The Story Of Princess Diana

Born as Diana Frances Spencer on July 1st, 1961, Diana became Lady Diana Spencer after her father "Johnnie Spencer" got the title of Earl Spencer in 1975.  She married to the heir of the British throne, Prince Charles on July 29, 1981. They had two sons and later divorced in 1996.  Diana died of a car crash after trying to escape from the paparazzi in Paris on the night of August 30, 1997. She survived the crash but died four hours later in a Paris hospital. A few years after his marriage, Prince William said that he would not let Kate suffer like his mother or in other words "I  not let the paparazzi hurt Kate like my mother."

            Lady Diana Spencer was born on July 1st, 1961 in Sandringham, England. Her Royal Highness Princess Diana of Wales was one of the most honors in the royal family. She was known as and always will be the daughter of Edward John Spencer and Frances Ruth Burke Roche later known as Honorable Frances Shand Kydd. Her parents were Viscount Althorp and Viscountess Althorp.

            The Spencer's marriage had been stressed since the death of their first son. In 1969, Frances and Johnnie Spencer divorced, and Johnnie Spencer was given full custody of his children. Soon after the divorce was official, Frances Spencer married Peter Shand-Kydd. Diana had many painful memories of the divorce. She always hear her mother cried when the children had to return home to their father after their weekend visits. After divorce her mother was no longer a Viscountess Althorp but became an Honorable Frances Shand Kydd.

            Princess Diana was known for her shyness as growing up. While growing up Diana did showed an interest in music and dancing. Diana also had a great fondness for children. After attending and finishing school at Institut Alphin Videmanette, she moved to London. She began working with children, and eventually became a Kindergarten teacher at Youth England School.

            Lady Diana was no stranger to the royal family. She has been reported playing with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward as a child while her family rented Park House, an estate owned by Queen Elizabeth II.

           Diana and her friends dated many young wealthy men who were often bankers, stockbrokers, army officers, or heirs to the business fortunes. Diana and her friends dated many of those young men, although Diana never had a serious relationship with any of them. She told her friends that she was waiting for "Mr. Right." She hinted that "Mr. Right" might be in the royal family. Most of her friends guess she meant Prince Andrew, the second son of the queen, who was only one year older than Diana. But Diana had a different prince in mind. One day, Prince Phillip invited Diana to watch a game of polo involved with Prince Charles. After the game, Princess Diana and Charles talk. They decided to meet each other again.

            Finally, on February 6, 1981, Prince Charles invited Diana to Windsor Castle, one of the queen's official residence and asked her to marry him. Diana immediately accept even though as Diana warned her the pressure of royal life and sometimes could be out of control. Diana was full of joy and Charles seemed to be happy too. During the photo shoot was announced, a reported asked if Charles and Diana was in loved. Diana said she loved the prince, but Charles response was "Yes, whatever love means."

           A few days after Diana and Charles announce their engagement Diana flew to Australia with her mother and stepfather Peter Shand Kydd. The three spent ten days at a friend's house. Diana knew this would be her last chance for peace and quiet, but she missed Charles horribly and was lonely throughout her vacation.

            When Diana returned to London, she moved out of her apartment forever. Diana moved into a suite of rooms at Buckingham Palace. She spent her days learning how to talk to the public, how to shake hands, how to treat household servants, even how to wave to the crowd. Diana also spent time at the Clarence House, the London home of the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother instructed Diana on proper royal behavior. The Queen Mother is the widow of King George VI and is the mother of the current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.  Diana also had meant fashion designers, who guided her in updating her image from shy teacher's assistant to a popular princess.

            At the same time Diana was learning her new life, she also had to plan her wedding. The world was surprised when Diana picked two young and relatively unknown designers , David and Elizabeth Emanuel, to make her wedding dress. Charles and Diana also announced that their wedding would be held in St. Paul's Cathedral, rather than the traditional Westminster Abbey. They chose St. Paul's because it could hold more people and provided a longer route for Diana's journey to the wedding, which would allowed more people to catch get a glance of her as she passed. As Diana struggled to learn about her new role and plan the biggest day of her life, she was constantly in the public eye.  The public adored Diana, and newspaper were filled with stories and photographs of her.

            For many years, Charles had been very close to a woman named Camilla Parker Bowles. The two have dated in the early 1970s, and Charles have even asked Camilla to married him. However, Camilla married another man. The friendship between Charles and Camilla made Diana jealous. She knew that after the polo match, Charles was going to see Camilla to give her a gift. Diana was so upset by this she told her sister she was seriously thinking off calling off the wedding. However, everyone knew that it was too late for that. The wedding was only a few days away, all the preparations had been made, and the stores were filled with mugs, dishcloths, and other souvenirs in honor of Diana and Charles wedding.

            At last the big day arrived, July 29, 1981 arrived. Diana's room in Buckingham Palace faced an open area called The Mall, which on the morning of the wedding, was jammed by crowds of singing and cheering people. The sounds of their excitement filled the room as Diana met with her designers, hairdresser Kevin Shanley, and makeup artist Barbara Daly. By the time the designers and stylists finished their work, Diana did look like a fairytale princess.   

            Diana and her father climbed into a horse-drawn Glass Coach that would carry them through the streets of London and to the wedding. All the along the way they were surrounded by crowds of well-wishers that were cheering off the tops of their lungs. Diana was worried about her father, the 8th Earl Spencer would walk Diana down the aisle, but a stroke had suffered him a few years earlier making it difficult for him to walk. Diana focused all her attention on supporting her father as they made their slow journey up St. Paul's long main aisle. She knew her father was bursting with pride and enjoying every minute of this day. The wedding went smoothly, the only glitch occurring was when Diana mixed up Charles' name during the vows and called him "Phillip Charles Arthur George" instead of "Charles Phillip Arthur George."Afterward, the new happy royal couple walked down the aisle, the rode back to the Buckingham Palace through the crowd. They ceremony and the royal procession was watched by more than 750 million people in more than 70 countries. Diana was now the Princess of Wales and the future queen of England. The celebrations did not end when Charles and Diana arrived at Buckingham Palace. After going inside for a few minutes, Diana, Charles, and the royal family, and the members of the wedding party appeared on the palace balcony. The crowds cheered, then began calling for the couple to kiss. Diana and Charles complied, to the great joy of the crowd.

            On June 21, 1982, Diana and Charles had their first child: Prince William Arthur Philip Louis. More than two years later on September 15, 1984, he was joined by a brother Prince Henry Charles Albert David widely known as Prince Harry. Overwhelmed by her royal duties and the intense media coverage of nearly every aspect of her life, she began to develop her own interests. Diana is a strong supporter of many charities and worked to help the homeless, people living in HIV and AIDS, and especially children in need.

            Unfortunately, the fairy tale wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles did not lead to be a happily ever after ending. The two's marriage became stressful over the years. The couple's separation was announced in December 1992 by British Prime Minister John Major, who read a statement from the royal family to the House of Commons. The divorce was official and finalized in 1996.

            Even after the divorce, Diana was still very popular. She and her sons went to charitable efforts as the battle against the use of land mines. Diana used her international celebrity to help raise awareness of this issue. The paparazzi that haunt her haunt her to death during a vacation in Paris. Dodi Al-Fayed, Princess Diana, Henri, and Dodi's bodyguard were all involved in a car accident. The car crash took place on the night of August 30, 1997.

            Diana survived the car crash, but due to her rapid blood bleeding she died four hours later in a Paris hospital. Dodi and the driver, Henri was instantly killed. French authorities investigated the crash and the driver was found to have a high level of alcohol in his body at the time of the accident. The flashes from the cameras were going off crazy.

            News of Princess Diana's death shocked the world. Thousands turned out to pay dedication to the "people's princess." The funeral was held at Westminster Abbey, which was also broadcast on TV. Her body was later buried at the Spencer's estate, Althorp.

            In 2007, marking the 10th anniversary of Princess Diana's death, her sons Prince William and Harry, honored their beloved mother with a special concert, that would have been seen on her 46th birthday. The money that was raised went to charities.