returned to the princes.

Diana Spencer left her butler Paul Burrell around £50,000 in cash.

In 2008, Ken Wharfe, a former bodyguard of Diana Spencer, claimed that her scandalous conversations with James Gilbey were in fact recorded by the GCHQ, which intentionally released them on a "loop".

Wharfe said Diana Spencer herself believed that members of the royal family were all being monitored, though he stated that the main reason for it could be the potential threats of the IRA.

On 19 March 2013, ten of Diana Spencer's dresses, including a midnight blue velvet gown she wore to a 1985 state dinner at the White House when she danced with John Travolta, raised over £800,000 at auction in London.

The six letters that were written by Diana Spencer included information about her young sons' daily life and raised £15,100.

Diana Spencer remains one of the most popular members of the royal family throughout history, and she continues to influence the younger generations of royals.

Diana Spencer was a major presence on the world stage from her engagement to Prince Charles in 1981 until her death in 1997, and was often described as the "world's most photographed woman".

Diana Spencer was noted for her compassion, style, charisma, and high-profile charity work, as well as her ill-fated marriage.

Diana Spencer said she was a tough boss who was "equally quick to appreciate hard work" but could be defiant "if she felt she had been the victim of injustice".

Diana Spencer's mother defined her as a "loving" figure who could occasionally be "tempestuous".

Paul Burrell, who worked as a butler for Diana Spencer, remembered her as a "deep thinker" who was capable of "introspective analysis".

Diana Spencer was often described as a devoted mother to her children, who are believed to be influenced by her personality and way of life.

Brown believed that Diana Spencer was capable of charming people with a single glance.

Diana Spencer is often credited with widening the range of charity works carried out by the royal family in a more modern style.

Diana Spencer's was the final rejection; the way in which he consistently denigrated her reduced her to despair.

Diana Spencer had become what Prime Minister Tony Blair called the "People's Princess", an iconic national figure.

Diana Spencer had reportedly said that she had shown the nation "a new way to be British".

Diana Spencer was the very essence of compassion, of duty, of style, of beauty.

In 1997, Diana Spencer was one of the runners-up for Time magazine's Person of the Year.

Related searches

In 2002, Diana Spencer ranked third on the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, above the Queen and other British monarchs.

In 2018, Diana Spencer ranked fifteenth on the BBC Historys poll of 100 Women Who Changed the World.

Patrick Jephson, her private secretary of eight years, wrote in an article in The Daily Telegraph that "[Diana Spencer] had an extra quality that frustrated her critics during her lifetime and has done little to soften their disdain since her death".

Diana Spencer was criticised by philosophy professor Anthony O'Hear who in his notes argued that she was unable to fulfill her duties, her reckless behaviour was damaging the monarchy, and she was "self-indulgent" in her philanthropic efforts.

Tina Brown argued that Diana Spencer was in no way "a vulnerable victim of media manipulation", and she found it "offensive to present the canny, resourceful Diana Spencer as a woman of no agency, as either a foolish, duped child or the hapless casualty of malevolent muckrakers".

Nevertheless, Diana Spencer used the media's interest in her to shine light on her charitable efforts and patronages.

Diana Spencer was a fashion icon whose style was emulated by women around the world.

Diana Spencer remains a prominent figure for her fashion style, impacting recent cultural and style trends.

Diana Spencer forgoed certain traditions, such as wearing gloves during engagements, and sought to create a wardrobe that helped her to connect with the public.

Copies of Diana Spencer's British Vogue-featured pink chiffon blouse by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, which appeared on the magazine's cover on her engagement announcement day, sold in the millions.

Diana Spencer appeared on two more British Vogue covers during her lifetime and was featured on its October 1997 issue posthumously.

Diana Spencer was featured in the cover story for the July 1997 issue of Vanity Fair.

Diana Spencer did her own makeup for events, and was accompanied by a hairstylist for public appearances.

In 1998, several countries issued postage stamps commemorating Diana Spencer, including the UK, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Somalia, and Congo.

Princess Diana Spencer Drive was named in her memory in Trenton, New Jersey.

Diana's granddaughters, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana was born on 2015 and and Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born on 2021, and as well as her niece, Lady Charlotte Diana Spencer was born on 2012, and are named after her.

Vine intended to portray Diana Spencer's combined strength and vulnerability as well as her closeness to her two sons.

Diana Spencer was been depicted by contemporary painter Sam McKinniss in a 2017 exhibition that included portraits of musicians Prince and Lorde, actress Drew Barrymore, and author Joan Didion.

Actresses who have portrayed Diana include Serena Scott Thomas, Julie Cox, Amy Seccombe, Michelle Duncan, Genevieve O'Reilly, Nathalie Brocker, Naomi Watts, Jeanna de Waal, Emma Corrin and Elizabeth Debicki, and Kristen Stewart.

Diana Spencer additionally bore the titles Duchess of Rothesay, Duchess of Cornwall, Countess of Chester, and Baroness of Renfrew.

Related searches

Diana Spencer is still sometimes referred to in the media as "Lady Diana Spencer" or simply as "Lady Di".

Diana Spencer's great-grandmother was Margaret Baring, a member of the German-British Baring family of bankers and the daughter of Edward Baring, 1st Baron Revelstoke.

Diana Spencer was descended from the House of Stuart through Charles II of England by Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, and Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton, and his brother James II of England by Henrietta FitzJames.

Diana Spencer is variously described in contemporary documents as "a dark-skinned native woman" and "an Armenian woman from Bombay".