The Untold Story of the Most Famous Royal, Princess Diana

Diana Frances Spencer grew up as a member of the British royal family. She was married to Prince Charles and mother to Prince William and Prince Harry. She was known as 'The People's Princess" and was loved around the world. The royal marriage was anything but a fairytale and ended in divorce. Princess Diana broke down barriers and was celebrated for her charity work. Diana wanted her children to experience some normalcy and made sure they did. Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in a Paris tunnel in 1997, but her legacy has had a deep impact on the royal family and British society.

Diana Frances Spencer was born in 1961 in Sandringham, Norfolk, and was the fourth child of John Spencer and Frances Spencer. Her parents' titles were Viscount Althorp and Viscountess Althorp. The family had been closely allied with the British royal family for several generations, so Diana grew up close to the royal family. 

The royal family frequently vacationed near where Diana grew up, and she often played with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. When Diana was seven years old, her parents divorced, and she lived with her father and stepmother. She described her childhood as very unhappy and very unstable. 

In 1973, Lady Diana joined her sisters at West Heath Girls' School in Kent. She did not shine academically, but she did show a talent for music, specifically being a pianist, and she excelled in swimming and diving. She studied ballet and tap dance and was recognized with an award for her outstanding community spirit. 

While living in London, Diana took a series of low-paying jobs as a dance instructor for youth and as a pre-school assistant. She also did some cleaning work for her sister Sarah and some friends and acted as a hostess at parties. 

In November 1977, Prince Charles was dating Diana's older sister, Sarah. Sarah introduced the two when Diana was sixteen, and she thought upon meeting him was, "God, what a sad man." Prince Charles was twelve years older than Diana, but he stated he was intrigued by her. 

In 1980, Diana visited Balmoral Castle, and before going, her grandmother told her this would be the most important weekend of her life. It is known as the test to see if the royal family will accept you or not. Balmoral is where the royal family goes on vacation to fish, ride horses, hunt, picnic, and barbecue. 

In 1980, when Diana started dating Prince Charles, the media began swarming her apartment and following her wherever she went. After her trip to Balmoral, the photographers really started following her. This was a big adjustment for Diana, who was really, very shy. 

The proposal was brief and not the romantic story people were hoping for. The couple were in the nursery at Windsor Castel when he simply asked her to marry him. She giggled in that shy way that Diana giggled and stated she thought it might have been a joke. 

On February 24, 1981, Prince Charles and Lady Diana announced their engagement after only dating for six months. During the interview, Charles stated that he was delighted and amazed that Diana was prepared to take him on, and Diana described her husband-to-be as pretty amazing. 

Diana described her first royal event after becoming engaged as horrendous. They attended a gala at the Royal Opera House, and the black strapless gown she wore caught the public's attention. She stated she didn't know all of the rules and was terrified at that first event. 

On July 29, 1981, the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana took place at St Paul's Cathedral in London. It was a traditional Church of England wedding service with 3,500 guests, while two million spectators lined the route of Diana's procession and millions more watched on television. 

The newlyweds traveled to Broadlands on their wedding night and spent three days there. They flew to Gibraltar and boarded the Royal Yacht Britannia for an eleven-day cruise. Then they flew to Scotland to meet up with the rest of the royal family at Balmoral Castle. 

Princess Diana was one of the most adored princesses of all time, but yet, she felt so unbelievably alone. She stated Charles always ignored her, and she had recently learned that he was having an affair with Camilla. She said in an interview that she became so desperate that when she was four months pregnant with William, she threw herself down the stairs.

Princess Diana gave birth to Prince William in 1982 at St. Mary's Hospital. He was born at seven pounds and was born very healthy. Charles had kept vigil at Diana's bedside in the hospital until his son was born. 

Princess Diana took her first royal tour abroad in 1983, and nine-month-old William accompanied Charles and Diana. They spent more than forty days in Australia and New Zealand. Until that point, the royal custom for overseas trips was to leave the children at home, but Diana refused to leave her young son behind. 

Henry Charles Albert David was born in 1984 in the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in London. Prince Charles had been hoping for a girl, so when Prince Harry was born, Charles said, "Oh God, it's a boy. And he's even got red hair." 

Diana met Penny Thornton in 1984, and Penny was her go-to-astrologer. They became very close over the years, and Penny told Diana that she would never be Queen, which was the truth. Diana consulted with astrologers about her future as well as healers and psychics. 

Prince Charles and Princess Diana went on an Italian tour in 1995. The couple took a gondola ride while visiting Venice. Some of the tour highlights were attending a performance of Puccini's opera and a stay in La Pietra. 

One of Diana's most iconic moments was when she danced with John Travolta at the White House. Diana and Charles were on their official trip to the United States in 1985 and were invited by President Reagan to a gala dinner at the White House. 

In December of 1985, at London's Royal Opera House for the annual show for Friends of Covent Garden, there is usually a surprise guest, and that year it was Princess Diana. It was a surprise for her husband, Prince Charles; she appeared on stage with Wayne Sleep and danced a short contemporary piece to "Uptown Girl." 

Prince Charles and Camilla met in 1971 at a polo match and dated for about one year. They went on to marry others; Camilla married Andrew Bowles, and Charles married Diana. Charles and Camilla rekindled their relationship and started having an affair in 1986 while both were still married. 

In the 1980s, the world was terrified of HIV/AIDS. In 1987, Princess Diana opened the UK's first HIV/AIDS unit at London Middlesex Hospital. She made headlines for shaking the hand of a man suffering from AIDS without gloves on. 

Princess Diana knew about the affair between Prince Charles and Camilla and wanted them to know it. While Charles and Camilla were chatting with another friend, Diana asked to have a moment alone with Camilla. 

In 1991, Prince William was struck on the head with a golf club while playing at his boarding school and was rushed to the hospital. He was cut but not knocked out and was taken for observation and treatment. 

In 1991, Princess Diana cut short her annual royal family summer holiday at Balmoral. She needed to be at the bedside of longtime friend Adrain Ward-Jackson, who was dying of AIDS. Diana had been quietly spending time with him for over a year and even brought Prince William to meet him. 

Andrew Morton wrote the blockbuster biography, Diana: Her True Story---In Her Own Words. Princess Diana wanted to make sure the British public heard her side of the story, so she recorded her thoughts and secrets onto tapes and then had her friend, Dr. James Colthurst, deliver them by bicycle. She also gave permission for her closest confidantes to talk to Morton for the book. 

Earl Spencer, Princess Diana's father, died in 1992 at the age of 68 from a heart attack. He had been in the hospital for pneumonia, and Diana, along with Prince William, went and saw him before they left for Austria. The boys stayed in Austria while Diana and Charles went back to the UK. 

In 1992, the squidgygate tapes surfaced and were one of Princess Diana's greatest scandals. It all began on New Year's Eve in 1989 when Diana had a phone call with James Gilbey while she was at Sandringham. The call ended up being recorded, which Diana was unaware of. 

At the end of 1992, it was announced that Prince Charles and Princess Diana were separating "amicably." The report came after several years of speculation. It was evident to everyone that the fairytale couple had grown apart; however, they continued to carry out their royal duties. 

In 1993, the Camillagate tapes were published by media outlets. The conversation on the tapes was between Prince Charles and Camilla and was from 1989 when Prince Charles was still married to Princess Diana. A radio enthusiast recorded the conversation, and it started with them talking about someone else but quickly turned intimate. 

On Friday, December 3, 1993, Diana gave a speech stating she was planning to retire from public life. The speech was made at a charity lunch, and she appealed for time and space after more than a decade in the spotlight. 

In 1994, Prince Charles gave an interview and was questioned by journalist Jonathan Dimbleby. When asked if he tried to be faithful and honorable, he replied yes, absolutely. He stated he was faithful until his marriage to Diana became irretrievably broken down.

In 1994, Diana wore a form-fitting, off-the-shoulder chiffon cocktail dress to Vanity Fair's annual fundraising gala. The dress became known as the revenge dress because that same night was Prince Charles' interview where he admitted to being unfaithful to Diana. 

Princess Diana met Dr. Hasnat Khan while visiting the hospital with a friend in 1995, and the first thing that attracted Diana was that he paid almost no attention to her. The couple dated but avoided being photographed and kept their relationship private. 

In 1995, Princess Diana gave her famous interview with Martin Bashir. The interview was watched by nearly 23 million viewers and was held in Diana's sitting room in Kensington Palace. 

In 1996, after four years of separation, Prince Charles and Princess Diana were officially divorced. Diana had to relinquish the title of "Her Royal Highness" and any future claims to the British throne but was allowed to keep her title of "Princess of Wales." 

After the divorce, William and Harry spent equal time with Diana and Charles. Despite no longer being a royal, Diana continued to carry out a lot of humanitarian work and was allowed to use the royal family's private jet if she needed to travel. 

In January 1997, Diana called for an international ban on landmines when she was visiting Angola, where she received global attention by walking through a live minefield. Diana was photographed wearing protective clothing and equipment, and she met with landmine survivors. 

In 1997, Princess Diana was featured in Vanity Fair, and during the photoshoot, she really got into it. She was laughing and tossing her head back and throwing off the most incredibly languid looks. She even wanted to learn the catwalk. 

In 1997, Diana auctioned off seventy-nine cocktail and evening dresses at Christie's Auction in Manhattan. All of the dresses belonged to Diana, and most were worn during her time as a member of the royal family. She raised $3.25 million from her dresses for cancer and AIDS charities. 

Diana and Dodi Fayed only dated for a few months before their deaths and even spent the holiday on his yacht in the South of France with Diana's sons. Diana's close friends stated she was just having fun and had no intention of marriage any time soon. 

On August 30, 1997, Diana was with Dodi Fayed, and they left for the apartment with Trevor-Rees-Jones in the front passenger seat, and Henri Paul was driving. None of the passengers were wearing seat belts, and the driver lost control of the vehicle at the tunnel entrance, and they crashed head-on with the thirteenth pillar. 

Princess Diana's funeral was held at Westminster Abbey. The funeral drew an estimated three million mourners in London, and crowds watched and listened to proceedings on large outdoor screens and speakers. The ceremony was broadcast to 200 countries and forty-four languages. After the ceremony, Diana's coffin was driven to Althorp in a Daimler hearse as mourners threw flowers at the funeral procession almost the entire way. 

Princess Diana is buried on her childhood grounds at Althorp in North Hampshire, England, on an island in the center of a lake called Round Oval. Once a year, visitors can visit a shrine near the island but are never allowed on the island itself. 

Princess Diana was so much more than a style icon or a princess. She was a prominent philanthropic force and worked tirelessly on behalf of charities around the world. She changed the face of the British monarchy by showing how they could be in touch with the public, and she led a campaign for a worldwide ban on landmines. 

Diana: A Tribute to the People's Princess is a television film paying tribute to Princess Diana. The film was released in 1998 and is a story of her final year, including her love for charity work, relationships, and William and Harry until her tragic death. 

Princess Diana made a great princess because she was relatable. She made people feel like they knew her and that she was a friend. She cared and really took the time to listen to people. She said what was on her mind and took on causes that the royal family would not normally take on. 

Princess Diana was known for her love for her boys. She showered the boys with affection and always made them her top priority. She was mischievous and playful and often encouraged her kids' sense of adventure. Diana tried her hardest to give both William and Harry happy childhoods and wasn't afraid to make her own decisions on how to raise her children. 

Princess Diana became a fashion icon whose style is so emulated and so loved. Diana's confident demeanor in unique gowns made her one of the most-photographed women in the world. She developed a very glamorous regal style, and she had an uncanny sense of how her clothing might enhance her physical presence.