Brief biography of Princess Diana. Princess of Wales, born Lady Diana Frances Spencer. London and adulthood

Diana, Princess of Wales(English) Diana, Princess of Wales), born Diana Frances Spencer(English) Diana France Spencer; July 1, Sandringham, Norfolk - August 31, Paris) - from 1981 to 1996, the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne. Widely known as princess Diana , lady diana or lady di. According to a poll conducted in 2002 by the BBC broadcaster, Diana took 3rd place in the list of the 100 Greatest Britons in history.

Biography

Diana spent her childhood in Sandringham, where she received her primary home education. Her teacher was the governess Gertrude Allen, who taught Diana's mother. She continued her education at Sealfield, at a private school near King's Line, then at Riddlesworth Hall Preparatory School.

When Diana was 8 years old, her parents divorced. She stayed with her father, along with her sisters and brother. The divorce had a strong influence on the girl, and soon a stepmother appeared in the house, who disliked children.

In 1975, after her grandfather's death, Diana's father became the 8th Earl Spencer and she received the courtesy title of "lady", reserved for daughters of high peers. During this period, the family moves to the ancient ancestral castle of Althorpe House in Northamptonshire.

At the age of 12, the future princess was admitted to a privileged girls' school at West Hill, in Sevenoaks, Kent. Here she turned out to be a bad student and could not finish it. At the same time, her musical abilities were not in doubt. The girl was also fascinated by dancing. In 1977 she briefly attended school in the Swiss city of Rougemont. Once in Switzerland, Diana soon began to feel homesick and returned to England ahead of schedule.

In the winter of 1977, before leaving for training, she first met her future husband, Prince Charles, when he came to Althorp to hunt.

In 1978 she moved to London, where she initially stayed in her mother's apartment (who then spent most of her time in Scotland). As a gift for her 18th birthday, she received her own apartment worth 100,000 pounds in Earl's Court, where she lived with three friends. During this period, Diana, who previously adored children, began working as an assistant teacher at Young England Nursery School in Pimiliko.

Family life

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.

public role

Diana was actively involved in charitable and peacekeeping activities (in particular, she was an activist in the fight against AIDS and the movement to stop the production of anti-personnel mines).

She was one of the most popular women in the world of her time. In the UK, she has always been considered the most popular member of the royal family, she was called the "queen of hearts" or " queen of hearts"(Eng. Queen of Hearts).

Visit to Moscow

Doom

On August 31, 1997, Diana died in a car accident in Paris, along with Dodi al-Fayed and driver Henri Paul. Al-Fayed and Paul died instantly, Diana, taken from the scene (in the tunnel in front of the Alma bridge on the Seine embankment) to the Salpêtrière hospital, died two hours later.

The cause of the accident is not entirely clear, there are a number of versions (alcohol intoxication of the driver, the need to escape at speed from paparazzi harassment, as well as various conspiracy theories). The only surviving passenger of the car "Mercedes S280" with the number "688 LTV 75", bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones (English)Russian, who was seriously injured (his face had to be restored by surgeons), does not remember the events.

Celebrity ratings

In 1998, Diana was named one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century by Time magazine.

In 2002, Diana was ranked third on the Great Britons list, ahead of the Queen and other British monarchs, in a BBC poll.

In literature

Many books have been written about Diana in various languages. Almost all of her friends and close collaborators spoke with reminiscences; there are several documentaries and even feature films. There are both fanatical fans of the memory of the princess, insisting even on her holiness, and criticism of her personality and the pop cult that has arisen around her.

In music

In 2007, 10 years after her death, on the day when Princess Diana would have turned 46 years old, a commemorative concert called “Concert for Diana” was held, the founders were Princes Harry and William, world music and film stars performed at the concert. The concert took place at the famous Wembley Stadium in London, opened by Diana's favorite band, Duran Duran.

In 2012, American singer Lady Gaga performed a song dedicated to Princess Diana during one of her shows on The Born This Way Ball world tour. The song is called "Princess Die"

In cinema

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Diana's death, the film "Princess Diana. Last Day in Paris, which describes the last hours of Lady Diana's life.

In 2006, the biopic The Queen was filmed, which describes the life of the British royal family immediately after the death of Princess Diana.

In philately

In honor of Princess Diana, postage stamps were issued in Albania, Armenia, North Korea, Pitcairn, Tuvalu.

Write a review on the article "Diana, Princess of Wales"

Literature

• Yauza-Press. Princess Diana. Life, told by herself. (A woman of the era. A unique autobiography) 2014- ISBN 978-5-9955-0550-1
• D. L. Medvedev. Diana: A lonely princess. - M .: RIPOL classic, 2010. - ISBN 978-5-386-02465-9.
• N. Ya. Nadezhdin. Princess Diana: "The Tale of Cinderella": Biographical Stories. - M.: Major, Osipenko, 2011. - 192 p. - ISBN 978-5-98551-199-4.

Notes

1. After her divorce in 1996, Diana ceased to be Her Royal Highness and Princess of Wales, but, as is customary among divorced peer wives, her personal name was supplemented by a reference to the lost title of Princess of Wales.
2. Officially, she never had such a title, since only members of the royal house by birth have the title of "prince / princess + name" with rare exceptions.
4. (July 15, 1981). Retrieved 23 July 2013.
5. Newspaper "Izvestia", May 13
6. , March 12, 1994
7. Article on the site celtica.ru
8. (Russian). dni.ru (16:42 / 12/14/2006). Retrieved October 4, 2009. .
9. Faulkner, Larissa J.. Iowa Journal of Cultural Studies.
10. . Am Ia Annoying.com.
11. . wayback machine.
12. (Russian). onuz.net. Retrieved October 4, 2009. .
13. Alexandra Zakharova.(Russian). Russian newspaper. rg.ru (December 2, 2013). Retrieved 26 January 2014.

Links

An excerpt characterizing Diana, Princess of Wales

If the goal of the European wars of the beginning of this century was the greatness of Russia, then this goal could be achieved without all the previous wars and without invasion. If the goal is the greatness of France, then this goal could be achieved without a revolution, and without an empire. If the goal is to spread ideas, then printing would do it much better than soldiers. If the goal is the progress of civilization, then it is quite easy to assume that, in addition to the destruction of people and their wealth, there are other more expedient ways for the spread of civilization.
Why did it happen this way and not otherwise?
Because that's how it happened. “Chance made the situation; genius took advantage of it,” says history.
But what is a case? What is a genius?
The words chance and genius do not designate anything really existing and therefore cannot be defined. These words only denote a certain degree of understanding of phenomena. I don't know why such a phenomenon occurs; I think I can't know; therefore I do not want to know and I say: chance. I see a force producing an action disproportionate to universal human properties; I don’t understand why this is happening, and I say: genius.
For a herd of rams, that ram, which every evening is driven off by a shepherd into a special stall to feed and becomes twice as thick as the others, must seem like a genius. And the fact that every evening this very ram ends up not in a common sheepfold, but in a special stall for oats, and that this very same ram, drenched in fat, is killed for meat, must seem like an amazing combination of genius with a whole series of extraordinary accidents. .
But sheep need only stop thinking that everything that is done to them is only to achieve their sheep goals; it is worth admitting that the events happening to them may have goals that are incomprehensible to them - and they will immediately see unity, consistency in what happens to the fattened ram. If they do not know for what purpose he was fattening, then at least they will know that everything that happened to the ram did not happen by accident, and they will no longer need the concept of either chance or genius.
Only by renouncing the knowledge of a close, understandable goal and recognizing that the ultimate goal is inaccessible to us, we will see consistency and expediency in the life of historical figures; we will discover the reason for the action that they produce, disproportionate to universal human properties, and we will not need the words chance and genius.
One has only to admit that the purpose of the unrest of the European peoples is unknown to us, and only the facts are known, consisting in murders, first in France, then in Italy, in Africa, in Prussia, in Austria, in Spain, in Russia, and that movements from the west to east and from east to west constitute the essence and purpose of these events, and not only will we not need to see the exclusivity and genius in the characters of Napoleon and Alexander, but it will be impossible to imagine these faces otherwise than as the same people as everyone else; and not only will it not be necessary to explain by chance those small events that made these people what they were, but it will be clear that all these small events were necessary.
Having renounced the knowledge of the ultimate goal, we will clearly understand that just as it is impossible to invent for any plant other colors and seeds more appropriate to it than those that it produces, in the same way it is impossible to invent two other people, with everything their past, which would correspond to such an extent, to such smallest details, to the appointment that they were supposed to fulfill.

The basic, essential meaning of the European events at the beginning of this century is the militant movement of the masses of the European peoples from west to east and then from east to west. The first instigator of this movement was the movement from west to east. In order for the peoples of the West to be able to make that militant movement to Moscow, which they did, it was necessary: ​​1) that they should be formed into a militant group of such a size that would be able to endure a clash with the militant group of the East; 2) that they renounce all established traditions and habits, and 3) that, in making their militant movement, they should have at their head a man who, both for himself and for them, could justify the deceptions, robberies and murders that accompanied this movement.
And since the French Revolution, the old, insufficiently great group has been destroyed; old habits and traditions are destroyed; step by step, a group of new dimensions, new habits and traditions are being worked out, and that person is being prepared who must stand at the head of the future movement and bear all the responsibility of those who have to be accomplished.
A man without convictions, without habits, without traditions, without a name, not even a Frenchman, by the most strange accidents, it seems, moves between all the parties that excite France and, without sticking to any of them, is brought to a conspicuous place.
The ignorance of his comrades, the weakness and insignificance of opponents, the sincerity of lies and the brilliant and self-confident narrow-mindedness of this man put him at the head of the army. The brilliant composition of the soldiers of the Italian army, the unwillingness to fight opponents, childish audacity and self-confidence gain him military glory. An innumerable number of so-called accidents accompanies him everywhere. The disfavor into which he falls with the rulers of France serves him well. His attempts to change the path destined for him fail: he is not accepted for service in Russia, and his assignment to Turkey fails. During the wars in Italy, he is several times on the verge of death and each time he is saved in an unexpected way. Russian troops, the very ones that can destroy his glory, for various diplomatic reasons, do not enter Europe as long as he is there.
On his return from Italy, he finds the government in Paris in the process of decay, in which people who fall into this government are inevitably erased and destroyed. And by itself for him is a way out of this dangerous situation, consisting in a senseless, causeless expedition to Africa. Again, the same so-called accidents accompany him. Impregnable Malta surrenders without a shot being fired; the most careless orders are crowned with success. The enemy fleet, which will not let a single boat through after, lets the whole army through. In Africa, a whole series of atrocities is committed against almost unarmed inhabitants. And the people who commit these atrocities, and especially their leader, assure themselves that this is wonderful, that this is glory, that this is similar to Caesar and Alexander the Great, and that this is good.
That ideal of glory and greatness, which consists in not only considering nothing bad for oneself, but taking pride in every one of one's crimes, attributing to it an incomprehensible supernatural significance - this ideal, which should guide this person and people associated with him, is developed in the open space in Africa. Everything he does, he succeeds. The plague doesn't get to him. The cruelty of killing prisoners is not blamed on him. His childishly careless, causeless and ignoble departure from Africa, from comrades in trouble, is credited to him, and again the enemy fleet misses him twice. While he, already completely intoxicated by the happy crimes he had committed, and ready for his role, came to Paris without any purpose, that decay of the republican government, which could have ruined him a year ago, now reached an extreme degree, and the presence of his fresh from the parties of man, now only can exalt him.
He has no plan; he is afraid of everything; but the parties seize upon him and demand his participation.
He alone, with his ideal of glory and greatness worked out in Italy and Egypt, with his madness of self-adoration, with his audacity of crimes, with his sincerity of lies, he alone can justify what has to be done.
He is needed for the place that awaits him, and therefore, almost regardless of his will and despite his indecision, in spite of the lack of a plan, in spite of all the mistakes that he makes, he is drawn into a conspiracy aimed at seizing power, and the conspiracy is crowned with success. .
He is pushed into the meeting of the rulers. Frightened, he wants to run, believing himself dead; pretends to faint; says meaningless things that should have ruined him. But the rulers of France, who were formerly sharp-witted and proud, now, feeling that their role has been played, are even more embarrassed than he is, they say the wrong words that they should have spoken in order to retain power and destroy him.
Accident, millions of accidents give him power, and all people, as if by agreement, contribute to the establishment of this power. Accidents make the characters of the then rulers of France subordinate to him; accidents make the character of Paul I, recognizing his authority; chance makes a conspiracy against him, not only not harming him, but asserting his power. Chance sends Enghiensky into his hands and inadvertently forces him to kill, thus, stronger than all other means, convincing the crowd that he has the right, since he has the power. What happens by chance is that he exerts all his strength on an expedition to England, which, obviously, would destroy him, and never fulfills this intention, but inadvertently attacks Mack with the Austrians, who surrender without a fight. Chance and genius give him victory at Austerlitz, and by chance all people, not only the French, but all of Europe, with the exception of England, which will not take part in the events that are about to take place, all people, despite their former horror and disgust for his crimes, now they recognize him for his power, the name that he gave himself, and his ideal of greatness and glory, which seems to everyone to be something beautiful and reasonable.
As if trying on and preparing for the upcoming movement, the forces of the west several times in 1805, 6, 7, 9 years tend to the east, growing stronger and stronger. In 1811, the group of people that had taken shape in France merges into one huge group with the middle peoples. Along with an increasing group of people, the power of justification of the person at the head of the movement further develops. In the ten-year preparatory period of time preceding the great movement, this man comes into contact with all the crowned heads of Europe. The unmasked rulers of the world cannot oppose any reasonable ideal to the Napoleonic ideal of glory and greatness, which has no meaning. One before the other, they strive to show him their insignificance. The King of Prussia sends his wife to seek favors from the great man; the emperor of Austria considers it a mercy that this man receives the daughter of the Caesars in his bed; The pope, guardian of the holy things of the nations, serves with his religion to exalt the great man. Not so much Napoleon himself prepares himself for the performance of his role, but everything around him prepares him to take upon himself the entire responsibility of what is being done and has to be done. There is no deed, no crime or petty deception that he would commit and which would not immediately be reflected in the mouths of those around him in the form of a great deed. The best holiday that the Germans can think of for him is the celebration of Jena and Auerstät. Not only is he great, but his ancestors are great, his brothers, his stepsons, sons-in-law. Everything is done in order to deprive him of the last power of reason and prepare him for his terrible role. And when he is ready, the forces are ready.
The invasion is heading east, reaching its final goal - Moscow. The capital is taken; the Russian army is more destroyed than the enemy troops were ever destroyed in previous wars from Austerlitz to Wagram. But suddenly, instead of those accidents and genius that have so consistently led him until now by an uninterrupted series of successes to the intended goal, there is an innumerable number of reverse accidents, from a cold in Borodino to frost and a spark that ignited Moscow; and instead of genius there are stupidity and meanness, which have no examples.
The invasion flees, returns back, flees again, and all accidents are now constantly no longer for, but against it.
A countermovement from east to west takes place, with a remarkable resemblance to the previous movement from west to east. The same attempts to move from east to west in 1805-1807-1809 precede the great movement; the same clutch and a group of huge sizes; the same pestering of the middle peoples to the movement; the same hesitation in the middle of the journey and the same speed as it approaches the goal.
Paris - the ultimate goal achieved. The Napoleonic government and troops are destroyed. Napoleon himself no longer makes sense; all his actions are obviously pathetic and vile; but again an inexplicable accident happens: the allies hate Napoleon, in whom they see the cause of their disasters; deprived of strength and power, convicted of villainy and deceit, he should have appeared to them the way he seemed to them ten years ago and a year after, a robber outside the law. But by some strange chance, no one sees it. His role is not over yet. A man who ten years ago and a year after was considered an outlaw robber is sent on a two-day journey from France to an island given to him for possession with guards and millions who pay him for something.

The movement of nations is beginning to take its course. The waves of great movement have receded, and circles form on the still sea, along which diplomats rush about, imagining that it is they who produce the lull in the movement.
But the calm sea suddenly rises. It seems to diplomats that they, their disagreements, are the cause of this new onslaught of forces; they expect war between their sovereigns; their position seems insurmountable. But the wave they feel rising is not coming from where they are waiting for it. The same wave rises, from the same starting point of movement - Paris. The last splash of movement from the west is being made; a splash that should solve the seemingly insoluble diplomatic difficulties and put an end to the militant movement of this period.
The man who devastated France, alone, without a conspiracy, without soldiers, comes to France. Every watchman can take it; but, by a strange chance, not only does no one take it, but everyone greets with delight that person who was cursed a day ago and will be cursed in a month.
This person is also needed to justify the last cumulative action.
The action has been completed. The last part has been played. The actor is ordered to undress and wash off the antimony and rouge: he will no longer be needed.
And several years pass in that this man, alone on his island, plays a miserable comedy in front of himself, petty intrigues and lies, justifying his deeds, when this justification is no longer needed, and shows the whole world what it was what people took for strength when an invisible hand led them.
The steward, having finished the drama and undressed the actor, showed him to us.
“Look what you believed! Here he is! Do you see now that it was not he but I who moved you?
But, blinded by the force of the movement, people did not understand this for a long time.
Still greater consistency and necessity is the life of Alexander I, the person who stood at the head of the countermovement from east to west.
What is needed for that person who, overshadowing others, would be at the head of this movement from east to west?

On July 1, Diana would have turned 55 years old. The famous princess became a breath of fresh air in the royal palace with her open demeanor.

When she married Prince Charles at St. Paul's Cathedral, the wedding ceremony (according to Wikipedia) was watched by 750 million viewers around the world. Diana was in the center of public attention throughout her life. Everything related to her, from clothes to hair, immediately became an international trend. And even after almost two decades since her tragic death, public interest in the personality of the Princess of Wales does not fade away. In memory of the popularly beloved princess, here are twenty-six little-known facts about her life.

1. Studying at school

Diana was not good at science, and after failing two exams at West Heath Girls' School at the age of 16, her studies ended. Her father intended to send her to study in Sweden, but she insisted on returning home.

2. Acquaintance with Charles and engagement

Prince Charles and Diana met when he dated Sarah, Diana's older sister. Sarah and Charles' relationship hit a dead end after she announced publicly that she did not love the prince. Diana, on the other hand, really liked Charles, and she even hung his picture above her bed at boarding school. “I want to be a dancer or the Princess of Wales,” she once confided to a classmate.

Diana was only 16 when she first saw Charles (who was then 28) hunting in Norfolk. According to the recollections of her former music teacher, Diana was very excited and could not talk about anything else: “Finally, I met him!” Two years later, their engagement was officially announced, then Sarah proudly declared: "I introduced them, I'm Cupid."

After leaving school and until the official announcement of the engagement, the young aristocrat worked first as a nanny and then as a kindergarten teacher in Knightsbridge, one of the most prestigious areas of London.

4. An Englishwoman among royal wives

No matter how surprising it may sound, but over the past 300 years, Lady Diana Frances Spencer was the first English woman to become the wife of the heir to the British throne. Before her, the wives of the English kings were mainly representatives of the German royal dynasties, there was also a Dane (Alexandra of Denmark, wife of Edward VII), and even the queen mother, wife of George VI and grandmother of Charles, was a Scot.

Princess Diana's wedding dress was adorned with 10,000 pearls and ended in an 8-meter train - the longest in the history of royal weddings. To support the English fashion industry, Diana turned to young designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel, whom she met by chance through the editor of Vogue. “We knew that the dress should go down in history and at the same time please Diana. The ceremony was scheduled at St. Paul's Cathedral, so something had to be done that would fill the center aisle and look impressive." For five months, the windows of the Emanuel boutique in central London were tightly closed with blinds, and the boutique itself was carefully guarded so that no one could see the creation of silk taffeta ahead of time. On the day of the wedding, it was delivered in a sealed envelope. But, just in case, a spare dress was sewn. “We didn’t try it on Diana, we didn’t even discuss it,” Elizabeth admitted in 2011, when the second dress became known.

6. Commoner's Sapphire

Diana chose a sapphire ring from the Garrard catalog for her engagement, rather than ordering it, as was customary in royal environments. The 12-carat sapphire, surrounded by 14 diamonds in white gold, was called the "commoner's sapphire" because, despite the price of $60,000, anyone could buy it. “Many wanted a ring like Diana's,” a Cartier spokesperson told The New York Times. Since then, the "commoner's sapphire" has become associated with Princess Diana. After her death, Prince Harry inherited the ring, but gave it to Prince William before his engagement to Kate Middleton in 2010. According to rumors, William took the sapphire from the royal safe and carried it in his backpack during a three-week trip to Africa before giving it to Kate. The ring is now valued at ten times its original value.

7. Oath at the altar

Diana, for the first time in history, arbitrarily changed the words of her wedding vow, deliberately omitting the phrase “obey her husband.” Thirty years later, this oath was repeated by William and Kate.

8. Favorite dish

Diana's personal chef Darren McGrady recalls that one of her favorite foods was cream pudding, and when he made it, she would often go into the kitchen and take the raisins off the top. Diana liked stuffed peppers and eggplants; when dining alone, she preferred lean meats, a large bowl of salad, and yogurt for dessert.

Some biographers claim that Diana's favorite color was pink, and she often wore outfits of various shades of it, from pale pink to deep crimson.

10. Favorite perfume

Her favorite perfume after the divorce was the French perfume 24 Faubourg by Hermès - a delicate solemn fragrance with a bouquet of jasmine and gardenia, iris and vanilla, reeking of peach, bergamot, sandalwood and patchouli.

Diana herself chose the names for her children and insisted that the eldest son be called William, despite the fact that Charles chose the name Arthur, and the youngest - Henry (so he was christened, although everyone calls him Harry), while the father wanted name your son Albert. Diana breastfed her children, although this is not customary in the royal family. Diana and Charles were the first royal parents who, contrary to established tradition, traveled with their young children. During their six-week tour of Australia and New Zealand, they took nine-month-old William with them. Royal biographer Christopher Warwick claims that William and Harry were very happy with Diana, as her approach to raising children was radically different from that adopted at court.

12 William Is The First Prince To Attend Kindergarten

The pre-school education of royal children was traditionally handled by private teachers and governesses. Princess Diana reversed this order by insisting that Prince William be sent to a regular kindergarten. He thus became the first heir to the throne to attend a preschool outside the palace. And although Diana, who was extremely attached to children, considered it important to create, if possible, the usual conditions for their upbringing, there were exceptions. One day for dinner at Buckingham Palace, she invited Cindy Crawford, because 13-year-old Prince William was crazy about the model. “It was a little awkward, he was still very young, and I didn’t want to look too self-confident, but at the same time I had to be stylish so that the child felt that he was in front of a supermodel,” Cindy later admitted.

13. The usual childhood of the heirs to the throne

Diana tried to show the children all the diversity of life outside the palace. Together they ate hamburgers at McDonald's, rode the subway and bus, wore jeans and baseball caps, went down mountain rivers in inflatable boats and rode bicycles. At Disneyland, like ordinary visitors, they stood in line for tickets.

Diana showed children the other side of life when she took them with her to hospitals and homeless shelters. “She really wanted to show us all the hardships of ordinary life, and I am very grateful to her, it was a good lesson, that's when I realized how far away many of us are from real life, especially myself,” William said in an interview with ABC News in 2012 .

14. Not a royal demeanor

Diana preferred round tables to large royal banquets, so she could interact more closely with her guests. However, if she was alone, she would often dine in the kitchen, which is completely out of character for royalty. “No one else did that,” admitted her personal chef Darren McGrady in 2014. Elizabeth II visited the kitchen of Buckingham Palace once a year, everything had to be cleaned to a shine by her solemn tour, and the chefs lined up to greet queen. If anyone else from the royal family entered the kitchen, everyone had to immediately stop working, put the pots and pans on the stove, take three steps back and bow. Diana was easier. “Darren, I want coffee. Ah, you're busy, then I'm on my own. Should you do it? True, she did not like to cook, and why should she? McGrady cooked for her all week and stocked up the fridge on weekends so she could reheat meals in the microwave.

15. Diana and fashion

When Diana first met Charles, she was very shy, blushing easily and often. But gradually she gained self-confidence, and in 1994 her photograph in a tight, low-cut minidress at an exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery blew up the covers of the world's tabloids, because this little black dress was a clear violation of the royal dress code.

16. Lady Dee against formalities

When Diana talked to the children, she always squatted down to be level with their eyes (now her son and daughter-in-law do the same). "Diana was the first of the royal family to communicate with children in this way," - said the editor of Majesty magazine Ingrid Seward. “Usually the royal family considered themselves superior to the rest, but Diana said: “If someone is nervous in your presence, or if you are talking to a small child or a sick person, sink to their level.”

17. Change in the Queen's attitude towards her daughter-in-law

Bright emotional Diana caused a lot of anxiety to the royal court, her manner of being in public did not at all correspond to how it was customary to behave to members of the royal family. This has irritated the queen more than once. But today, having crossed the threshold of her ninetieth birthday, looking at how people perceive her wonderful grandchildren, the sons of Diana - William and Harry - Elizabeth is forced to admit that they see Diana in them, her sincerity and love of life. Unlike their father and other members of the royal family, William and Harry always attract everyone's attention and are very popular. "It's probably all thanks to Diana in the end," the Queen says with a smile.

18. Diana's role in the AIDS approach

When Diana told the Queen that she wanted to work on AIDS and approached her to help fund research into a vaccine, Elizabeth advised her to do something more befitting. It must be admitted that in the mid-80s, when this conversation took place, they tried to hush up the problem of AIDS and not notice it, the infected were often treated as if they were plagued. Nevertheless, Diana did not back down, and largely due to the fact that she was one of the first to draw attention to the AIDS problem, publicly shaking hands with HIV-infected people and calling for funding for research, the attitude towards AIDS in society has changed, drugs have appeared that allow patients to lead relatively normal life.

19. Fear of horses

In all the aristocratic families of England, and especially in the royal family, horse riding is not only very popular, but also mandatory. The ability to stay in the saddle is taught from an early age, and this is included in the rules of good form even for the most impoverished baronets. Lady Diana, of course, was properly trained in riding, but she was such a clumsy rider and so afraid of horses that even the queen had to back down and stop taking her on horseback rides to Sadnringham.

20. "Refresher courses" for a young aristocrat

Despite the nobility of the Spencer family, to which Diana belonged, when she married Charles, she was still too young and inexperienced in palace protocol. So Elizabeth asked her sister, Princess Margaret, Diana's neighbor at Kensington Palace, to take her daughter-in-law under her wing. Margaret enthusiastically accepted this request. She saw herself in her youth in the young creation and enjoyed communication, sharing with Diana a love for theater and ballet. Margaret told who to shake hands with and what to say. They got along well, although sometimes the mentor could be quite harsh with her protégé. One day, Diana addressed the driver by name, although the strict royal protocol implies addressing the servants exclusively by their last names. Margaret hit her on the wrist and made a stern remark. And yet, their warm relationship lasted quite a long time and changed dramatically only after the official break with Charles, when Margaret unconditionally took the side of her nephew.

21. Deliberate violation of royal protocol

To celebrate Queen's 67th birthday, Diana arrived at Windsor Castle with William and Harry, carrying balloons and paper crowns. Everything would be fine, but only Elizabeth cannot stand either one or the other, and after 12 years of close communication, Diana should have known about this. However, she nevertheless decorated the hall with balloons and distributed paper crowns to the guests.

22. Official end of relations with Charles

Elizabeth tried to do everything in her power to save the marriage of Diana and Charles. This concerned, first of all, her relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, Charles' mistress. By the unspoken order of the queen, Camilla was excommunicated from the court, all the servants knew that "that woman" should not cross the threshold of the palace. Obviously, this did not change anything, the relationship between Charles and Camilla continued, and the marriage with Diana was rapidly collapsing.

Shortly after it was officially announced in December 1992 that the royal couple had separated, the princess asked for an audience with the queen. But upon arrival at Buckingham Palace, it turned out that the queen was busy, and Diana had to wait in the lobby. When Elizabeth finally accepted her, Diana was on the verge of a breakdown and burst into tears right in front of the queen. She complained that everyone was against her. The fact is that as much as Lady Dee was popular among the masses, she was just as much an unwanted person in royal circles. After the break with Charles, the court unanimously sided with the heir, and Diana was isolated. Being unable to influence the attitude of the family towards the former daughter-in-law, the Queen could only promise that the divorce would not affect the status of William and Harry.

23. Diana and the Taj Mahal

During an official visit to India in 1992, when the royal couple was still considered a married couple, Diana was photographed sitting alone near the Taj Mahal, that majestic monument to a husband's love for his wife. It was a visual message that, being officially together, Diana and Charles actually broke up.

24. Divorce

Despite all the Queen's attempts to reconcile her son with her daughter-in-law, including her invitation to Diana for an official reception in honor of the President of Portugal at the end of 1992, or at Christmas 1993, the parties continued to speak unflatteringly and publicly accuse each other of infidelity, so that there was no restoration of relations could be out of the question. Therefore, in the end, Elizabeth wrote letters to them asking them to consider a divorce. Both knew that this was tantamount to an order. And if the princess in a response letter asked for time to think, Charles immediately asked Diana for a divorce. In the summer of 1996, a year before the tragic death of Lady Dee, their marriage was annulled.

25. "Queen of Human Hearts"

In her BBC interview in November 1995, Diana made several candid confessions about her postpartum depression, her broken marriage, and her strained relationship with the royal family. Of Camille's constant presence in her marriage, she said: “There were three of us. Too much for a marriage, isn't it?" But her most shocking statement was that Charles did not want to be king.

Developing her thought, she suggested that she herself would never become a queen, but instead expressed the possibility of becoming a queen "in the hearts of people." And she confirmed this fictitious status by conducting active social work and doing charity work. In June 1997, two months before her death, Diana put up for auction 79 ball gowns, which at one time appeared on the covers of glossy magazines around the world. Thus, she kind of broke with the past, and the $ 5.76 million received at the auction was spent on funding research on AIDS and breast cancer.

26. Life after divorce

Experiencing a break with Charles, Diana did not withdraw into herself and did not fence herself off from society, she began to enjoy a free life. Shortly before her tragic death, she met producer Dodi Al-Fayed, the eldest son of an Egyptian billionaire, owner of the Paris Ritz Hotel and the London department store Harrods. They spent several days together near Sardinia on his yacht, and then went to Paris, where on August 31, 1997 they were in a fatal car accident. There is still controversy over the true causes of the accident, ranging from a race with paparazzi chasing and the driver's blood alcohol content to a mysterious white car whose paint marks were found on the door of the Mercedes in which Diana died. The accident was allegedly the result of a collision with this car. And it doesn't matter that this mysterious car that appeared out of nowhere, disappeared into nowhere, and no one saw it. But for fans of conspiracy theories, this is not an argument. They insist that it was a murder planned by the British secret services. This version is supported by Dodi's father, Mohammed Al-Fayed, indicating as the basis Dodi and Diana's plans to get married, which did not suit the royal family at all. As it was in reality, we are unlikely to ever know. One thing is certain - the world has lost one of the best and brightest women of all time, who forever changed the life of the royal family and the attitude towards the monarchy in society. The memory of the "Queen of Hearts" will forever remain with us.

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, as a bride, 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 at the front door, the happy couple took advantage of a special elevator located next to the service exits of the hotel.
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.

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

Popular

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. Shortly after the breakup, 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 Britannia yacht, 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).

Fifteen years ago, on the night of August 31, 1997, Princess Diana of Wales died in a car accident in Paris.

Diana, Princess of Wales (Diana, princess of Wales), nee Lady Diana Francis Spencer (Diana Frances Spencer) - the former wife of the heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, mother of Princes William and Harry.

In 1975, Diana's father Edward John Spencer assumed the hereditary title of earl.

Diana studied at Riddlesworth Hall in Norfolk and at West Heath School in Kent, then at a school in Chateau d "Oex in Switzerland.

After leaving school, she returned to England and began working as a kindergarten teacher in London.

On June 21, 1982, their first son, William, was born, and two years later, on September 15, 1984, their second son, Harry.

After the divorce, Diana was deprived of the right to be called a member of the royal family, but the title of Princess of Wales was retained for her.

There are several versions of the cause of the death of Princess Diana.

In January 2004, hearings began to establish the circumstances of the deaths of Dodi al-Fayed and Princess Diana.

The hearings were adjourned while the Paris crash was being investigated and were resumed on 2 October 2007 at the Crown Court in London. The jury heard evidence from more than 250 witnesses from eight countries.

At the end of the hearing, the jurors came to the conclusion that the illegal actions of tabloid journalists chasing their car, and the careless driving of the car by the driver Henri Paul. Drunk driving was cited by Henri Paul as the main cause of the accident.

By the end of 2013, Kensington Palace, where Princess Diana lived after her divorce,. The couple will move into the new wing, which until her death was occupied by the sister of Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret.

June 21, 2012, on the day of his thirtieth birthday, Prince William, inherited from his late mother. The total amount was ten million pounds (about $15.7 million).

Many books have been written about Princess Diana, films have been made, including the film Unlawful Killing directed by Keith Allen, which was shown at the 64th Cannes Film Festival.

In September 1997, the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Foundation was founded with donations from the public and proceeds from the sale of memorabilia, including the single by British artist Elton John "Candle in the wind" (Candle In The wind), dedicated to the princess. 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).

Grants of £1 million were also provided to the Children's Osteopathic Center and organizations that help landmine victims. Another £5 million was divided among other charities (about 100 organizations) active in the fields of the arts, health, education, sports and child care.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources