169 Facts About Princess Diana

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.

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

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

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

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

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Princess Diana 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.

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

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

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

Princess Diana'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, Princess Diana was baptised at St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham.

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

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

Princess Diana 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.

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

Princess Diana became known as Lady Diana after her father later inherited the title of Earl Spencer in 1975, at which point her father moved the entire family from Park House to Althorp, the Spencer seat in Northamptonshire.

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

Princess Diana 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Princess Diana 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.

Princess Diana 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.

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Princess Diana 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.

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

Charles and Princess Diana 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.

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

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

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

Princess Diana 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.

Princess Diana 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.

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

Princess Diana 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.

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

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

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

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

Princess Diana 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.

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

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

Princess Diana 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.

Princess Diana 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.

In 1986 Princess Diana 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.

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In 1989, Princess Diana 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 Princess Diana 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.

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

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

Princess Diana 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.

Charles's aunt Princess Margaret burned "highly personal" letters that Diana had written to the Queen Mother in 1993.

In October 1993, Princess Diana wrote to her butler Paul Burrell, telling him that she believed her husband was now in love with his personal assistant Tiggy Legge-Bourke—who was 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 Princess Diana was resentful of Legge-Bourke and her relationship with the young princes.

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

However, Princess Diana 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.

Princess Diana 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 Princess Diana herself said she suffered resulted in some of her biographers opining that she had borderline personality disorder.

In February 1996, Princess Diana 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Princess Diana 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 Princess Diana visited Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, where they presented the university with a replica of their royal charter.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In 1987, Princess Diana 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In October 1990, Princess Diana 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.

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

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

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

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

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

In February 1996, Princess Diana, 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.

Princess Diana 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, Princess Diana went to Washington and appeared at a White House breakfast in respect of the Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research.

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

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

Princess Diana 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Princess Diana 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 Princess Diana, prompting the palace to issue a statement, calling the story "a total fabrication" and demanding an apology.

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

Princess Diana 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.

Princess Diana 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.

Princess Diana 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, Princess Diana 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 Princess Diana lying to members of the press who questioned her about it.

Princess Diana 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 Princess Diana who ended their relationship in the summer of 1997.

That summer, Princess Diana 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, Princess Diana died in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris while the driver was fleeing the paparazzi.

Princess Diana'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.

Princess Diana'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 Princess Diana to be buried in the Spencer family vault at the local church in nearby Great Brington, but Lord Spencer said he was concerned about public safety and security and the onslaught of visitors that might overwhelm Great Brington.

Princess Diana 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 Princess Diana 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.

Many of Princess Diana'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.

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

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

Wharfe said Princess Diana 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 Princess Diana'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 Princess Diana included information about her young sons' daily life and raised £15,100.

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

Princess Diana 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".

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

Princess Diana 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".

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

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

Princess Diana 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 Princess Diana was capable of charming people with a single glance.

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

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

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

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

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

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

In 2018, Princess Diana 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 "[Princess Diana] had an extra quality that frustrated her critics during her lifetime and has done little to soften their disdain since her death".

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

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

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

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

Princess Diana's fashion combined classically royal expectations with contemporary fashion trends in Britain.

Princess Diana 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 Princess Diana'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.

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

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

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

The Princess Diana was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1989.

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

Princess Diana 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 Princess Diana's combined strength and vulnerability as well as her closeness to her two sons.

Princess Diana 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.

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

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

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Princess Diana was born into the British Spencer family, different branches of which hold the titles of Duke of Marlborough, Earl Spencer, Earl of Sunderland, and Baron Churchill.

Princess Diana'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.

Princess Diana 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.

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