Princess Diana and her beloved men. Princess Diana and Prince Charles: A Royal Love Story Diana of Wales' birthday

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

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, the 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 is doing 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 mine action fund 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 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.

The wedding took place on July 29, 1981 at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Prince of Wales Charles and lady Diana Spencer. This celebration, which cost the treasury nearly 3 million pounds, was dubbed the "wedding of the century" in the press. Diana, in her wedding dress with a long train and tiara, looked like a princess from a fairy tale who married the heir to the throne. The question of whether this marriage was concluded for love or whether Diana was at that time the most suitable candidate for the role of the wife of the future king remains open, and the story of the relationship between Prince Charles and Lady Di ended sadly. Having lived in marriage for 15 years, the couple officially divorced - a year before the tragic death of Diana in a car accident. AiF.ru recalls how the short-lived relationship between Prince Charles and Lady Diana began and developed, who, without becoming the Queen of Britain, forever remained the “Queen of Human Hearts”.

The Prince of Wales met his future bride in 1977, when she was only 16 years old. At the time, Charles was in a relationship with Diana's 22-year-old sister. Sarah. There is a version that this novel came to an end after the girl, having met two reporters in a restaurant, inadvertently shared with them the details of her personal life, including her addiction to alcohol, weight problems and numerous intrigues, and also that has already begun to collect clippings from newspapers and magazines that talk about her "royal romance" - to show her grandchildren. The article was published, and Charles, as you might guess, found the behavior of his beloved unacceptable and stupid, immediately ending the relationship and turning his attention to the younger Spencer. Despite the fact that many considered the wedding of Diana and Charles to be the reason for the cooling of relations between the sisters - allegedly Sarah never forgave her sister for not marrying the prince - Lady Dee's biographer insists that Sarah was one of the few , whom Diana completely trusted, in addition, the sisters often appeared together at special occasions.

Wedding of Prince Charles and Diana. 1981 Photo: flickr.com / Laura Loveday

By the time she met the heir to the British crown, Diana Spencer, the daughter of a viscount, who came from the same family as Winston Churchill, and was on the paternal side the bearer of royal blood through the illegitimate children of kings Charles II and James II, has already received the title of "lady". It was granted to her as the daughter of a high peerage when her father became the 8th Earl Spencer in 1975. Diana's family moved from London to the ancestral castle of Althorp House in Nottrogtonshire, where the royal family came to hunt. Diana received a good education, first at home, then in private schools in England and Switzerland. All this, coupled with an aristocratic upbringing, musical abilities, the girl's external attractiveness and, as it seemed to everyone at first, a meek character, made her an ideal contender for the role of the prince's bride.

A serious relationship between Charles and Diana began in 1980: young people spent the weekend on a cruise aboard the yacht Britannia, and then Charles invited Diana to the summer royal residence, Balmoral Castle, where he introduced the chosen one to the family. By that time, Charles had already turned 30, it was fitting for him to choose his life partner, so even his mother is a queen Elizabeth II gave permission for the wedding, although she considered Diana not ready for life in the palace.

On February 3, 1981, after six months of official relations, Charles made an offer to Diana, to which she agreed. However, the engagement was kept a secret for some time, until February 24, when the future wedding was announced publicly. Diana appeared in public with a ring of 14 diamonds and a huge sapphire, which cost the groom 30,000 pounds. The same jewelry, which he inherited from his mother, he gave to his bride Kate Middleton the engagement son of Charles and Diana - Prince William.

Preparations for the wedding took 5 months. It was decided to hold the celebration in the Cathedral of St. Paul, and not in Westminster Abbey, where, as a rule, representatives of the British royal family were married, but where it was not possible to accommodate all those invited, and as a result there were more than 3,500 people. Kings, queens, princes and princesses from all over the world arrived in London for the ceremony, as well as representatives of the English aristocracy and other high-ranking guests. The procession through the streets of London was watched by a crowd of citizens who greeted the procession, which consisted of the carriages of Queen Elizabeth and her husband. Prince Philip, members of the royal family, Prince Charles with his brother Andrew. The bride and father were the last to go to the wedding place, in a special glass carriage. About 750 million people watched the broadcast of the ceremony on TV, and they all waited for one thing - the bride getting out of the carriage, when she could finally see her dress in all its glory. And this expectation was worth it: Diana's outfit is still considered the most chic wedding dress in history. A huge silk fluffy skirt decorated with lace and pearls, puffed sleeves and a 25-meter train - fragile Diana almost got lost in this abundance of expensive ivory-colored materials, but at the same time she looked like a revived heroine of a fairy tale. On her head, the bride put on a tiara that belonged to her family.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana. 1984 Photo: flickr.com / Alberto Botella

The oaths given by the bride and groom in front of the altar were heard (thanks to the speakers) far outside the cathedral - however, there were some overlays, which were later called prophetic. So, Lady Diana could not correctly pronounce the long name of her future spouse - Charles Philip Arthur George Windsor - and he, in turn, instead of “I promise to share with you everything that belongs to me”, said “I promise to share with you everything that belongs to you ". It is also interesting that the word "obey" was removed from the marriage vows of spouses for the first time.

The family happiness of Diana, who became the Princess of Wales, and Charles was short-lived, but they had two sons in marriage: in 1982, the first-born William was born, and two years later, the youngest, red-haired Henry, who is often called Harry. According to the stories of Diana herself, it was these years, the first after the birth of children, that were the happiest in the life of their family - Charles and his wife spent almost all the time in the company of each other and their sons, whom they took with them even on official trips. “Family is the most important thing,” Lady Dee, who from her youthful years adored children and even worked at one time as a teacher in one of the London kindergartens, did not get tired of repeating at meetings with journalists then. In the same period, the character of the princess appeared, who not only chose the names for William and Harry herself, but also hired her own nanny, refusing the services of the royal, and later, despite the busy schedule of meetings and official visits, tried to meet her sons from school on her own.

In the mid-80s, Charles resumed an affair with his longtime mistress Camilla Parker Bowles- records of telephone conversations confirming adultery were leaked to the press. Diana, in turn, - either out of resentment, or in revenge, or out of loneliness - became close to a riding instructor James Hewitt. The attention of journalists to the details of the married life of the royals forced them to give explanatory interviews - it was impossible to avoid questions. None of them, of course, went into details, but Diana nevertheless allowed herself a comment that spread all over the world: “There are too many people in my marriage.”

Princess Diana with sons Harry and William. 1989 Photo: www.globallookpress.com

The princess had in mind not only Charles' mistress, who after her death would nevertheless become the prince's legal wife, but also the entire royal family, who took an active part in the life of their young family. Which in itself is quite logical, given the status of Charles as a potential future king of Great Britain. Elizabeth II was outraged by the attention of the press that Diana brought to them with her behavior - the whole world was closely watching her, because the princess led an active social life, devoting a lot of time to charity, visiting orphanages, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers. She herself walked the minefield, supporting the campaign to ban the use of anti-personnel mines, donated family money to the fight against AIDS, attracting numerous famous friends, artists and musicians as sponsors. Subjects and residents of other countries adored her, and she stated that she wanted to be, first of all, the "queen of human hearts", and not the queen of Britain. Of course, Charles with his affair was out of favor with the people, he was made the main culprit of an unhappy marriage - but the mother and the royal family were, of course, on the side of the heir and could not allow Diana to further spoil his reputation.

To everyone's relief, Diana and Charles officially divorced in August 1996, and Diana ceased to be Her Royal Highness. However, as the ex-wife of the crown prince and mother of pretenders to the throne, she still had to follow protocol. Diana did not stop her charity work, and the attention of the press to her person did not weaken. It is known that after parting with Charles, who no longer tried to hide his relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles, Lady Dee first started an unsuccessful affair with a surgeon of Pakistani origin. Hasnat Khan, for which she almost converted to Islam, and later with an Arab multimillionaire Dodi Al Fayed. It was in his car on the way from a Parisian restaurant that Diana crashed on the evening of August 31, 1997. For Charles, as well as for little princes, her death was a blow, despite previous disagreements. Even Queen Elizabeth, seeing how the nation mourns for the disgraced princess, filling up the square in front of Buckingham Palace with flowers, made an official televised address, expressing her grief over the death of her grandchildren's mother. As for Charles, he married for the second time only 8 years after the death of Diana - the wedding with Camilla Parker-Bowles was not solemn, they registered their long-standing relationship in the municipal department of Windsor. And, despite the blessing from the royal family, Elizabeth II was not present at the wedding.

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 public donations and proceeds from the sale of memorabilia, including the British artist Elton John's single "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

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.

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