Princess Diana year of birth death. Princess of Wales, née Lady Diana Frances Spencer

The wedding took place on July 29, 1981 at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Prince Charles of Wales and lady Diana Spencer. This celebration, which cost the treasury almost 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 marrying 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 history of the relationship between Prince Charles and Lady Di ended sadly. Having been married for 15 years, the couple officially divorced - a year before tragic death Diana in a car accident. AiF.ru recalls how the short relationship between Prince Charles and Lady Diana began and developed, who, without becoming the Queen of Britain, forever remained “the queen of people’s hearts.”

The Prince of Wales met his future bride in 1977, when she was only 16 years old. At that time, Charles was in a relationship with Diana's 22-year-old sister Sarah. There is a version that this romance 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 affairs, as well as the fact that has already started collecting clippings from newspapers and magazines that talk about her “ royal romance“—to show to my grandchildren. The article was published, and Charles, as you might guess, found his lover’s behavior 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 Di's biographer insists that Sarah was one of the few , whom Diana trusted completely, and besides, the sisters often appeared together at special events.

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 a paternal carrier of royal blood through the illegitimate children of kings Charles II And James II, has already received the title “lady”. It was granted to her as the daughter of a high peer when her father became 8th Earl Spencer in 1975. Diana's family moved from London to the family castle of Althorp House in Notthrogtonshire, where the royal family came to hunt. Diana received 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 visual attractiveness and, as everyone initially thought, her 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: the young people spent a weekend on a cruise aboard the yacht Britannia, and then Charles invited Diana to the royal summer residence, Balmoral Castle, where he introduced his chosen one to the family. Charles had already turned 30 by that time, it was fitting for him to choose a life partner, so even his mother, the 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 proposed to Diana, to which she accepted. However, the engagement was kept secret for some time, until February 24, when the future wedding was publicly announced. Diana appeared in public wearing a ring made of 14 diamonds and a huge sapphire, which cost the groom £30,000. He gave the same jewelry, which he inherited from his mother, to his bride Kate Middleton for the engagement of the 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 the invitees, and they eventually numbered 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 welcomed 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 travel to the wedding venue, in a special glass carriage. About 750 million people watched the ceremony broadcast on TV, and they were all waiting for one thing - the bride’s exit from the carriage, when they could finally see her dress in all its glory. And the wait was worth it: Diana's outfit is still considered the most luxurious wedding dress in history. A huge silk fluffy skirt decorated with lace and pearls, puffed sleeves and a 25-meter train - fragile Diana was almost lost in this abundance of expensive ivory-colored materials, but at the same time she looked like a fairy tale heroine come to life. The bride wore a tiara that belonged to her family on her head.

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

The vows given by the bride and groom in front of the altar were heard (thanks to the speakers) far beyond the cathedral - not without, however, overlays that were later called prophetic. So, Lady Diana could not correctly pronounce the long name of her future husband - 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 for the first time the word “obey” was removed from the marriage vows of the spouses.

The family happiness of Diana, who became Princess of Wales, and Charles was short-lived, but in their marriage they had two sons: in 1982, the first-born William was born, and two years later - the youngest, red-haired Henry, who is more often called Harry. According to Diana herself, these years, the first after the birth of their children, were the happiest in the life of their family - Charles and his wife spent almost all their 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 Di, who was still with teenage years She adored children and even worked at one time as a teacher in one of the London kindergartens. During this same period, the character of the princess also emerged, who not only chose the names of William and Harry herself, but also hired her own nanny, refusing the services of the royal one, and later, despite a busy schedule of meetings and official visits, tried to independently pick up her sons from school.

In the mid-80s, Charles resumed his affair with his longtime mistress Camilla Parker Bowles- recordings 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 the riding instructor James Hewitt. Journalists' attention to the details of the royals' married life forced them to give explanatory interviews - it was impossible to avoid questions. None of them, of course, went into details, but Diana still allowed herself a comment that spread around the world: “There are too many people in my marriage.”

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

The princess had in mind not only Charles's mistress, who after her death would still become legal wife the prince, but also everyone royal family, who took active participation in the life of their young family. Which in itself is quite logical, given Charles' status as a potential future king of Great Britain. Elizabeth II was outraged by the attention of the press that Diana brought upon them with her behavior - the whole world was closely watching her, because the princess was active social life, devoting a lot of time to charity, visiting orphanages, nursing homes, and rehabilitation centers. She walked on her own minefield, supporting the campaign to ban the use of landmines, donated family money to fight AIDS, attracting numerous famous friends, artists and musicians as sponsors. Her subjects and residents of other countries adored her, and she declared that she wanted to be, first of all, the “queen of people’s hearts,” and not the queen of Britain. Of course, Charles and his affair were out of favor with the people, he was made the main culprit of the unhappy marriage - but his 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, how ex-wife crown prince and the mother of the pretenders to the throne, still had to follow protocol. Diana did not stop and charitable activities, and the attention of the press to her person did not weaken. It is known that after breaking up with Charles, who no longer tried to hide his relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles, Lady Di first started an unsuccessful affair with a surgeon of Pakistani origin Hasnat Khan, for whose sake 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 for the little princes, her death was a blow, despite previous disagreements. Even Queen Elizabeth, seeing how the nation mourned the disgraced princess, filling the square in front of Buckingham Palace with flowers, made an official televised address, expressing her grief over the death of the mother of her grandchildren. As for Charles, he married for the second time only 8 years after Diana’s death - the wedding with Camilla Parker-Bowles was not solemn; they registered their long-standing relationship with the municipal department of Windsor. And, despite the blessing from the royal family, Elizabeth II was not present at the wedding.

Diana Frances Spencer, Her Highness Princess of Wales, was born on July 1, 1961 in Norfolk into an English aristocratic family. Her father John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, came from ancient family Spencer-Churchils, bearers of royal blood descended from Charles the Second, famous as the “Merry King”. Karl had 14 recognized illegitimate sons who received the title, large number unrecognized children and not a single heir born in an official marriage. However, thanks to this king, the list of aristocratic families in England has significantly expanded.

The dynasty to which Princess Diana belonged can be proud of such eminent sons as Sir and the Duke of Marlborough. The ancestral home of the Spencer family is Spencer House, located in the Westminster quarter of central London. Diana's mother Frances 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. Primary education the future Princess Diana received it at Sandringham, where she spent her childhood. Lady Di's first teacher was Gertrude Allen, a governess who had previously taught the girl's mother. Further education Diana attended Sealfield Private School and later attended Riddlesworth Hall. As a child, the character of the future princess was not difficult, but she was always quite stubborn.

According to the teachers’ recollections, 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 became strong shock for a child. As a result of the divorce proceedings, Diana remained with her father, and her mother went to Scotland, where she lived with her new husband.

Next place The future Princess of Wales attends the exclusive girls' school West Hill in Kent. Here Diana did not prove herself to be a diligent student, and her hobbies became music and dancing, and, according to rumors, in her youth Lady Di was not given 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 studied in Switzerland for a short time, but returned home due to severe homesickness. After completing her studies, Diana began working as a nanny and kindergarten teacher in the prestigious London area of ​​Knightsbridge.

Prince Charles and the wedding

In 1980, Diana again entered the social circle of Prince Charles. The single life of the heir to the throne at that time was a serious cause for concern for his parents. Queen Elizabeth was especially concerned about her son’s relationship with a noble married lady, a relationship with whom the prince did not even try to hide. In the current situation, Diana Spencer's candidacy for the role of princess was happily approved by the royal family, Charles and, according to some rumors, even Camilla Parker-Bowles.

The prince first invited Diana 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 Englishwoman in 300 years to marry the heir to the throne.

The wedding of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer became 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 ceremonial passage through the streets of London of carriages with members of the royal family, a march of Commonwealth regiments and the “Glass Carriage” in which Diana and her father arrived.

Prince Charles was wearing dress uniform Commander of Her Majesty's Fleet. Diana wore a dress with an 8-meter train costing 9,000 pounds, 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, and 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's wedding has been called a "fairytale wedding" and "the wedding of the century." According to experts, the audience watching the broadcast of the celebrations in live on the world's main television channels, amounted to more than 750 million people. After a gala dinner at Buckingham Palace, the couple traveled by royal train to the Broadlands estate and then flew to Gibraltar, from where Charles and Princess Diana began their cruise Mediterranean Sea. 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 almost three million pounds.

Divorce

The personal life of the crowned family was not so fabulous and soon attracted public attention with several scandals in which, according to the press, various lovers and mistresses constantly appeared. According to rumors, even at the time of Charles’ marriage proposal, Diana knew about his relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles. Subsequently, it became increasingly difficult for the princess to contain her jealousy and protect the family’s reputation, 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 her son’s side in this conflict, Princess Diana received an influential opponent.

By 1990, the delicate situation could no longer be hidden and the situation became widely publicized. During this period, Princess Diana also admitted her relationship with 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 cardiac 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 by Khan’s parents of both his role as the princess’s de facto lover and the freedom-loving views of the woman herself, did not allow the romance to develop and, perhaps, deprived a chance for happiness between two people truly in love.

At the insistence of Queen Elizabeth, Charles and Diana officially divorced in 1996, four years after the effective breakup of their family. Her marriage to Prince Charles produced two sons: Welsh and Welsh.

After the divorce, Diana, according to journalists, begins a relationship with film producer, the son of Egyptian billionaire Dodi al-Fayed. This connection was not officially confirmed by any of the princess's close friends, and in the book written by Diana's butler, the fact of their relationship is directly denied.

Death

On August 31, 1997, Princess Diana died in a car accident. During Diana's visit to Paris, a car, in which, in addition to the princess herself, there were Dodi al-Fayed, bodyguard Trevor Rhys Jones and driver Henri Paul, driving in 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 in the Salpêtrière hospital. The princess's bodyguard survived, but received severe injuries head, as a result of which he does not remember anything about the moment of the accident itself.

Princess Diana's wrecked car

The death of Princess Diana was a shock not only for the people of Great Britain, but also for the whole world. In France, mourners turned a Parisian replica of the Statue of Liberty's torch into a spontaneous memorial to Diana. The princess's funeral took place on September 6. Lady Di's grave is on a secluded island on Althorp Manor (the Spencer family estate) in Northamptonshire.

Among the causes of the car accident, many factors are cited, starting with the version according to which the princess’s car tried to break away from the car with the paparazzi pursuing them, and ending with the version regarding. There are still many rumors and theories about the causes of the death of everyone's beloved princess.

A Scotland Yard report published ten years later confirmed the fact that the investigation found that the speed limit for driving on the section of road under the Alma Bridge was twice the speed limit, as well as the fact that the driver had alcohol in the blood exceeding permissible norm three times.

Memory

Princess Diana enjoyed the sincere love of the people of Great Britain, who affectionately called her Lady Di. The princess did a lot of charity work, donating significant funds to various foundations, was an activist in the movement that sought to ban 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 may be indirectly to blame for Lady Di’s death.

10 years after her death, a film was made dedicated to the last hours of the princess’s life. The songs “Depeche mode” and “Aquarium” are dedicated to her. Postage stamps are issued in her honor in many countries around the world.

According to a BBC poll, Princess Diana is one of the most popular faces in the history of Britain, 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

Diana, Princess of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana in Moscow, 1995
July 29, 1981 - August 31, 1997
Birth:	July 1 ( 1961-07-01 ) Sandringham, Norfolk
Death:	August 31 ( 1997-08-31 ) (36 years old) Paris, France Salpetriere Hospital
Buried:	on the territory of the Spencer family estate - Althorp
Father:	John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (later 8th Earl Spencer)
Mother:	Francis Shand Kydd
Spouse:	Prince of Wales Charles
Children:	Prince William Prince Harry (Henry)
:
Awards:

Biography

Daughter of John Spencer, born 1 July 1961 Sandringham, Norfolk Viscount Althorp, a member of a branch of the same Spencer-Churchill family as the Duke of Marlborough and Winston Churchill. Her paternal ancestors were of royal blood through the illegitimate sons of King Charles II and the illegitimate daughter of his brother and successor, King James II. The Earls Spencer have long lived in the very center of London, in Spencer House.

Diana spent her childhood in Sandringham, where she received her primary education at home. Her teacher was governess Gertrude Allen, who also taught Diana's mother. Looking ahead, we note that Diana’s parents divorced, and the future princess lived with her father, sisters and brother. Soon a stepmother appeared in the house, who disliked the children. Divorce had the greatest impact on Diana. She began to do worse at school and ultimately did not graduate. The only activity she loved was dancing. Diana also doted on children. After leaving her father's house, Diana goes to London, where she works as a nanny in a kindergarten and rents an apartment with her friends. But that’s later, but for now she continued her education in Sealfield, at a private school near King’s Line, then at preparatory school Riddlesworth Hall.

At the age of twelve she was accepted into the exclusive girls' school at West Hill, in Sevenoaks, Kent.

Shortly before her death, in June 1997, Diana began dating film producer Dodi al-Fayed, the son of Egyptian billionaire Mohamed al-Fayed, but apart from the press, this fact was not confirmed by any of her friends, and this is also denied in the book of Lady Diana’s butler, Paul. Barrel, 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 of her time in the world. In Great Britain she has always been considered the most popular member of the royal family, she was called the “Queen of Hearts” or “Queen of Hearts.” Queen of Hearts).

Visit to Moscow

Death

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

In 2006, the biographical film “The Queen” was shot, which describes the life of the British royal family immediately after the death of Princess Diana.

Pedigree

Ancestors 1. Diana, Princess of Wales
2. Father: Edward John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer	4. Grandfather: Albert Edward John Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer	8. Great-grandfather: Charles Robert Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer
		9. Great-grandmother: Margaret Bering
	5. Grandma: Cynthia Eleanor Beatrice Hamilton	10. Great-grandfather on the female side: James Albert Edward Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn (1869-1953)
		11. Great-grandmother on the female side: Rosalind Cecilia Caroline Bingham
3. Mother: Franziska Kidd	6. Grandfather on the female side: Edmund Maurice Burke Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy	12. Great-grandfather on the female side: James Boothby Burke Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy
		13. Great-grandmother on the female side: Francisca Ellen Work
	7. Female grandmother: Ruf Gill	14. Great-grandfather on the female side: William Smith Gill
		15. Great-grandmother on the female side: Ruf Littlejohn

Coat of arms

Awards

• Dame of the Order of Elizabeth II
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown (Netherlands, )

Literature

• D. L. Medvedev. Diana: Lonely Princess. - M.: RIPOL classic, 2010. - ISBN 978-5-386-02465-9
• N. Ya. Nadezhdin. Princess Diana: "The Tale of Cinderella": Biographical Stories. M.: Mayor, Osipenko, 2011. 192 pp., Series “Informal biographies”, 2000 copies, ISBN 978-5-98551-199-4

Notes

Links

• Diana in the Kremlin Video
• Memorial site Memorial site of the Princess of Wales. Photo, biography, articles, materials, pedigree, album of poems.

Categories:

• Personalities in alphabetical order
• Born on July 1
• Born in 1961
• Died on August 31
• Died in 1997
• Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown (Netherlands)
• Princesses of Great Britain
• Windsors
• Churchill
• Deaths in car accidents
• Died in Paris
• Born in Norfolk

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

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

When she married Prince Charles in 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 connected with her, from clothes to hairstyle, immediately became an international trend. And even almost two decades after her tragic death, public interest in the personality of the Princess of Wales does not fade. In memory of the universally beloved princess, we present twenty-six little known facts about her life.

1. Studying at school

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

2. Meeting Charles and getting engaged

Prince Charles and Diana met while he was dating Sarah. older sister Diana. Sarah and Charles' relationship came to a standstill after she publicly announced that she did not love the prince. Diana, on the other hand, really liked Charles and even hung his photograph above her bed at boarding school. “I want to become a dancer or the Princess of Wales,” she once admitted to her classmate.

Diana was just 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, when Sarah proudly declared: “I introduced them, I am Cupid.”

After finishing school and until the official announcement of her 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

As surprising as it may sound, over the past 300 years, Lady Diana Frances Spencer was the first Englishwoman to become the wife of the heir to the British throne. Wives before her English kings were mainly representatives of 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 Scottish.

Wedding dress Princess Diana was decorated with 10,000 pearls and ended with an 8-meter train - the longest in history royal weddings. To support the English fashion industry, Diana turned to young designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel, whom she accidentally met through a Vogue editor. “We knew that the dress had to go down in history and at the same time please Diana. The ceremony was at St. Paul's Cathedral, so we needed to do something 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 silk taffeta creation ahead of time. On the wedding day 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, instead of ordering one, as was customary in royal environment. 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 people wanted to have a ring like Diana’s,” a Cartier representative said in an interview 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. William is rumored to have taken 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 cost.

7. Oath at the altar

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

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 remove the raisins from the top. Diana liked stuffed peppers and eggplants; When dining alone, she preferred lean meat, a big bowl of salad and yogurt for dessert.

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

10. Favorite perfume

Her favorite perfume after the divorce was the French perfume 24 Faubourg from Hermès - a delicate celebratory aroma with a bouquet of jasmine and gardenia, iris and vanilla, giving off peach, bergamot, sandalwood and patchouli.

Diana herself chose the names for her children and insisted that the eldest son be named William, despite the fact that Charles chose the name Arthur, and the youngest - Henry (that's how he was baptized, although everyone calls him Harry), while his 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 – the first prince to attend kindergarten

Preschool education Royal children were traditionally taught by private teachers and governesses. Princess Diana changed this order, insisting that Prince William be sent to a regular kindergarten. Thus, he became the first heir to the throne to attend preschool outside the palace. And although Diana, who was extremely attached to her children, considered it important, if possible, to create ordinary conditions for their upbringing, there were exceptions. One day for lunch 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 confident, but at the same time I had to be stylish so that the child felt that he was a supermodel,” Cindy later admitted.

13. The usual childhood of the heirs to the throne

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

Diana showed children another 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 good lesson, it was then that I realized how far many of us are from real life, especially myself,” William told ABC News in 2012.

14. Not a royal demeanor

Diana preferred round tables to large royal banquets, so she could communicate more closely with her guests. However, if she was alone, she often dined in the kitchen, which is completely uncharacteristic of royalty. “No one did this except her,” admitted her personal chef Darren McGrady in 2014. Elizabeth II visited the kitchen of Buckingham Palace once a year, for her ceremonial tour everything had to be cleaned to a shine, and the cooks lined up to greet the 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 simpler. “Darren, I want coffee. Oh, you're busy, then I'll do it myself. Should I do it? True, she didn’t like to cook, and why would she? McGrady cooked for her all week and stocked the refrigerator on the weekends so she could microwave meals.

15. Diana and fashion

When Diana first met Charles, she was very shy and blushed easily and often. But gradually she gained self-confidence, and in 1994 a photograph of her 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 Di is against formalities

When Diana talked to children, she always crouched down to be eye level with them (her son and daughter-in-law now do the same). “Diana was the first royal to communicate with children in this way,” says Majesty magazine editor 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, get down to their level.”

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

The bright, emotional Diana caused a lot of trouble in the royal court; her manner of behavior in public was completely inconsistent with how members of the royal family usually behaved. This irritated the queen more than once. But today, having crossed the threshold of her ninetieth birthday, looking at how people perceive her wonderful grandchildren, Diana’s sons 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 approach to the problem of AIDS

When Diana told the Queen she wanted to take on AIDS and asked her to help fund research into a vaccine, Elizabeth encouraged her to do something more appropriate. It must be admitted that in the mid-80s, when this conversation took place, they tried to hush up the AIDS problem and not notice it; those infected were often treated as if they had the plague. However, Diana did not give up, and largely due to the fact that she was one of the first to draw attention to the problem of AIDS, publicly shaking hands with HIV-infected people and calling for funding for research, attitudes towards AIDS in society changed, drugs appeared that allow patients to manage relatively normal life.

19. Fear of horses

In all aristocratic families of England, and especially in the royal family, horseback 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 part of the rules of good manners even for the most impoverished baronets. Lady Diana was naturally properly trained to ride, but she was such a clumsy rider and so afraid of horses that even the Queen had to back off and stop taking her on horseback riding trips to Sudnringham.

20. “Advanced training 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. Therefore, Elizabeth asked her sister, Princess Margaret, Diana's neighbor Kensington Palace, take your daughter-in-law under your wing. Margaret was enthusiastic about this request. She saw herself in her youth in the young creature and enjoyed communication, sharing with Diana a love of theater and ballet. Margaret told who to shake hands with and what to say. They got along well, although at times the mentor could be quite harsh with her protégé. Once Diana addressed the driver by his first name, although strict royal protocol involves addressing servants exclusively by their last name. Margaret slapped her on the wrist and made a stern reprimand. And yet, their warm relationship lasted quite a long time and changed dramatically only after the official break with Charles, when Margaret unconditionally took her nephew’s side.

21. Deliberate violation of royal protocol

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

22. Official break 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 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 deteriorating.

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 Di was popular among the masses, she was just as undesirable in royal circles. After the break with Charles, the court unanimously sided with the heir, and Diana found herself isolated. Being unable to influence the family's attitude towards ex-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 married couple, Diana was photographed sitting alone near the Taj Mahal, that majestic monument to the love of a husband for his wife. It was a visual message that, while officially together, Diana and Charles were actually separated.

24. Divorce

Despite all the queen's attempts to reconcile her son and daughter-in-law, including her invitation to Diana to 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 there was no talk of any restoration of relations out of the question. Therefore, in the end, Elizabeth wrote letters to them asking them to consider divorce. Both knew that this was tantamount to an order. And if the princess asked for time to think in her response letter, Charles immediately asked Diana for a divorce. In the summer of 1996, a year before the tragic death of Lady Di, their marriage was dissolved.

25. “Queen of Human Hearts”

In her interview with the BBC in November 1995, Diana made several frank confessions about her postpartum depression, broken marriage and strained relationship with royal family. About Camilla's constant presence in her marriage, she said: “There were three of us. A bit much for 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 queen, but instead expressed the possibility of becoming 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 seemed to break with the past, and the $5.76 million received at the auction was spent to fund research into AIDS and breast cancer.

26. Life after divorce

Experiencing a breakup with Charles, Diana did not withdraw into herself and did not isolate herself from society; she began to enjoy free life. Shortly before her tragic death, she met producer Dodi Al-Fayed, the eldest son of the Egyptian billionaire, owner of the Ritz hotel in Paris 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 involved in a fatal car accident. There is still debate over the true causes of the accident, ranging from the paparazzi chase and the driver's blood alcohol level to the mysterious white car, traces of paint from which 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 is a mysterious car that appeared out of nowhere, disappeared into nowhere, and no one saw it. But for conspiracy theory lovers, this is not an argument. They insist that it was a murder planned by the British intelligence services. This version is supported by Dodi’s father, Mohammed Al-Fayed, citing as the basis Dodi and Diana’s plans to get married, which did not suit the royal family at all. We are unlikely to ever know how it really happened. One thing is certain - the world has lost one of the best and brightest women of all times, forever changing the life of the royal family and the attitude towards the monarchy in society. The memory of the “Queen of Hearts” will remain with us forever.

Although Princess Diana died in 1997, the world will never forget her. There was everything in her life, from charity to personal secrets and problems that people know nothing about and do not suspect, since everything was carefully hidden by the royal family.
20. Diana never promised to obey Prince Charles


During their lavish wedding to Prince Charles in 1981, Charles and Diana removed the part of the ceremony where Diana had to promise to obey her husband. At that time, this act had already caused a storm of criticism. In 2011, during the wedding ceremony, Kate Middleton repeated Diana's action and omitted the words of the oath of obedience to her husband, Prince William.
19. She wasn't a good student

Princess Diana
Princess Diana twice failed O-levels, the equivalent of a high school diploma in the United States, and was considered a non-academic child at her alma mater, West Heath Girls' School. But, nevertheless, the future princess was interested in music and sports.
18. Sister Diana was the first to date Prince Charles

Princess Diana and Prince Charles
Diana's sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, actually dated Prince Charles before Diana met him. Her relationship with the prince did not go far, and Sarah told the press that she did not think about marrying Charles, even if he became the king of England. Despite former relationship Charles and her sisters, Diana remained close to Sarah.
17. She fought backlash against AIDS, despite the Queen's disapproval

Princess Diana at a conference
In the 80s there was rapid growth such a disease as AIDS, and many then believed that this disease was transmitted through touch. Diana tried to refute this opinion, she could often be seen holding the hands of AIDS patients and speaking out in support of research in this area. But the Queen of Great Britain did not approve of Diana’s activities and believed that she could “get into trouble.”
16. She suffered from bulimia and depression

Princess Diana
Diana did not hide the fact that her husband thought she was overweight, and this hurt her. Because her relationship with Charles was strained, she chose bulimia as the only way to keep her weight under control, damaging her health and suffering from deep depression.
15. Diana's engagement ring was bought from a catalog

Diana's engagement ring
Usually in royal families it is customary to do jewelry to order, but Diana broke this tradition by choosing her own wedding ring from the Garrard catalog. The cost of the ring was $42,000, but the most important thing is that anyone who pays that amount can buy it. After Diana's death, the ring went to William, who gave it to his beloved, Kate Middleton, during their engagement.
14. Diana was godmother to 17 children

Princess Diana and children
Diana had 17 godchildren and goddaughters, and very often she was taken as a godparent without her consent or presence. Among the godchildren can be named Lady Edwina Grosvenor, daughter of the Duke of Westminster, George Frost, son famous journalist David, and Domenica Lawson, a little girl with Down syndrome.
13. Diana found herself at odds with her mother

Princess Diana
By the time Diana died, she had not communicated with her mother for a long time, since she did not approve of her divorce from Prince Charles and new relationships with other men. Diana's butler, Paul Burrell, later stated that shortly before the disaster, Diana's mother telephoned to accuse her daughter of cheating with other men after her divorce from the prince.
12. She called Camilla Parker Bowles a "Rottweiler"

Princess Diana
Diana never hesitated to give nicknames to women who appeared in her husband's field of interest. Camilla considered Diana a “pathetic creature.” But in this confrontation, Britain sided with Diana. After the death of the princess, a negative attitude towards Camilla remained in society to this day.
11. Princess Diana appeared more often than others on the cover of People magazine
Princess Diana on the cover of a magazine
Throughout her life, and even after her death, Diana appeared 55 times on the cover of the world's popular People magazine. This is an impressive record that has yet to be broken by Diana's son, Prince William. As of October 2014, he has appeared on the cover of the magazine 29 times.
10. Diana did not reveal the gender of her second child

Princess Diana with her family
Diana once said that her relationship with Charles was strengthened by her second pregnancy with Prince Henry. Despite this, she did not tell Charles the gender of her unborn child - and not only to him. Most likely, this was an attempt to at least gain control, although not significant, over his life.
9. One of the campaigns in which Princess Diana took part won Nobel Prize


Princess Diana
Many people know active peacekeeping activities and Diana’s position, her negative attitude towards the use of mines against civilians during military conflicts. But in the princess’s life there was a campaign to ban the use of mines, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997. Unfortunately, this became known only a few weeks after Diana's death.
8. Her wedding dress was absolutely ruined on the wedding day

Wedding dress
Princess Diana's wedding dress was beautiful and incredibly expensive, but, unfortunately, the designers did not think through all the nuances, including the fact that Diana would be taken to church in a small carriage. The fairy-tale effect was completely ruined after Diana arrived at St. Paul's Cathedral in a rumpled dress.
7. While pregnant with Prince William, Princess Diana fell down the stairs

Princess Diana
In 1982, Diana made everyone worry, including Queen Elizabeth. The fact is that in the third month of pregnancy, Diana fell down the stairs. Fortunately, both she and the child remained alive and healthy. Many believed that Diana did this deliberately to attract the attention of her family due to mental illness.
6. Among Diana’s relatives there are many famous personalities

Royal family
Despite her non-royal origins, Diana would have been proud of her family tree. Among her relatives were Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Queen of Scots, Mary, a British duchess who lived in the 18th century, and Georgiana Cavendish, about whose life a film was made in Hollywood. Diana was related to Audrey Hepburn and George Bush.
5. Princess Diana once invited Cindy Crawford to Buckingham Palace
Princess Diana in 1992
Even those who disliked Diana considered her a real mother. Diana was a good and loving mother. In 1996, she invited supermodel Cindy Crawforth to Buckingham Palace only because her son William was secretly in love with her. Diana and the American star remained friends after this meeting until the end of their days.
4. During the wedding ceremony, Diana said the name of Prince Charles incorrectly

Wedding ceremony
During her wedding ceremony in 1981, Diana misspelled her fiancé's long name and pronounced it Philip Charles Arthur George instead of Charles Philip Arthur George.
3. Diana voluntarily renounced her royal title

Princess Diana
After the divorce, Diana did not want to be called “Your Highness.” She became the first princess to choose to renounce her title in order to gain absolute freedom from royal control. Although, as she herself admitted, she did it with regret.
2. Diana was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident.

Princess Diana
Perhaps Diana could have been saved in that terrible car accident if she was wearing a seat belt. But not a single Mercedes-Benz passenger was using seat belts that fateful day, including the drunk driver. An attempt to break away from the paparazzi cost Diana Spencer her life.
1. Freddie Mercury took Diana to a gay club

Princess Diana
Princess Diana was friends with the leader of the rock group Queen, Freddie Mercury, and he, according to comedian Cleo Rokos, once took the princess to a gay bar, while she was wearing a man's outfit. As Rokos recalls, Diana looked like a handsome young man and no one recognized her. Unfortunately, there is no other evidence about this case; even Freddie Mercury himself kept silent about it.