Princess Diana's family. Diana: Princess of Wales, Queen of people's hearts. She hugged leprosy patients she visited in India

More than 20 years have passed since the death of Princess Diana in a car accident, but new facts about her life continue to appear regularly in the press. In the review of InStyle - all the most interesting and unexpected about the "queen of hearts".

1. She was the fourth of five children in the family

Princess Diana had two sisters, Sarah and Jane, and a younger brother, Charles. Another child of the Spencer family, a boy named John, was born in January 1960 and died a few hours later.

2. Her parents divorced when she was 7

Diana's parents, Francis Shand Kidd and Earl John Spencer, separated in 1969.

3. Diana's grandmother served at court

Ruth Roche, Lady Fermoy, Princess Diana's maternal grandmother, was the Queen Mother's personal assistant and companion. They were very friendly, and Lady Fermoy often helped her in organizing holidays.

4. Diana grew up on Sandrigham Manor

Sandrigham House is located in Norfolk and is owned by the royal family. On its territory there is a Park House, where the mother of Princess Diana was born, and then Diana herself. The princess spent her childhood there.

5. Diana dreamed of becoming a ballerina

Diana studied ballet for a long time and wanted to become a professional dancer, but she was too tall for this (Diana's height is 178 cm).

6. She worked as a nanny and teacher

Before meeting Prince Charles, Diana was a nanny. She later became a kindergarten teacher. At the time, Diana was making about five dollars an hour.

7 She Became The First Fiancée Of A Member Of The Royal Family To Have A Paid Job

And Kate Middleton is the first to have a higher education.

8. Prince Charles first dated her older sister

It was thanks to her sister Sarah that Diana met her future husband. “It was I who introduced them, became their Cupid,” Sarah Spencer later said.

9. Prince Charles was a distant relative of Diana

Charles and Diana were each other's 16th cousins.

10. Before the wedding, Diana saw Prince Charles only 12 times.

And he became the initiator of their wedding.

11. Her wedding dress broke all records.

The ivory wedding dress, created by design duo David and Elizabeth Emmanuel, has gone down in history. More than 10,000 pearls were used to embroider the dress, and the train was almost 8 meters long. By the way, this is the longest train among all princess wedding dresses.

12. Diana deliberately omitted part of her wedding vow.

Instead of the traditional promise to "obey" her husband, Diana swore only to "love him, console him, honor him and protect him, in sickness and in health."

13. She was the first member of the royal family to give birth in a hospital.

Before her, representatives of the royal family practiced only home births, so Prince William became the first future monarch who was born in a hospital.

14 She Practiced Non-Royal Parenting Methods

Princess Diana wanted her sons to live normal lives. “She made sure that William and Harry experienced everything: Diana took them to the movies, forced them to stand in lines, bought food at McDonald's, rode the roller coaster with them,” said Patrick Jephson, who worked with Diana in for six years.

15. She had many famous friends

Diana was friends with Elton John, George Michael, Tilda Swinton and Liza Minnelli.

16. ABBA was her favorite band

It is known that Diana was a big fan of the Swedish pop group ABBA. The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William paid tribute to Diana by playing several ABBA songs at their 2011 wedding.

17. She had an affair with a bodyguard

Barry Mannaki was a member of the royal security team, and in 1985 became the personal bodyguard of Princess Diana. After a year of service, he was removed due to too close relations with Diana. In 1987, he crashed on a motorcycle.

18. After the divorce, she was deprived of the title

Princess Diana has lost her title of "Her Royal Highness". Prince Charles insisted on this, although Queen Elizabeth II was not opposed to leaving Diana the title.

19 She Invited Cindy Crawford To Kensington Palace

Diana invited supermodel Cindy Crawford to tea to please Prince Harry and Prince William, who were then teenagers. In 2017, on the anniversary of Diana's death, Cindy Crawford shared a retro photo with the Princess of Wales on Instagram. “She asked if I could come to her for tea the next time I was in London. I was nervous and didn't know what to wear. But when I entered the room, we immediately started chatting, as if she was an ordinary girl," Crawford wrote.

20. She is buried on her family's island

Diana is buried at the Spencer family estate of Althorp in Northamptonshire. The estate has been owned by the Spencer family for over 500 years. There is also a temple on the Oval Lake on the small island, where anyone can honor the memory of the princess.

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 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

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. Despite Charles and her sister's former relationship, Diana remained close to Sarah.

17. She battled negative attitudes towards those infected with AIDS, despite the queen's disapproval

In the 80s, there was a rapid increase in the disease such as AIDS on the planet, 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.

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 to keep her weight under control, damaging her health and suffering from deep depression.

15. Diana's engagement ring was bought from a catalog.

It is customary in royal families to make jewelry to order, but Diana broke this tradition by choosing her engagement 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

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 of the famous journalist David, and Domenica Lawson, a little girl with Down syndrome.

13. Diana found herself in a state of enmity with her mother.

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"

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.

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.

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 the Nobel Prize.

Many people know Diana's active peacekeeping activities and position, 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 completely ruined on her wedding day.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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 was friends with the leader of the 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.

Diana Francis Spencer was born on July 1, 1960. The third girl in the family, she became another disappointment for Earl John Spencer, who was expecting a son - the heir to titles and estates. But as a child, Diana was surrounded by love: as the youngest, she was spoiled by both relatives and servants.

The idyll did not last long: convicted of adultery, Countess Spencer left for London, taking her younger children. The divorce process was accompanied by a scandal - at the trial, Diana's grandmother testified against her daughter. Family discord forever remained associated for Diana with the terrible word "divorce". Relations with her stepmother did not work out, and for the rest of her childhood, Diana rushed between her mother's mansion in Scotland and her father's in England, not feeling at home anywhere.

Diana (far right) with her father, sisters Sarah and Jane and brother Charles

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Diana was not particularly diligent, and teachers spoke of her as a smart, but not very gifted girl. The true reason for her indifference to the sciences was that she was already absorbed by another passion - ballet, but her high growth prevented her passion from becoming a matter of life. Deprived of the opportunity to become a ballerina, Diana turned to social activities. Her enthusiastic nature and ability to infect others with her enthusiasm was noted by everyone around.

Not just a friend

Prince Charles and Diana met when she was 16. Diana's sister Sarah then met with the heir to the British throne, but the affair ended after a careless interview with the girl. Soon after the break, Charles began to look at the one in which he had previously seen only the younger sister of his girlfriend, and soon came to the conclusion: Diana is perfection itself! The girl was flattered by the attention of the prince, and everything went to a happy ending.

A weekend at a friends country house was followed by a cruise on the yacht Britannia and then an invitation to Balmoral Castle, the summer residence of the English monarchs, where Diana was formally introduced to the royal family. In order to marry, the future monarch needs the permission of the current monarch. Formally, Diana was the ideal candidate for the role of the bride. Possessing all the virtues of a less fortunate sister (noble birth, excellent upbringing and attractive appearance), she could boast of innocence and modesty, which the lively Sarah clearly lacked. And only one embarrassed Elizabeth II - Diana seemed too unsuitable for palace life. But Charles was over thirty, the search for the best contender could be delayed, and after long hesitation, the queen finally gave her blessing.

On February 6, 1981, Diana accepted the prince's proposal, and on July 29 they got married in St. Paul's Cathedral. The broadcast of the ceremony was watched by 750,000,000 people, and the wedding itself was like a fairy tale: Diana, in a fluffy white dress with an eight-meter train, drove up to the church in a carriage surrounded by an escort of officers of the Royal Horse Guards. The word “obey” was removed from the marriage vows, which caused a sensation - of course, because even the Queen of England herself promised to obey her husband in everything.

Just a year after the wedding, Diana rocked her son and heir, Prince William. Harry was born a couple of years later. Diana later admitted that these years were the best in her relationship with Charles. They spent all their free time with their children. “Family is the most important thing,” the beaming Diana told reporters.

At this time, Lady Dee first showed a decisive character. Despising customs, she herself chose the names for the princes, refused the help of the royal nanny (by hiring her own) and tried in every possible way to protect the highest interference in the life of her family. A devoted and affectionate mother, she organized her affairs so that they did not interfere with her meeting the children from school. And there was an incredible amount of cases!

Royal affairs...

The duties of Princess Diana, stipulated by the ceremonial, included attending charity events. Traditionally, charity is the occupation of every member of the royal family. Princes and princesses have long patronized hospitals, orphanages, hospices, orphanages and non-profit organizations, but none of the British monarchs did this with such passion as Diana.

She greatly expanded the list of institutions she visits to include AIDS hospitals and leper colonies. The princess devoted a lot of time to the problems of children and youth, but among her wards were nursing homes and rehabilitation centers for alcoholics and drug addicts. She also supported the campaign to ban anti-personnel mines in Africa.

Princess Diana generously spent her means and the wealth of the royal family on good deeds, and also attracted friends from high society as sponsors. It was impossible to resist her soft, but indestructible charm. All her compatriots adored her, and Lady Di had many admirers abroad. “The worst disease of the world is that there is little love in it,” she constantly repeated. At the same time, Diana unsuccessfully struggled with her own hereditary disease - bulimia (an eating disorder), and against the background of nervous experiences and stress, it was torture to restrain herself.

... and family matters

Family life was unhappy. Charles' long-term affair with a married woman, Lady Camilla Parker-Bowles, which Diana learned about after the wedding, resumed in the mid-80s. The offended Diana became close to James Hewitt, a riding instructor. The tension intensified when recordings of incriminating telephone conversations between both spouses and lovers were leaked to the press. Numerous interviews followed, during which Charles and Diana accused each other of breaking up their union. “There were too many people in my marriage,” the princess joked sadly.

The indignant queen tried to expedite her son's divorce. The papers were signed on August 28, 1996, and from that moment Princess Diana lost all rights to address Your Royal Highness. She herself always said that she wanted to be only the queen of people's hearts, and not the wife of the reigning monarch. After the divorce, Diana felt a little freer, although her life was still regulated by protocol: she was the ex-wife of the crown prince and the mother of two heirs. It was love for her sons that made her maintain the appearance of a family and endure her husband's betrayals: “Any normal woman would have left long ago. But I couldn't. I have sons." Even in the midst of the scandal, Lady Dee did not stop doing charity work.

After the divorce, Diana did not leave charity, and she really managed to change the world for the better. She directed her efforts to fight AIDS, cancer, turned her help to children with heart defects.

During this time, the princess had a passionate affair with a Pakistani-born surgeon, Hasnat Khan. Khan came from a very religious family, and Diana, in love, seriously considered converting to Islam in order to be able to marry her lover. Unfortunately, the contradictions between the two cultures were too great, and in June 1997 the couple broke up. Just a few weeks later, Lady Dee began dating Dodi Al-Fayed, a producer and son of an Egyptian multimillionaire.

You lived your life like a candle burning in the wind...

On August 31, 1997, Diana and Dodi were in Paris. By car, they left the hotel when they were followed by cars with paparazzi. Trying to get away from the chase, the driver lost control and crashed into the concrete support of the bridge. He and Dodi Al-Fayed died on the spot, Diana was taken to the hospital, where she died two hours later. The sole survivor of the crash, bodyguard Trevor Rhys-Jones, has no memory of the events.

The police conducted a thorough investigation, as a result of which the cause of death of the princess was declared an accident caused by the negligence of the driver and the carelessness of the passengers in the car (none of them were wearing seat belts).

December 16, 2009, 12:05 pm

Diana belonged to the ancient English family of Spencer-Churchill. At the age of 16, she met the Prince of Wales, Charles. At first, the prince was predicted to be Diana's sister Sarah, but over time, Charles came to the realization that Diana is an incredibly "charming, lively and witty girl with whom it is interesting." Returning from a naval campaign on the ship "Invincible", the prince proposed to her. The wedding took place 6 months later.
In the ceremony, some saw signs of an unhappy marriage.
When pronouncing the marriage vow, Charles got confused in pronunciation, and Diana did not quite correctly name his name. However, at first, peace reigned in the relationship of the spouses.
"I'm crazy about marriage when there is someone to whom you devote your time," Princess Diana wrote after the wedding to her nanny Mary Clark. Soon the couple had two sons: in 1982, Prince William, and in 1984, Prince Henry, better known as Prince Harry. It seemed that everything was going perfectly in the family, but soon rumors about the prince's infidelity and the fact that he often left his young wife alone were leaked to the press. Despite the grievances, Diana, according to her nanny, really loved her husband. “When she married Charles, I remember writing to her that this is the only person in the country with whom she can never divorce. Unfortunately, she could,” recalled Mary Clark. In 1992, a sensational announcement was made in the UK about the separation of Charles and Diana, and in 1996 their marriage was officially annulled. The reason for the separation was the difficult relationship between the spouses. Diana, referring to her husband's longtime close friend Camilla Parker Bowles, said that she could not bear the marriage of three.
The prince himself, according to their mutual acquaintances, never tried to hide his love for Camilla, with whom he began a relationship even before the wedding. Not surprisingly, after the divorce proceedings, the public was on the side of Diana. After a high-profile divorce, her name still did not leave the pages of the press, but it was already another Princess Diana - an independent, business woman, passionate about charitable work. She constantly visited hospitals for AIDS patients, traveled to Africa, to areas where sappers work hard, removing numerous anti-personnel mines from the ground. In the personal life of the princess, too, there have been significant changes. Diana began an affair with Pakistani surgeon Hasnat Khan. They carefully concealed their romance from the press, although Hasnat often lived with her at Kensington Palace, and she stayed for a long time in his apartment in the prestigious Chelsea district of London. Khan's parents were delighted with their son's companion, but he soon told his father that marrying Diana could make his life hell because of the deep cultural differences between them. He claimed that Diana is "independent" and "likes to go out", which for him as a Muslim is unacceptable. Meanwhile, as the close friends of the princess claimed, for the sake of her fiancé she was ready to sacrifice a lot, including changing her faith. Hasnat and Diana broke up in the summer of 1997. According to a close friend of the princess, Diana was "deeply worried and in pain" after the breakup. But after a while, she began an affair with the son of billionaire Mohammed Al-Fayed Dodi. At first, this relationship, according to her friend, served only as a consolation after the break with Hasnat. But soon a dizzying romance broke out between them, it seemed that a worthy and loving man finally appeared in Lady Di's life. The fact that Dodi was also divorced and had a reputation for social red tape, all the more increased interest in him from the press. Diana and Dodi had known each other for several years, but only became close in 1997. In July, they spent holidays in Saint-Tropez with Diana's sons, Princes William and Harry. The boys got along well with the friendly owner of the house. Later, Diana and Dodi met in London, and then went on a Mediterranean cruise aboard the luxury yacht Jonical. Diana loved to give gifts. Dear and not very dear, but always imbued with her unique concern for everyone who surrounded her. She also gave Dodi things that were dear to her. For example, cufflinks that the most beloved person in the world gave her. August 13, 1997 the princess wrote the following words about her gift: "Dear Dodi, these cufflinks were the last gift I received from the person I loved most in the world - my father." “I give them to you because I know how happy he would be if he knew what reliable and special hands they fell into. With love, Diana,” the letter says. In another message from Kensington Palace, dated August 6, 1997, Diana thanks Dodi al-Fayed for a six-day vacation on his yacht, and writes of "endless gratitude for the joy that has been brought into her life." By the end of August, the Jonical approached Portofino in Italy, and then sailed for Sardinia. August 30, Saturday, the couple went to Paris. The next day, Diana was to fly to London to meet her sons on the last day of their summer vacation. Later, Dodi's father stated that his son and Princess Diana were going to get married. A few hours before his death in a car accident in Paris, Dodi al-Faeid visited a jewelry store. Video cameras captured how he chose an engagement ring. Later that day, a representative of the Ritz Hotel in Paris, where Diana and Dodi were staying, came to the store and took two rings. One of them, according to Dodi's father, was called "Dis-moi oui" - "Tell me yes" - worth 11.6 thousand pounds sterling ... On Saturday evening, Diana and Dodi decided to dine at the restaurant of the Ritz Hotel, which he owned Dodi.
In order not to attract the attention of other visitors, they retired to a separate office, where, as it was later reported, they exchanged gifts: Diana gave Dodi cufflinks, and he gave her a diamond ring. At one o'clock in the morning they were going to go to Dodi's apartment on the Champs Elysees. Wanting to avoid the paparazzi crowding the front door, the happy couple took advantage of a special elevator located next to the hotel's service exits.
There they boarded a Mercedes S-280, accompanied by bodyguard Trevor-Reese Jones and driver Henri Paul. The details of what happened a few minutes later are still not clear enough, but the terrible truth is that three of these four died in an accident that took place in an underground tunnel under Place Delalma. It was not without difficulty that Princess Diana was removed from the wrecked car, after which she was immediately sent to the Piti Salptrrier hospital. The fight of doctors for her life was inconclusive. The accident that happened on the night of August 31, 1997 in the Alma tunnel in Paris is the result of the flagrant negligence of a car driver who got behind the wheel while intoxicated and drove a Mercedes at an unacceptably high speed. The provocateur of this accident was also the pursuit of the car of the princess by a group of paparazzi photographers. It was an accidental death. This is the verdict of the jury at the semi-annual trial in the High Court of London, which ended on Monday evening. This verdict is final and not subject to appeal. The longest and most intense process in the history of British justice, I would like to believe, put all the points over the "i". In the more than ten years that have passed since the death of the "People's Princess", there have been about 155 statements about the existence of a conspiracy to kill Lady Dee. The leading fiddle in defending this version has been played all these years by the most, perhaps, offended defendant in this case - billionaire Mohammed Al-Fayed, owner of the largest London department store Harrods, the Fulham football club and the Ritz hotel in Paris, the father of the deceased in this accident Dodi. He literally declared "war" on the British royal family and publicly called the instigator of the conspiracy to kill the son and princess of the queen's husband, the Duke of Edinburgh. The executor is the British intelligence services. It was Mohammed Al-Fayed who insisted on holding a trial with a jury, it was he who stubbornly demanded that the Duke of Edinburgh and Diana's sons, Princes William and Harry, appear in court. The royal family was not summoned to court. British democracy, for all its admirable maturity, is not yet mature enough to issue subpoenas to its monarchs. Only the press secretary of the Duke of Edinburgh appeared at the trial, presenting to the investigation a hitherto unpublished, touching in its warmth correspondence between Diana and her father-in-law. About 260 witnesses appeared at the trial of the death of Diana and Dodi. Testimony was given via video link from the United States, France and Australia. The titled ladies of the court, friends of Diana, testified. Her butler Paul Burrell, who made a considerable fortune for himself on fictions about the princess. Her lovers, who revealed to the whole world the details of their romance with the princess. The sole survivor of the accident, severely maimed bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones. The pathologist who performed the autopsy on Diana and confirmed in court that no signs of the princess's pregnancy were found, but that it was not possible to detect them in a very short time. And so, Diana took this secret with her to the grave. Mohammed al-Fayed unveiled a monument to his son Dodi and Princess Diana at his London department store Harrods. The opening of the new monument is timed to coincide with the eighth anniversary of the death of Dodi and Diana in a car accident, reports the Guardian. The bronze Diana and Dodi are depicted dancing against the backdrop of waves and the wings of an albatross, symbolizing eternity and freedom. According to Mohammed al-Fayed, this monument looks like a more appropriate sign of memory than the memorial fountain in Hyde Park. The sculpture was sculpted by Bill Mitchell, an artist who has worked for al-Fayd for forty years. At the opening of the monument, Mohammed al-Fayed said that he called this sculptural group "Innocent Victims". He believes that Dodi and Diana died in a staged car crash, their untimely deaths being the result of a murder. "The monument has been erected here forever. Nothing has been done so far to perpetuate the memory of this amazing woman who brought joy to the world," said al-Fayed.

A terrible disaster on August 31, 1997 claimed the life of one of the most important figures of the last century - Princess Diana or Lady Dee, as her fans called her. She was admired by millions, she was even later called the "People's Princess".

This year marks 22 since the day Lady Diana passed away. LifeStyle 24 invites you to learn the most interesting moments from her life, about her personal relationships with the royal family and with people who admired her.

Biography of Princess Diana

Diana Francis Spencer was born on July 1, 1961 in Sandrigo Castle (Great Britain) - in one of the royal residences, her parents - John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, was a representative of the old aristocratic Spencer-Churchill family, and Francis Ruth - Diana's mother.

Among the ancestors of the young princess were also such representatives of the aristocratic family as the English Queen Mary Stuart on the maternal side and the illegitimate sons of King Charles II. Also in her family tree is Prince Vladimir the Great.

Princess Dmana as a child

The childhood of young Diana was not easy, at the age of 6 the noble family, along with her three brothers and sisters, broke up, because of which the mother of the princess moved to London with her children, where she soon got married.

There, the future "queen of hearts" changed several schools under the wise mentorship of famous teachers, however, according to sources, Diana did not differ in special zeal for science, but was popular with her friends due to her cheerful, good-natured character.

The incredible Princess Diana has always been a sincere and inspiring woman.

In 1975, after the death of his own father, Diana's brother, John Spencer, inherited the earldom and moved the family to Althorp House Castle, a family estate in the London suburbs, where Diana first met Prince Charles in 1977, who came to the Spencers' estate to hunt.

Who was Princess Diana: watch the video

Marriage to Prince Charles

After another study in Switzerland, 18-year-old Diana returned to London to work in a kindergarten, where she also worked as a nanny and even a cleaner. At the age of 23, Diana met Prince Charles again. He was 32 years old at that time, and oddly enough, the prince's parents - Elizabeth II and Prince Philip - had long been looking for a candidate for their son.

Princess Diana fell in love with Prince Charles

Despite the close relationship of Prince Charles with married lady Camilla Parker-Bowles, Princess Diana immediately agreed to the marriage proposal with a man. Both his parents and Diana's relatives, and Diana herself, knew about the scandalous romance on the side of Charles, but the patient woman hoped that everything would change over time.

It is also known that before approaching Diana, Charles met with her older sister Sarah Spencer. At this time, the future princess did not pay attention to her future husband at all.

On July 29, 1981, Prince Charles married Diana Francis Spencer at St. Paul's Cathedral. Interestingly, about 750 million people watched the wedding ceremony, and during the speech she mixed up the words and called the name of the future husband of his father.

The first public kiss of Princess Diana and Prince Charles, next to Elizabeth II

Wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles

Princess Diana in a luxurious wedding dress

The oaths given by the bride and groom in front of the altar were heard far outside the cathedral - however, there were some overlays, which were later called prophetic. In addition to the fact that Lady Diana could not correctly pronounce the long name of her future husband - Charles Philip Arthur George Windsor, the groom said instead of "I promise to share with you everything that belongs to me," he said "I promise to share with you everything that belongs to you." It is also interesting that the word "obey" was removed from the marriage vows of spouses for the first time. Kate Middleton, today's wife of Prince William, also crossed out the promise to obey her husband from the oath.

Marriage and infidelity

However, the happiness of the spouses was short-lived, as Diana constantly endured the betrayal of Prince Charles and persecution by the royal family of her husband. The dissatisfaction of Elizabeth II, they say, was fueled by a rather weighty circumstance - the incredible popularity of Diana.

"People's Princess" called Diana even Tony Blair (former Prime Minister of Great Britain). He also called her later "manipulative", playing on the woman's passion for covers and appearances on television.

However, she was sincerely loved by subjects of the British crown and residents of other countries. "Princess of the people", as she was often called, was actively involved in charity work and gave not only material but also moral support to those in need. Subsequently, the only joy of the Princess of Wales was the sons - William, who appeared in 1982, and Henry (Harry), who was born two years later.

Seed portrait of Prince Charles, Princess Diana and two sons - William and Harry

Princess Diana with sons William and Harry

As you know, Diana herself admitted that she suffered from depression and even tried to commit suicide twice. The conflict in the family continued, and it was increasingly difficult for Princess Diana to appear in public in the company of her husband and children. However, according to the recently released records of Princess Diana, she said that she also cheated on her husband in retaliation.

One of them was a riding instructor, and the other was a heart surgeon, Hasnat Khanu, for whom she was going to move to Pakistan and convert to Islam, and another was a security guard, Barry Manaki, who died in an accident. The princess believed that he had been killed. The attention of journalists to the details of the family life of the royals forced them to give explanatory interviews - it was impossible to avoid questions. Of course, none of them went into details, but Diana nevertheless allowed a statement that spread around the whole world: "There are too many people in my marriage."

Divorce of Princess Diana and Prince Charles

And already in 1992, the couple decided to leave, but only four years later, in 1996, the divorce proceedings took place. Having received the long-awaited freedom, Lady Diana managed to retain the title of Princess of Wales and the right to raise children.

Princess Diana admired by millions

Princess Diana admired by millions

She, as before, was engaged in active peacekeeping and charitable activities, remained the colonel of two military units: the cavalry regiment "Light Dragoons" and the Royal Regiment of the Princess of Wales. However, the prospect of becoming queen was lost forever.

Subsequently, there were several new novels of Princess Diana, among them - with the son of the Egyptian billionaire Dodi al-Fayed. Soon there were even rumors about the engagement of the princess with a representative of a powerful family in the Muslim world.