Princess Diana and Prince Charles: A Royal Love Story. The Princess of Wales, née Lady Diana Frances Spencer The Education of Princess Diana
Diana Princess of Wales to 1996 first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne. Commonly known as Princess Diana, Lady Diana or Lady Di. According to a poll conducted in 2002 by the BBC broadcaster, Diana was ranked third in the list of the hundred greatest Britons in history.
Diana Francis Spencer was born on July 1, 1961 in the royal estate of Sendrigham in Norfolk. She was the third daughter of the future Viscount and Viscountess Althorp. Diana's father, Edward John Spencer, served in the court of King George VI. Her mother, Frances Ruth, was the daughter of Lady Fermoy, lady-in-waiting to the Queen Mother.
The father was deeply disappointed. To him for the continuation of the most noble, with seven hundred years! - the nobility of the surname required, of course, an heir, and then a daughter was born again. The family already had two daughters, Sarah and Jane. The name of the girl was given only a few days later. She will become her father's favorite, but that will be later. And soon the son Charles was born.
Diana spent her early childhood years in Sandrigham, where she received her primary home education. Her first teacher was the governess Gertrude Allen, who taught Diana's mother. Diana's early childhood was filled with happiness, she grew up as a kind and sweet girl. The children received an upbringing more typical of old England than of the middle of the twentieth century: a strict schedule, nannies, governesses, a pheasant for dinner, long walks in the park, horseback riding. Diana did not work out with horses - at the age of eight she fell off her horse and hurt herself badly; after three months of treatment, Diana fell out of love with horse riding forever.
The Spencer estate borders on the royal estate of Sandringame. The Spencers are well acquainted with the royal family and are well-known to the court circle. So the girl, in accordance with aristocratic traditions, received a proper upbringing.
The Spencer Capital Mansion from Green Park.
Her life was overshadowed by the discord of her parents (Lady Speser left four children with her father, having gone to another person whom she loved), their secret rivalry. The divorce of her parents had a particularly serious effect on Diana: she closed herself in, began to be afraid to appear in public. And she said to her nanny: “I will never marry without true love. If there is no complete confidence in love, it may happen that you have to get a divorce. And I never want to get divorced.” Soon a stepmother appeared in the house, who disliked children.
Diana's education continued at Sealfield, at a private school near King's Line, then at Riddlesworth Hall Preparatory School. At the age of twelve, she is accepted into a privileged girls' school at West Hill, in Sevenoaks, Kent. Diana soon became the favorite of both teachers and classmates. Although she did not show much diligence in the wisdom of science, she adored sports and dancing.
She became "Lady Diana" in 1975 when her father assumed the hereditary title of earl. During this period, the family moves to the ancient ancestral castle of Althorp House in Nottregtonshire. In the winter of 1977, shortly before leaving to study in Switzerland, sixteen-year-old Lady Diana meets Prince Charles for the first time when he comes to Althorp to hunt. At that time, impeccably educated, intelligent Charles seemed to the girl just "very funny."
Her education ended at the age of 18, she failed to pass the exams for the basic elementary course even on the second attempt. From a prestigious Swiss boarding house - having begged her parents to take her out of there, Diana moves to London to start an independent life. She first lived with her mother, went to cooking classes and ballet classes. And soon she - on the inheritance received from her great-grandmother - bought a small apartment on Colgern Court. Like many people who have a home but no money to support it, Diana shared an apartment with friends. She works for her wealthy girlfriends, cleaning apartments and babysitting the kids, and then went to work at the Young England kindergarten.
The Prince of Wales, by the time he met Lady Spencer, was an established, fully mature man, well educated, with charming manners. Too, perhaps, closed and restrained he seemed. Diana, perhaps at first, did not take him seriously - he courted her sister Sarah. But one moment decided her whole fate.
She was sitting in the hay one summer day. Invited guests wandered around the estate. Among them was Prince Charles. He approached, sat down next to him, turning off the path. For a while they were silent. Then Diana, overcoming shyness, spoke first, expressing sympathy to the prince over the death of his grandfather, Earl Mountbatten, who was recently killed by terrorists ... ". I saw you at a service in the church, she said ... You walked down the aisle. You had such a sad face! You seemed to me so suffering and lonely ... Someone should take care of you too ... ".
All evening the Prince of Wales did not leave Diana a single step, showering her with such signs of respectful attention that it became clear to everyone: he had chosen. Diana, as always, charmingly embarrassed and blushed, lowering her eyes. Literally the next day, the press started talking about this, photojournalists began hunting for Lady Di, her pictures appeared in magazines and newspapers.
In February 1981, the press service of Buckingham Palace officially announces the engagement of the Prince of Wales and Countess Diana Francis Spencer. On July 29, 1981, the wedding took place in St. Peter's Cathedral in London. Thus ended the novel of the century, which opened a new page in the history of England and the entire Windsor dynasty.
It was a very difficult marriage of two extraordinary and bright personalities ... No matter what they wrote or said, there was a huge mutual attraction between the two of them. It was difficult for the princess to adapt to the external isolation of the royal family, the impenetrability of emotions, coldness, flattery and outright hypocrisy. She was different. Shy in front of everything new, unfamiliar, sometimes lost. She was only twenty years old. She was young and inexperienced. She was preparing to become a mother. She was not afraid of open emotions, tears, outbursts of warmth. She tried to give a piece of this warmth to everyone around her... She was often misunderstood and shied away from her like from the plague...
She knew for herself what a lack of attention to emotional frankness in the family. She tried not to repeat parental mistakes in her own ... But it was so difficult for her to build her own world in the family that soon after a difficult birth (on June 21, 1982, her first son, Prince William, was born), she fell into depression. The first signs of rapidly progressing bulimia, a disease of the digestive system, appeared. Prince Harry was born two years after his first child on September 14, 1984.
From the very beginning, she tried to ensure that her children lived as simple, ordinary lives as possible. When it came to the primary education of her sons, Diana opposed the fact that William and Harry were brought up in the closed world of the royal house and they began to attend preschool classes and a regular school. On vacation, Diana allowed her boys to wear jeans, sweatpants and T-shirts. They ate hamburgers and popcorn, went to the movies and rides, where the princes stood in a general line among their peers.
In the early 90s, a blank wall of misunderstanding grew between the most famous spouses in the world, in particular, due to the ongoing relationship of Charles with Camilla Parker Bowles (later, after the death of Diana, who became his second wife). In 1992, the tension in their relationship came to a head. She tried to take revenge on him in a purely feminine way, hence the unsuccessful affair with Hewitt, which even the queen gave up on, flirting with James Gilby. She was looking for a soul to whom she could entrust all her wounds and tears and could not find. Everyone betrayed her - lovers, doctors, astrologers, friends, secretaries, relatives and relatives. Even the mother, who told the press all the secrets of childhood and Lady Dee's minor shortcomings. She remained alone. Only children were faithful to her - two adoring and adored sons.
Princess Di's five suicide attempts. This was talked about a lot and at length, but we'd better trust her herself: "My soul was screaming for help! I needed attention ...". She will say later. She will judge and evaluate everything herself: "We were both guilty, both made mistakes. But I don't want to take all the blame on myself. Only half ...". And no less mysterious words spoken to sons William and Harry: "I still love your father, but I can no longer live with him under the same roof." The marriage broke up in 1992, after which the couple lived separately, and ended in divorce in 1996 at the initiative of Queen Elizabeth II.
The princess more and more went in search of the spiritual meaning of life and charitable causes. She founded in the country and around the world hundreds of foundations for children and the sick, the homeless and lepers. She chose for herself a spiritual mentor - Mother Teresa and walked beside her, following her philosophy of help: "Do not allow even one to remain unhappy after meeting you!"
Hundreds of children called her their guardian angel. She supported and founded projects to open cancer centers for terminally ill patients in all countries of the world, including here in Russia. Few people remember her visit to Moscow in 1995. She took under her patronage one of the Moscow children's hospitals. She forced to change the policy of entire states in relation to the most terrible weapon that so easily enriched hundreds of dirty souls - anti-personnel mines.
With what pain she spoke in her last almost interview: “I have always been and will always be a humanitarian figure, I only want to help people in any way I can, that’s all ... The world is sick with a lack of philanthropy and compassion more and more .. Someone needs to get out of here, love people and tell them this." Shortly before her death, in June 1997, Diana began dating film producer Dodi al-Fayed, the son of the Egyptian billionaire Mohamed al-Fayed, but apart from the press, none of her friends confirmed this fact, and this is also denied in the book of Lady Diana's butler - Paul Barrela, who was a close friend of the princess.
On August 31, 1997, Diana died in a car accident in Paris, along with Dodi al-Fayed and driver Henri Paul.
At Diana's funeral, both boys carried themselves with the calm dignity of grown men. Their late mother would no doubt be proud of them. On that sad day, among many other mournful images, many people remember the wreath leaning against the coffin. On it was a card with one single word: "Mom". Princess Diana was buried on September 6 at the Spencer family estate of Althorp in Northamptonshire, on a secluded island in the middle of a lake.
In 2006, the biopic The Queen was filmed, which describes the life of the British royal family immediately after the death of Princess Diana.
She tried to say. Even in his own death. She tried to love until the end. And be needed. She was lively and kind, warm, bringing light and joy to people. She was somewhat sinful, but she did much more than others who seemed to be sinless and paid dearly for her mistakes, loneliness, tears and general betrayal and misunderstanding.
Celebrity biographies
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01.07.17 10:46
Princess Diana was included in the list of "100 Greatest Britons", taking third place in it. And even now, many years after the death of Princess Diana, her personality is of great interest, and daughter-in-law Kate Middleton is constantly compared to her mother-in-law. The death of Princess Diana and the life of Princess Diana are shrouded in mysteries that are no longer destined to be solved.
Princess Diana - biography
Representative of an ancient aristocratic family
Diana, Princess of Wales, known as "Lady Diana" or "Lady Dee" for short, was born on July 1, 1961 in Sandringham, Norfolk. Then her name was Diana Frances Spencer. She belonged to a noble family: her father John Spencer was Viscount Althorp (and later Earl Spencer) and was distantly related to the Dukes of Marlborough (to whom Winston Churchill belonged). Also in the pedigree of John were the bastards of the king brothers Charles II and James II. Princess Diana's mother's name was Francis Shand Kydd, she could not boast of such ancient noble roots.
The early biography of Princess Diana took place in the family nest of Sandgringham, with the same governess who raised Francis. After home schooling (primary school), the future Princess Diana went to a private school in Sealfield, and then moved to a preparatory school Riddlesworth Hall. Even then, her father and mother were divorced (divorced in 1969), Diana came under the care of John, like her brother and sisters. The girl was very worried about separation from her mother, and after that she could not establish relations with a strict stepmother.
Newly trained assistant teacher
In 1973, Princess Diana entered an elite women's school in Kent, but did not finish it, showing poor results. Becoming Lady Diana (when John took over the peerage from his deceased father), the 14-year-old girl moved with her family and the newly made pope earl to the Althorp House castle in Noramptonshire.
Another attempt to send Diana away from home was made in 1977, when she moved to Switzerland. But, unable to bear the parting with relatives and homeland, Diana left Rougemont and returned home. The biography of Princess Diana continued in London, where she was presented (on her 18th birthday) with an apartment. Having settled in a new home, Diana invited three friends to be neighbors and got a job in a kindergarten in Pimiliko as an assistant teacher.
Princess Diana's personal life
Meeting on the hunt
In 1981, she was destined to become Diana, Princess of Wales, and we'll talk about that.
Before she left for Switzerland, Diana was introduced to the son of Queen Elizabeth the Second, Prince Charles - he took part in the hunt arranged in Althorp. It happened in the winter of 1977. But a serious relationship between Princess Diana and Charles began later, in the summer of 1980.
They went on a weekend together (on the royal yacht Britannia), and then Charles introduced Diana to his parents, Elizabeth II and Philip - this happened in the Scottish castle of the Windsor Balmoral. The girl made a good impression, so the Charles family did not argue with their romance. The couple began dating, and on February 3, 1981, the heir to the throne proposed to Diana at Windsor Castle. She agreed. But the engagement was announced only on February 24. The famous ring of Princess Diana with a large sapphire surrounded by 14 diamonds cost 30 thousand pounds. Later, it passed to Kate Middleton - the eldest son of Princess Diana William gave it to his bride at the betrothal.
The most expensive "wedding of the century"
Princess Diana's wedding took place on July 29, 1981 at St. Paul. The celebration began at 11.20, 3.5 thousand eminent guests were present in the temple, and 750 million viewers watched the “wedding of the century” on TV. Great Britain rejoiced, the queen declared this day a day off. After the wedding, a reception was held for 120 people. The wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles is recognized as the most expensive in the history of the country - 2.859 million pounds was spent on it.
Princess Diana's wedding dress was made of airy taffeta and lace, with very puffy sleeves, by fashion designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel. Then it was estimated at 9 thousand pounds. Hand embroidery, vintage lace, a bold neckline, rhinestones and a long ivory train - all this looked great on a slender bride. For insurance, two copies of Princess Diana's toilet were sewn, but they were not needed. The bride's head was adorned with a tiara.
Desired heirs William and Harry
Princess Diana and Charles spent their honeymoon on a Mediterranean cruise on the Britannia, with stops in Tunisia, Greece, Sardinia and Egypt. Returning to their homeland, the newlyweds went to Balmoral Castle and rested in a hunting lodge.
There is also a biopic "The Queen", about the events after the death of Princess Diana, Elizabeth II is portrayed in it by Helen Mirren.
Twenty years ago, on August 31, 1997, a car accident occurred in the tunnel in front of the Alma bridge on the Seine embankment, in which Diana Frances Spencer died. Princess Diana was not just a favorite of the public, but also a public figure and philanthropist. With the participation of Dina, hundreds of charitable foundations were created in different countries. Diana has supported organizations that help AIDS patients, the Royal Mardsen Foundation, the Leprosy Mission, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, Centerpoint, the English National Ballet Theater and many others.
Many of Diana's trips around the world involved visiting the homeless, refugees, people with disabilities, people with HIV. In the second half of the 1990s, Princess Diana was active in banning landmines. To convince the governments of countries to abandon this type of weapon, Diana traveled to many countries, from Angola to Bosnia, visited hospitals and mobile infirmaries to see with her own eyes the consequences of the use of high-explosive mines.
The Philanthropist recalls Princess Diana's major charitable projects, including her visit to Russia in 1995.
Attitude towards patients with HIV
In April 1987, Princess Diana was invited to the Middlesex Hospital to open the UK's first AIDS unit. At that time there was a lot of speculation about AIDS and a lot of fear. Princess Diana wanted to dispel this myth, in the department she took off her gloves and shook hands with all the patients of the clinic. Pictures of Princess Diana shaking hands with an HIV patient have gone viral around the world. From that moment on, Diana began to deal with the problems of combating AIDS.
So, in February 1989, the princess traveled to New York, where she visited the Harlem Hospital for Children with AIDS. She spent an hour and a half there and spent most of her time interacting with the children and staff. “Underneath the external brilliance, a heart of real gold is hidden,” the media wrote after this visit. She did it spontaneously, gently lifting a seven-year-old boy from Harlem who was dying of AIDS in her arms. How many of us millions of mothers would do that? We are assured that there is no risk of catching the world's worst disease through hugs, but babies have wet hands and slobbery kisses. Can we honestly say that we would not have felt fear, rather than the all-encompassing tenderness that Diana felt, confessing: “I feel very sad when I think about how I held this little boy in my arms. I still think about him."
In subsequent years, she regularly visited children with AIDS, including visits to a hospice in Toronto and a hospital for orphans with HIV in Rio de Janeiro.
After Diana's death, Gavin Hart, founder of the National AIDS Trust, said: "In our opinion, Diana has done more to help people with HIV than anyone else, and still no one does anything like this" .
Help for lepers
Princess Diana often traveled on missionary trips to countries where the incidence of leprosy is still high. She was a patron of The Leprosy Mission and has been to hospitals in India, Nepal, Zimbabwe. She easily communicated with patients, spent a lot of time with them and so helped to fight public opinion and myths about this disease.
“It always seemed important to me to touch lepers, to shake hands with them, so I wanted to show people that these patients are the same people, that they are not outcasts. You can touch people with leprosy and not get infected,” said Diana.
Homeless and refugees
In 1992, Princess Diana became a trustee of the London center for helping the homeless Centerpoint and helped them a lot until her death. Diana took both sons, Prince William and Harry, with her to the center. At 23, Prince William continued his mother's work and became a trustee of this organization.
He said in an interview with The Telegraph: “My mother showed me this side of life many years ago. It was a real revelation for me and I am very grateful to her for that.”
Love for children
Princess Diana was very fond of children, loved to play and communicate with them. She was a patron of the Royal Mardsen Hospital, which had a good oncology department, as well as the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. Many photographs of Princess Diana have survived, where she talks to children, hugs or listens to them.
In an interview, she spoke about working at the Royal Brompton Hospital: “I go there at least three times a week, spend several hours with the children, sometimes just holding their hand or talking. Some of them will live, some will not, but each of them needs love here and now. I want to give them that love."
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The fight to abolish anti-personnel mines
In January 1997, Princess Diana visited Angola as part of a Red Cross mission, the number of mines remaining in the land was then estimated at nine million, with a population of 10 million people. “I read statistics that there are more people with amputated body parts in Angola than anywhere else in the world,” Diana recalled. “But even knowing all this, I was not prepared for what I saw.”
The princess also visited the most mined city in Angola, Quito. There she walked through a recently cleared field. For safety, she put on a blue body armor and covered her face behind a special bulletproof screen.
Diana's son Prince Harry, trustee of the anti-personnel landmine foundation The HALO Trust, was also in Angola and put on a suit, in one of his speeches he called on the whole world to get rid of weapons by 2025.
ANGOLA - JANUARY 05: Diana, Princess of Wales wearing protective body armor and a visor visits a landmine minefield being cleared by the charity Halo in Huambo, Angola (Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images)
Ballet and theater
The princess was very fond of ballet, after a divorce in 1995, she became even more active in helping non-profit organizations. And the only project not related to social issues was the English National Ballet. She often went to performances, took her sons with her - William and Harry. She hosted fundraising balls and galas that helped raise hundreds of pounds to support the theatre.
Princess Diana and Mother Teresa
In February 1992, Diana came to India, visited a shelter for abandoned children, a leper colony and a hospice founded by Mother Teresa in Calcutta. Inside the hospice, she saw rows of cots filled with hundreds of sick and dying people.
Upon her return to Kensington Palace, Lady Diana wrote: “At last, after so many years of searching, I have found my way. When I arrived at Mother Teresa's hospice, the sisters of mercy sang a solemn hymn especially for me. It was an unforgettable spiritual experience. I literally soared in spirit. The emotions were so strong that they couldn't help but have a huge impact on me. I just now realized that with all my heart, with all my soul, I want to do this business on a global scale.”
Princess Diana in Russia
On June 15-16, 1995, Princess Diana flew to Moscow. One of her affairs in the capital was a visit to the Tushino Children's Hospital, to which the princess had previously provided charitable assistance (Diana donated medical equipment to the hospital).
“Very calm and persistent woman. She went into the trauma department, and there were children after road and railway accidents, and she saw all the wounds. Even the persons accompanying her fainted, and she calmly walked through the department, ”recalled Viktor Shein, at that time the deputy chief physician for surgery at the Tushino hospital
According to the participants of the visit, while visiting the hospital, the princess violated the protocol of the meeting: she ignored the offices of the heads of the clinic, passing by, because she was in a hurry to go to the wards of small patients and the playroom. Diana persistently asked her interpreter to translate in detail everything that the children say to her. In the game, the princess surprised everyone: she sat down on her knees in front of the kids and started playing with them.
June 16, 1995 at the British Embassy in Moscow, Princess Diana was awarded the International Leonardo Prize. This public award is given to patrons and people who have made a personal contribution to the development of the humanitarian sphere.
Inspiration and support
Even after death, the name of Princess Diana continues to help.
In September 1997, the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund ).
In March 1998, it was announced that the foundation would provide grants of £1 million to each of the six charities officially supported by Princess Diana (English National Ballet, Leprosy Mission, National AIDS Society, Centerpoint, Children's Hospital Great Ormond Street, Royal Marsden Hospital).
Now the organization helps hospices and palliative departments, the homeless and refugees, prisoners, the foundation gives grants to hundreds of organizations around the world.
Since its inception in 1998, the foundation has raised and distributed over £138m in aid and grants (2012 data)
The foundation is currently run by Princess Diana's sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.
Princess Diana has always strived to instill in her sons a love of charity and a desire to help people. She took William and Harry with her when she visited patients in hospitals and the homeless. Already grown brothers actively support all social projects that their mother helped.
Anna
Because her whole life was spent with the participation of photographers. Even death. It happened, she was a princess.
Tanto
For some reason, all the good deeds of Diana took place with the participation of photographers. True charity is not public.
Diana Francis Spencer, Her Highness the Princess of Wales, was born on July 1, 1961 in Norfolk to an English aristocratic family. Her father, John Spencer, the bearer of the title of Viscount Althorp, came from the ancient Spencer-Churchill family, carriers of royal blood descended from Charles II, who became famous as the "jolly king". Charles had 14 recognized illegitimate sons who received the title, a large number of unrecognized children and not a single heir born in an official marriage. However, thanks to this king, the list of aristocratic families of England has noticeably expanded.
The dynasty to which Princess Diana belonged can be proud of such eminent sons as Sir and the Duke of Marlborough. The ancestral property of the Spencer family is Spencer House, located in the Westminster quarter in central London. Diana's mother Francis Shand Kydd also comes from an aristocratic family. Diana's maternal grandmother was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.
The biography of the future princess was also beyond claims. The future Princess Diana received her primary education at Sandringham, where she spent her childhood. Lady Dee's first teacher was Gertrude Allen, a governess who had previously taught the girl's mother. Diana received her further education at the private Sealfield School, and later studied at Riddlesworth Hall. As a child, the character of the future princess was not difficult, but she was always quite stubborn.
According to the recollections of teachers, the girl read and drew well, dedicating her drawings to her mother and father. Diana's parents divorced when she was 8 years old, which was a great shock for the child. As a result of the divorce proceedings, Diana stayed with her father, and her mother left for Scotland, where she lived with her new husband.
The next place of study for the future Princess of Wales is the privileged school for girls West Hill in Kent. Here, Diana did not show herself as a diligent student, and music and dancing became her passion, and, according to rumors, in her youth, Lady Di was not given the exact sciences, and she even failed her exams several times.
In 1977, Diana and Prince Charles met in Althorp, but at that time the future spouses did not pay serious attention to each other. In the same year, Diana studies in Switzerland for a short time, but returns home due to strong homesickness. After graduation, Diana began working as a nanny and kindergarten teacher in the prestigious Knightsbridge area of London.
Prince Charles and the wedding
In 1980, Diana again falls into the circle of friends of Prince Charles. The bachelor life of the heir to the throne at that time was a serious cause for concern for his parents. Queen Elizabeth was especially worried about her son's relationship with a noble married lady, with whom the prince did not even try to hide his relationship. In this situation, the candidacy of Diana Spencer for the role of princess was happily approved by the royal family, Charles and, according to some rumors, even Camilla Parker-Bowles.
The prince invited Diana first to the royal yacht, after which an invitation was received to Balmoral Castle to meet the royal family. Charles proposed at Windsor Castle, but the engagement was kept secret for some time. The official announcement took place on February 24, 1981. The symbol of this event was the famous ring of Princess Diana - a precious sapphire surrounded by fourteen diamonds.
Lady Di became the first English woman in 300 years to marry the heir to the throne.
The wedding of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer has become the most expensive wedding ceremony in British history. The celebration took place at St. Paul's Cathedral in London on July 29, 1981. The wedding ceremony was preceded by a parade through the streets of London by a carriage with members of the royal family, a march of the Commonwealth regiments and the "Glass Carriage", in which Diana and her father arrived.
Prince Charles was dressed in the dress uniform of Commander of Her Majesty's Navy. Diana wore a £9,000 gown with an 8m train designed by young English designers Elizabeth and David Emanuel. The design of the dress was kept in the strictest confidence from the public and the press, the dress was delivered to the palace in a sealed envelope. The head of the future princess was decorated with a family heirloom - a tiara.
Diana and Charles' wedding has been called the "fairytale wedding" and the "wedding of the century". According to experts, the audience watching the live broadcast of the celebrations on the world's main TV channels amounted to more than 750 million people. After a formal dinner at Buckingham Palace, the couple took the royal train to the Broadlands estate before flying to Gibraltar, from where Charles and Princess Diana began their Mediterranean cruise. At the end of the cruise, another reception was given in Scotland, where members of the press were given permission to photograph the newlyweds.
The wedding celebrations cost taxpayers nearly £3 million.
Divorce
The personal life of the crowned family was not so fabulous and soon attracted the attention of the public with several scandals, in which, according to the press, various lovers and mistresses constantly appeared. According to rumors, even at the time of the marriage proposal from Charles, Diana was aware of his relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles. Subsequently, it became increasingly difficult for the princess to restrain jealousy and protect the reputation of the family, since Prince Charles not only did not interrupt the extramarital affair, but also openly admitted it. The situation was complicated by the fact that in the person who took the side of her son in this conflict, Princess Diana received an influential opponent.
In 1990, the delicate situation could no longer be hidden, and this situation received wide publicity. During this period, Princess Diana also confesses her relationship with the riding coach James Hewitt.
In 1995, according to rumors, Diana met her true love. While visiting a friend in the hospital, the princess accidentally met the heart surgeon Hasnat Khan. The feelings were mutual, but the constant attention of the public, from which the couple even fled to Khan's homeland, Pakistan, and the active condemnation of Khan's parents, both his role as the princess's de facto lover, and the freedom-loving views of the woman herself, did not allow the novel to develop and, perhaps, deprived a chance for the happiness of two people who are truly in love.
At the insistence of Queen Elizabeth, Charles and Diana officially divorced in 1996, four years after the actual breakup of their family. Married to Prince Charles, two sons were born: Welsh and Welsh.
After the divorce, Diana, according to journalists, begins a relationship with a film producer, the son of the Egyptian billionaire Dodi al-Fayed. Officially, this connection was not confirmed by any of the close friends of the princess, and in a book written by Diana's butler, the fact of their relationship is directly denied.
Doom
On August 31, 1997, Princess Diana was killed in a car accident. During Diana's visit to Paris, the car, in the cabin of which, in addition to the princess herself, were Dodi al-Fayed, bodyguard Trevor Rhys Jones and driver Henri Paul, passing through the tunnel under the Alma bridge, collided with a concrete support. The driver and Dodi al-Fayed died instantly at the scene. Princess Diana died two hours later at the Salpêtrière hospital. The princess's bodyguard survived, but received severe head injuries, as a result of which he does not remember anything about the moment of the accident itself.
Princess Diana's wrecked car The death of Princess Diana was a shock not only for the people of Great Britain, but for the whole world. In France, mourners have turned a Paris copy of the torch of the Statue of Liberty into a spontaneous memorial to Diana. The funeral of the princess took place on 6 September. Lady Dee's grave is on a secluded island at Althorp Manor (the Spencer family estate) in Northamptonshire.
Among the causes of the car accident, many factors are called, starting with the version according to which the princess's car tried to break away from the paparazzi car chasing them, and ending with the version regarding. Until now, there are many rumors and theories about the causes of death of the beloved princess.
A Scotland Yard report published ten years later confirmed the fact of a two-fold excess of the speed allowed for movement on the road section under the Alma Bridge, discovered during the investigation, as well as the presence of alcohol in the driver’s blood, which exceeded the allowable rate three times.
Memory
Princess Diana enjoyed the sincere love of the people of Great Britain, who affectionately called her Lady Dee. The princess did a lot of charity work, donating significant funds to various foundations, was an activist in the movement seeking a ban on anti-personnel mines, and provided people with material and moral assistance.
Sir dedicated the song “Candle in the Wind” to her memory, and the song “Privacy”, in which he not only expressed grief for the princess, but also talked about the burden of constant attention and gossip, which, perhaps, is indirectly to blame for the death of Lady Dee.
10 years after the death, a film was made dedicated to the last hours of the life of the princess. Songs, "Depeche mode" and "Aquarium" are dedicated to her. Postage stamps are issued in her honor in many countries of the world.
According to a BBC poll, Princess Diana is one of the most popular faces in British history, ahead of other English monarchs in this ranking.
Awards
- Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown
- Order of Virtue Special Class
The tragic death of Diana was perceived by many as a personal tragedy, a huge number of books, films and musical works are dedicated to her. Why Princess Diana was so popular among the common people, we will try to understand this material.
Childhood and family
Diana Francis Spencer is a representative of an old aristocratic dynasty, the founders of which were the descendants of Kings Charles II and James II. The Duke of Marlborough, Winston Churchill and many other famous Englishmen belonged to her noble family. Her father, John Spencer, held the title of Viscount Eltrop. The mother of the future princess, Frances Ruth (née Roche), was also of noble birth - her father was a baron, and her mother was a confidant and maid of honor of Queen Elizabeth. 
Diana became the third girl in the Spencer family, she has two older sisters - Sarah (1955) and Jane (1957). A year before her birth, a tragedy occurred in the family - a boy born on January 12, 1960 died ten hours after birth. This event seriously affected the already less than ideal relationship between the parents, and the birth of Diana could no longer correct this situation. In May 1964, the long-awaited heir Charles was born to the Spencer couple, but their marriage was already bursting at the seams, his father spent all his time hunting and playing cricket, and his mother got a lover.
Diana from early childhood felt like an unnecessary and unloved child, deprived of attention and love. Neither mother nor father ever said simple words to her: "We love you." The divorce of her parents was a shock for an eight-year-old girl, her heart was torn between her father and mother, who no longer wanted to live as one family. Francis left the children to her husband and left with her new chosen one for Scotland, the next meeting of Diana with her mother took place only at the wedding ceremony with Prince Charles.
In early childhood, Diana was brought up and educated by governesses and home teachers. In 1968, the girl was sent to the prestigious West Hill Private School, where her older sisters were already studying. Diana loved to dance, drew beautifully, went in for swimming, but the rest of the subjects were given to her with difficulty. She failed her final exams and was left without a matriculation certificate. School failures were due more to lack of self-confidence and low self-esteem than to low intellectual ability.
In 1975, John Spencer inherited the title of earl from his deceased father, and a year later he married Raine, Countess of Dartmouth. The children disliked their stepmother, boycotted her and refused to sit at the same table. Only after the death of her father in 1992, Diana changed her attitude towards this woman and began to warmly communicate with her.
In 1977, the future princess went to Switzerland to continue her education. Homesickness forced her to return without graduating from an educational institution. The girl moved to London and got a job.
In English aristocratic families, it is customary for grown-up children to work on an equal footing with ordinary citizens, so Diana, despite her noble birth, worked as a teacher in the Young England kindergarten, which still exists in the respectable London district of Pimlico and is proud of its connection with the royal family .
She lived in a small apartment given to her by her father as an adult, and led the usual way of life for English youth. At the same time, she was a modest and well-mannered girl, shunned noisy London parties with marijuana and alcohol, and did not start serious novels.
Meeting Prince Charles
Diana's first meeting with Prince Charles took place in 1977 at the Spencer family estate in Althorp. The heir to the British crown then met with her older sister Sarah, the girl was even invited to the palace, which indicated serious plans for her. However, Sarah did not burn with the desire to become a princess, she did not hide her passion for alcohol, because of which she was expelled from school, and hinted at infertility. 
The queen was not satisfied with this state of affairs, and she began to consider Diana as a possible bride for her son. And Sarah happily married a calm, reliable man with a wonderful sense of humor, bore him three children and lived a happy family life.
The queen's desire to marry her son as soon as possible was caused by his relationship with Camilla Shand, a smart, energetic and sexy blonde, but not well-born enough to become the heir to the throne. And Charles liked such women: experienced, sophisticated and ready to carry him in their arms. Camilla was also not averse to becoming a member of the royal family, however, as a smart woman, she had a fallback in the person of officer Andrew Parker-Bowles. But the heart of Andrew for a long time was occupied by Princess Anna, Charles's sister.
The marriage of Camilla and Bowles became a solution to two problems for the royal family at once - at that time Charles served in the Navy, and when he returned, he met his beloved already in the status of a married lady. This did not prevent them from continuing their love relationship, which did not stop with the advent of Lady Diana in the life of Prince. Looking ahead, we add that eight years after the death of Lady Spencer, the prince married Camilla.
Diana, on the other hand, was a modest pretty girl without a train of scandals and with an excellent pedigree - an excellent match for the future heir to the throne. The queen persistently suggested that her son pay attention to her, and Camilla was not against the marriage of her lover to a young, inexperienced lady who did not pose any threat to her. Submitting to the will of his mother and realizing his duty to the dynasty, the prince invited Diana, first to the royal yacht, and then to the palace, where, in the presence of members of the royal family, he proposed to her.
The official announcement of the engagement took place on February 24, 1981. Lady Dee showed the public a luxurious sapphire and diamond ring, which now adorns the finger of Kate Middleton, the wife of her eldest son.
After the engagement, Diana left her job as a teacher and moved first to the royal residence in Westminster, and then to Buckingham Palace. It was an unpleasant surprise for her that the prince lived in separate apartments, continued to lead his usual way of life and rarely spoiled the bride with attention. 
The coldness and aloofness of the royal family negatively affected Diana's psyche, childhood fears and insecurities returned to her, and bulimia attacks became more frequent. Before the wedding, the girl lost 12 kilograms, her wedding dress had to be sutured several times. She felt like a stranger in the royal palace, it was difficult for her to get used to the new rules, and the environment seemed cold and hostile.
On July 29, 1981, a magnificent wedding ceremony took place, which was seen on television screens by about a million people. Another 600,000 spectators greeted the wedding procession on the streets of London, all the way to St. Paul's Cathedral. On that day, the territory of Westminster Abbey barely accommodated everyone who wanted to take part in this historic event.
Princess Diana's wedding. Chronicles
There were some incidents - a luxurious taffeta dress was badly wrinkled during a ride in a horse-drawn carriage and did not look the best. In addition, the bride, during the traditional speech at the altar, mixed up the order of the names of Prince Charles, which violated etiquette, and also did not swear to her future husband in eternal obedience. The royal press attachés pretended it was meant to be, permanently changing the text of the wedding vow for members of the British court.
Birth of heirs and problems in family life
After a solemn reception at Buckingham Palace, the newlyweds retired to the Broadlands estate, from where a few days later they went on a wedding cruise in the Mediterranean. When they returned, they settled at Kensington Palace in west London. The prince returned to his usual way of life, and Diana began to expect the appearance of her first child. 
Officially, the pregnancy of the Princess of Wales was announced on November 5, 1981, this news caused rejoicing in English society, people were eager to see the heir to the royal dynasty.
Diana spent almost the entire pregnancy in the palace, gloomy and deserted. She was surrounded only by doctors and servants, her husband rarely went into her chambers, and the princess suspected something was wrong. She soon found out about his ongoing relationship with Camilla, which Charles did not even try to hide very much. The betrayal of her husband oppressed the princess, she suffered from jealousy and self-doubt, was almost always sad and depressed.
The birth of the first-born William (06/21/1982) and the second son Harry (09/15/1984) did not change anything in their relationship. Charles still sought comfort in the arms of his mistress, and Lady Di shed bitter tears, suffered from depression and bulimia, and drank handfuls of sedative pills.
The intimate life of the spouses practically came to naught, and the princess had no choice but to find herself another man. They became Captain James Hewitt, a former military man, courageous and sexy. In order to have a reason to see him without arousing suspicion, Diana began to take riding lessons.
James gave her what a woman could not get from her own husband - love, care and the joy of physical intimacy. Their romance lasted nine years, it became known in 1992 from the book Diana: Her True Story by Andrew Morton. Around the same time, records of intimate conversations between Charles and Camilla were made public, which inevitably led to a scandal in the royal family.
Diana and Charles divorce
The reputation of the British monarchy was under serious threat, protest moods were ripening in society, and it was necessary to urgently solve this problem. The situation was aggravated by the fact that Diana, in a little over ten years, became the favorite not only of the British people, but also of the world community, so many stood up for her and accused Charles of misbehaving.At first, Diana's popularity played into the hands of the royal court. She was called the "queen of hearts", "the sun of Britain" and "the people's princess" and put on a par with Jacqueline Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor and other great women of the twentieth century.
But over time, this universal love finally destroyed the marriage of Charles and Diana - the prince became jealous of his wife for her fame, and Lady Di, feeling the support of millions, began to boldly and confidently declare her rights. She decided to demonstrate to the whole world evidence of her husband's infidelities, told her story on a tape recorder and handed over the recordings to the press.
After that, Queen Elizabeth disliked Princess Diana, but the royal family could not stay away from the scandal, and on December 9, 1992, Prime Minister John Major officially announced the decision of Diana and Charles to live separately.
In November 1995, Lady Dee gave the BBC a sensational interview in which she spoke in detail about her suffering caused by her husband's infidelity, palace intrigues and other unworthy acts of members of the royal family.
Candid interview with Princess Diana (1995)
Charles responded by portraying her as a psychopath and hysterical and demanded an official divorce. The queen supported her son, appointed her former daughter-in-law a generous allowance, but deprived her of the title of Your Royal Highness. On August 28, 1996, the divorce proceedings were completed, and Diana again became a free woman.
last years of life
After her divorce from Charles, Lady Dee tried to arrange her personal life again in order to finally find female happiness. By that time, she had already parted with James Hewitt, suspecting him of hypocrisy and greed.Diana really wanted to believe that men love her not only for her title, but also for her personal qualities, and the Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan seemed to her like that. She fell in love with him without looking back, met his parents and even covered her head as a sign of respect for Muslim traditions.
It seemed to her that in the Islamic world, a woman is protected and surrounded by love and care, and this was exactly what she was looking for all her life. However, Dr. Khan understood that next to such a woman he would always be forced to remain on the sidelines, and was in no hurry with a marriage proposal.
In the summer of 1997, Diana accepted the invitation of the Egyptian billionaire Mohammed al-Fayed to relax on his yacht. An influential businessman, the owner of luxury real estate in London, wanted to get to know such a popular person better.
So that Diana would not be bored, he invited his son, film producer Dodi al-Fayed, to the yacht. Lady Dee at first considered this trip as a way to arouse Dr. Khan's jealousy, but she herself did not notice how she fell in love with the charming and courteous Dodi.
Tragic death of Princess Diana
On August 31, 1997, Lady Dee and her new lover died in a fatal accident in the center of Paris. Their car crashed into one of the pillars of the underground tunnel at breakneck speed, Dodi and driver Henri Paul died on the spot, and the princess died two hours later at the Salpêtrière clinic. 
In the blood of the driver, they found an alcohol content several times higher than the permissible limit, in addition, the car was moving at great speed, trying to break away from the paparazzi chasing him.
The death of Diana was a huge shock to the world community and caused a lot of rumors and speculation. Many blamed the royal family for the death of the princess, believing that the British intelligence services set up this accident. Information appeared in the press that the driver was blinded by a laser by a man on a motorcycle in order to avoid Diana's pregnancy from a Muslim and the subsequent scandal. However, all this is from the field of conspiracy theories.
Funeral of Princess Diana
All of England mourned the death of the "People's Princess", because before that, not a single person of royal blood had been so loved by the common people. Under pressure from the public, Elizabeth was forced to interrupt her vacation in Scotland and give her former daughter-in-law the necessary honors.
Diana was buried on September 6, 1997 at the Spencer family estate in Althorp, Northamptonshire. Her grave is hidden from prying eyes on a secluded island in the middle of the lake, access to it is limited. Those wishing to honor the memory of the "People's Princess" can visit the memorial located near the burial place.
Reasons for universal love
Princess Diana enjoyed the support of the British, not only because she gave birth to two heirs and dared to publicize the vices of the crown prince. In many ways, this is the result of her charitable work.For example, Diana became one of the first famous people to talk about the problem of AIDS. The disease was discovered in the early 80s, and even ten years later, little was known about the virus and how it spread. Not all doctors dared to contact those infected with HIV, fearing to catch a deadly disease.
But Diana was not afraid. She visited AIDS treatment centers without a mask and gloves, shook hands with the sick, sat on their bed, asked about their families, hugged and kissed. “HIV does not turn people into danger. You can shake hands with them and hug them, because only God knows how much they need it, ”the princess called. 
Traveling around third world countries, Diana communicated with patients with leprosy: “When I met them, I always tried to touch them, hug them, to show that they are not outcasts, not outcasts.”
Having visited Angola in 1997 (there was a civil war going on there at that time), Diana walked through a field that had just been cleared of mines. No one guaranteed complete security - the likelihood that mines remained in the ground was very high. Returning to Britain, Diana launched an anti-mine campaign, urging the army to abandon this type of weapon. “Angola has the highest percentage of amputees. Think about it: one out of 333 Angolans lost a limb to mines.”
During her lifetime, Diana did not achieve "deminization", but her son, Prince Harry, continues her work. He is a patron of The HALO Trust, a charitable organization whose goal is to free the world from mines by 2025, that is, to neutralize all old shells and stop the production of new ones. Volunteers cleared mines in Chechnya, Kosovo, Abkhazia, Ukraine, Angola, Afghanistan.
In her native London, the princess regularly visited centers for the homeless and took Harry and William with her so that they could see the other side of life with their own eyes and learn compassion. Later, Prince William claimed that these visits were a revelation for him and he is grateful to his mother for this opportunity. After Diana's death, he became a patron of the charities she had previously supported.
At least three times a week, she went to children's hospices, where they kept children dying from oncology. Diana spent at least four hours with them. “Some will survive, others will die, but as long as they are alive, they need love. And I will love them,” said the princess.
Diana changed the face of the British monarchy. If earlier they were associated among the common people with yet another suffocating measures like raising taxes, then after her actions, as well as a 1995 BBC interview (“I would like monarchs to have more contact with the people”), the monarchy turned into a defender of the disadvantaged. After the tragic death of Lady Dee, her mission continued.