Diana, Princess of Wales Totally Explained

Everything about Diana Princess Of Wales totally explained

Diana, Princess of Wales, (Diana Frances;

Early life

Diana Frances Spencer, born into the British aristocracy, was the youngest daughter of Edward John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, later John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer, and his first wife, Frances Spencer, Viscountess Althorp (formerly the Honourable Frances Burke Roche, and later Frances Shand Kydd). She was born at Park House, Sandringham in Norfolk, England on 1 July 1961 at 6.45 in the evening. She was baptised at St. Mary Magdalene Church by the Rt. Rev. Percy Herbert (rector of the church and former Bishop of Norwich and Blackburn); her godparents included John Floyd (the chairman of Christie's). She was the third child to the couple, her four siblings being The Lady Sarah Spencer (born 19 March 1955), The Lady Jane Spencer (born 11 February 1957), The Honourable John Spencer (born and died 12 January 1960), and Charles Spencer (born 20 May 1964). Her parents' reasonably acrimonious divorce in 1969 (over Lady Althorp's affair with wallpaper heir Peter Shand Kydd), Diana's mother took her and her younger brother to live in an apartment in London's Knightsbridge, where Diana attended a local day school. That Christmas the Spencer children went to celebrate with their father and he subsequently refused to allow them to return to London and their mother. Lady Althorp sued for custody of her children, but Lady Althorp's mother's testimony against her daughter during the trial contributed to the court's decision to award custody of Diana and her brother to their father.
In 1976 Lord Spencer married Raine, Countess of Dartmouth, the only daughter of romantic novelist Barbara Cartland, after he was named as the "other party" in the Dartmouths' divorce. During this time Diana travelled up and down the country, living between her parents' homes—with her father at the Spencer seat in Northamptonshire, and with her mother, who had moved to the Island of Seil off the west coast of Scotland. Diana, like her siblings, didn't get along with her stepmother.

Royal descent

Diana was born into the Spencer family. On her mother's side, Diana had Irish, Scottish, English, American and remote Armenian ancestry. One of her great-grandmothers was the New York heiress Frances Work. On her father's side, she was a descendant of King Charles II of England through two sons:

She was also a descendant of King James II of England through a daughter, Henrietta FitzJames. Henrietta's mother was Arabella Churchill, the sister of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. Her other notable ancestors included Robert the Bruce; Mary Boleyn; Lady Catherine Grey; Maria de Salinas; John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater; and James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby.
Diana was also a descendant of the Plantagenet line from Henry III King of England via Mary Boleyn. Diana is also descendant of the Tudor line from Henry VII King of England via Lady Catherine Grey. Her ancestry is thus as linked to Plantagenent, Tudor and Stuart royal lines as much as her royal inlaws (the Windsors).
The Spencers had been close to the British Royal Family for centuries, rising in royal favour during the 1600s. Diana's maternal grandmother, Ruth, Lady Fermoy, was a long-time friend and a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

Education

Diana was first educated at Silfield School Kings Lynn, Norfolk, then at Riddlesworth Hall in Norfolk and at West Heath Girls' School (later reorganised as the New School at West Heath, a special school for boys and girls) in Sevenoaks, Kent, where she was regarded as a poor student, having attempted and failed all of her O-levels twice. In 1977, at the age of 16, she left West Heath and briefly attended Institut Alpin Videmanette, a finishing school in Rougemont, Switzerland. At about that time, she first met her future husband, who was dating her sister, Lady Sarah. Diana reportedly excelled in swimming and diving and longed to be a ballerina. She studied ballet for a time, but at 5'10" was too tall.
Diana moved to London before she turned seventeen. An apartment was purchased for her at Coleherne Court in the Earls Court area, and she lived there until 1981 with three flatmates.

Marriage

Prince Charles' love life had always been the subject of press speculation, and he was linked to numerous glamorous and aristocratic women. In his early thirties, he was under increasing pressure to marry. Legally, the only requirement was that he couldn't marry a Roman Catholic; a member of the Church of England was preferred. In order to gain the approval of his family and their advisers, any potential bride was expected to have a royal or aristocratic background, be a virgin, as well as be Protestant.

Engagement and wedding

Their engagement became official February 24, 1981 with the heir to the throne presenting the princess with a walnut-sized £30,000 ring consisting of 14 diamonds and a sapphire. The 20-year-old princess married at St Paul's Cathedral, which offered more seating than Westminster Abbey which was previously used for royal nuptials, on 29 July 1981 in what was widely billed as a "fairytale wedding" watched by a global television audience of 750 million. At the altar Diana reversed the order of Charles' middle names. The wedding started at 11:20 A.M. BST, and Diana wore a gown valued at £9000 with 25 foot train and the finest lace.

Problems and separation

In the late 1980s, the marriage of Diana and Charles fell apart, an event at first suppressed, then sensationalised, by the world media. Both the Prince and Princess of Wales allegedly spoke to the press through friends, each blaming the other for the marriage's demise. Charles resumed his old, pre-marital affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles. Asked what part Camilla had played in the break-up of her marriage, Diana commented during the BBC programme Panorama, "Well there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded." Diana had an affair with her riding instructor, James Hewitt. She confirmed this during the Panorama television interview. Charles had confirmed his own affair over a year earlier in a televised interview with Jonathan Dimbleby. The Prince and Princess of Wales were separated on 9 December 1992. While she blamed Camilla Parker-Bowles for her marital troubles, as early as October 1993, Diana was writing to a friend that she believed her husband was now in love with Tiggy Legge-Bourke and wanted to marry her. On 3 December 1993, Diana announced her withdrawal from public life.

Divorce

In December 1995, the Queen asked Charles and Diana for "an early divorce". This followed shortly after Diana's accusation that Tiggy Legge-Bourke had aborted Charles's child, causing Tiggy to instruct Peter Carter-Ruck to demand an apology. On 20 December 1995, Buckingham Palace publicly announced that the Queen had sent letters to Charles and Diana advising them to divorce. The Queen's move was backed by the Prime Minister and by senior Privy Councillors, and, according to the BBC, was decided after two weeks of talks.. Prince Charles immediately agreed with the suggestion. In February 1996, Diana announced her agreement as well.
The divorce was finalised on 28 August 1996.
Days before the decree absolute of divorce, Letters Patent were issued by Queen Elizabeth containing general rules to regulate the titles of people who married into the Royal Family after divorce. In accordance with those rules, as she was no longer married to the Prince of Wales, and so had ceased to be a Royal by marriage, Diana lost the style, Her Royal Highness and instead was styled, Diana, Princess of Wales. Buckingham Palace issued a press release on the day of the day the decree absolute of divorce was issued, announcing Diana's change of title. Buckingham Palace stated that Diana was still officially a member of the Royal Family, since she was the mother of the second- and third-in-line to the throne. This was confirmed by the Deputy Coroner of the Queen’s Household, Baroness Butler-Sloss, who after a pre-hearing on 8 January 2007 ruled that: "I am satisfied that at her death, Diana, Princess of Wales continued to be considered as a member of the Royal Household." This appears to have been confirmed in the High Court judicial review matter of Al Fayed & Ors v Butler-Sloss. In that case, three High Court judges accepted submissions that the "very name ‘Coroner to the Queen’s Household’ gave the appearance of partiality in the context of inquests into the deaths of two people, one of whom was a member of the Royal Family and the other was not."

Personal life after divorce

After the divorce, Diana retained her apartment in Kensington Palace, completely redecorated, and it remained her home until her death.
She publicly dated the respected heart surgeon from Pakistan, Hasnat Khan, who was called "the love of her life", for almost two years, before Khan ended the relationship due to cultural differences. She soon after began her relationship with Dodi Al-Fayed. These details were confirmed by witnesses at her inquest in November/December 2007.
After her divorce, Diana worked particularly for the Red Cross and campaigned to rid the world of land mines. Her work was on a humanitarian rather than a political level. She was extremely aware of her status as mother of a future king and was prepared to do anything to prevent harm to her sons. She pursued her own interests in philanthropy, music, fashion and travel—although she still required royal consent to take her children on holiday or to represent the UK abroad. Without a holiday or weekend home, Diana spent most of her time in London, often without her sons, who were with Prince Charles or at boarding school.

Charity work

Starting in the mid- to late 1980s, the Princess of Wales became very well known for her support of several charity projects. This stemmed naturally from her role as Princess of Wales—she was expected to engage in hospital visits where she comforted the sick and in so doing, assumed the patronage of various charitable organisations—and from an interest in certain illnesses and health-related matters. Diana was a supporter of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, a campaign that went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997.

AIDS awareness

In April 1987, the Princess of Wales was one of the first high-profile celebrities to be photographed touching a person infected with HIV at the 'chain of hope' organization. Her contribution to changing the public opinion of AIDS sufferers was summarized in December 2001 by Bill Clinton at the 'Diana, Princess of Wales Lecture on AIDS':
Landmines The pictures of former Princess Diana touring an Angolan minefield, in a ballistic helmet and flak jacket, were seen worldwide. It was during this campaign that some accused the Princess of meddling in politics and declared her a 'loose cannon.' In August 1997, just days before her death, she visited Bosnia with the Landmine Survivors Network. Her interest in landmines was focused on the injuries they create, often to children, long after a conflict is over.
   She is believed to have influenced the signing, though only after her death, of the Ottawa Treaty, which created an international ban on the use of anti-personnel landmines. Introducing the Second Reading of the Landmines Bill 1998 to the British House of Commons, the Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, paid tribute to Diana's work on landmines:
United Nations appealed to the nations which produced and stockpiled the largest numbers of landmines (China, Japan, India, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, and the United States) to sign the Ottawa Treaty forbidding their production and use, for which Diana had campaigned. Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said that landmines remained "a deadly attraction for children, whose innate curiosity and need for play often lure them directly into harm's way".
Death
On 31 August 1997, Diana died after a high speed car crash in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris along with Dodi Al-Fayed and the acting security manager of the Hôtel Ritz Paris, Henri Paul, who was instructed to drive the hired Mercedes-Benz through Paris secretly eluding the paparazzi. Their black 1994 Mercedes-Benz S280 (registration no. 688 LTV 75) crashed into the thirteenth pillar of the tunnel. The two-lane tunnel was built without metal barriers between the pillars, so a slight change in vehicle direction could easily result in a head-on collision with a tunnel pillar. None of the four occupants wore seatbelts.
   The paparazzi, who had been trailing the car, arrived at the Alma underpass at different stages. Serge Arnal, Christian Martinez and Stéphane Darmon appear to have arrived first, quickly followed by Serge Benhamou. Records supplied by mobile telephone operators Itinéris and SFR support Serge Arnal's claim that he attempted to call the emergency services. Film seized from the cameras of Christian Martinez and Serge Arnal showed that they were taking photographs of the car and/or the occupants almost immediately after arrival at the scene – there were no emergency services near the car visible in their photographs.
   Blood analysis showed that Henri Paul was illegally intoxicated with alcohol whilst driving. He drove at high speed in order to evade the pursuing paparazzi. Tests showed he'd consumed amounts of alcohol three times that of the French legal limit. However suspicions were raised by the fact that the same blood sample contained twenty percent carbon monoxide. Such a high level of carbon monoxide would make even a healthy human being unable to drive a vehicle. There is doubt, therefore, that this sample belonged to Henri Paul as is claimed. Fayed's bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, who was in the passenger seat, was closest to the point of impact and yet he was the only survivor of the crash. Henri Paul and Dodi Fayed were killed instantly, and Diana—unbelted in the back seat- slid forward during the impact and, having been violently thrown around the interior, "submarined" under the seat in front of her, suffering massive damage to her heart with subsequent internal bleeding. She was eventually, after considerable delay, transported by ambulance to the Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, but on the way she went into cardiac arrest twice. Her funeral on 6 September 1997 was broadcast and watched by an estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide.
   An eighteen-month French judicial investigation concluded in 1999 that the car crash that killed Diana was caused by Paul, who lost control of the car at high speed while intoxicated and under the influence of antidepressants.
   Since February 1998, Dodi's father, Mohamed Al-Fayed (the owner of the Hôtel Ritz, for which Paul worked) has claimed that the crash was a result of a conspiracy, and has since contended that the crash was orchestrated by MI6 on the instructions of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
   Fayed's claims that the crash was a result of a conspiracy were dismissed by a French judicial investigation, and Operation Paget, a Metropolitan police inquiry that concluded in 2006.
   An inquest headed by Lord Justice Scott Baker into the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed began at the Royal Courts of Justice, London on 2 October 2007 and was a continuation of the original inquest that began in 2004. A jury decided on 7 April, 2008 that Diana had been unlawfully killed by the grossly negligent driving of chauffeur Henri Paul and press photographers.
Tribute, funeral and burial
Diana's funeral took place in Westminster Abbey on 6 September, 1997. The previous day, Queen Elizabeth II paid tribute to her former daughter-in-law in a live television broadcast:
Diana's funeral saw a widespread outpouring of grief at her passing. It was attended by all members of the royal family Her sons, William and Harry, walked behind her casket along with her brother, Earl Spencer. their father,Prince Charles, and Grandfather, Prince Phillip. During the service, Elton John sang "Candle In The Wind" which was originally written for Marilyn Monroe. He changed the lyrics to start with "Goodbye England's Rose" and brought many people, including Harry, to tears. Her burial occurred privately, later the same day. The Prince of Wales, her sons, her mother, siblings, a close friend, and a clergyman were present. Diana's remains had been dressed in a black long sleeved dress designed by Catherine Walker; ironically she'd chosen the dress a few weeks before. A set of rosary beads had been placed in her hands, a gift she received from Mother Teresa, who died the same week as Diana. Her grave is on an island within the grounds of Althorp Park, the Spencer family home.
   The original plan was for Diana to be buried in the Spencer family vault at the local church in nearby Great Brington, but her younger brother, Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, said that he was concerned about public safety and security and the onslaught of visitors that might overwhelm Great Brington. He decided that he wanted his older sister to be buried where her grave could be easily cared for and visited in privacy by her sons and other relations.
   The island is in an ornamental lake known as The Round Oval within Althorp Park's gardens. A path with thirty-six oak trees, marking each year of her life, leads to the Oval. Four black swans swim in the lake, guarding the island. In the water there are water lilies, which, in addition to white roses, were Diana's favourite flowers.
   On the southern verge of the Round Oval sits the Summerhouse, previously in the gardens of Admiralty House, London, and now adapted to serve as a memorial to Diana. An ancient arboretum stands nearby, which contains trees planted by Prince William and Prince Harry, other members of her family, and Diana herself.
Memorials
Immediately after her death, many sites around the world became briefly ad hoc memorials to Diana, where the public left flowers and other tributes. The largest was outside the gates of Kensington Palace. Permanent memorials include:

The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park, London opened by Queen Elizabeth II.
The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens, London.
The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk, a circular path between Kensington Gardens, Green Park, Hyde Park and St James's Park, London In addition, there are two memorials inside Harrods department store, owned by Dodi Al-Fayed's father Mohamed Al-Fayed, in London. The first memorial consists of photos of the two behind a pyramid-shaped display that holds a wine glass still smudged with lipstick from Diana's last dinner as well as an 'engagement' ring Dodi purchased the day before they died. The second, unveiled in 2005 and titled "Innocent Victims", is a bronze statue of the two dancing on a beach beneath the wings of an albatross.
Memorabilia
Following Diana's death, the Princess Diana Memorial Fund was granted intellectual property rights over her image . In 1998, after refusing the Franklin Mint an official license to produce Diana merchandise, the fund sued the Franklin Mint, accusing it of illegally selling Diana dolls, plates and jewellery . In California, where the initial case was tried, a suit to preserve the right of publicity may be filed on behalf of a dead person, but only if that person is a Californian. The Memorial Fund therefore filed the lawsuit on behalf of the estate, and upon losing the case but were required to pay the Franklin Mint's legal costs of £3 million, which when combined other fees, caused the Memorial Fund to freeze their grants to charities
   In 2003 the Franklin Mint countersued, and the case was eventually settled in 2004, with the fund agreeing to an out-of-court settlement, which was donated to mutually agreed charitable causes .
   Today, pursuant to this lawsuit, two California companies remain and continue to sell Princess Diana memorabilia with impunity and without the need for any permission from Diana's estate. One is the Franklin Mint, and the other is Princess Ring LLC, a company that's selling replicas in sterling silver of Princess Diana's engagement ring since September 1997.
Recent events
On 13 July 2006 Italian magazine Chi published photographs showing the princess receiving oxygen in the wreckage of the car crash, despite an unofficial blackout on such photographs being published. The photographs were taken minutes after the accident, and show the Princess slumped in the back seat while a paramedic attempts to fit an oxygen mask over her face. The editor of Chi defended his decision by saying that he published the photographs for the very simple reason that they hadn't been seen before, and that he felt the images don't disrespect the memory of the Princess. July 1, 2007 marked a concert held by her two sons celebrating the 46th anniversary of her birth. The concert was held at Wembley Stadium and featured many well known and popular acts on the bill.
   The 2007 docudrama details the final two months of her life.
   On an October 2007 episode of The Chaser's War on Everything, Andrew Hansen remembered Diana in his now infamous "Eulogy Song." However it poked fun at Diana, calling her a "slut," among other things. The song immediately gained considerable controversy in the Australian media.
Conspiracy theories
The circumstances surrounding the death of Diana have been the subject of numerous conspiracy theories, perpetrated by Mohamed Al-Fayed, whose son, Dodi Al-Fayed also died in the accident. Fayed has contended that the crash was orchestrated by MI6 on the instructions of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh., Fayed has also accused the British and French intelligence, police and medical services, Henri Paul, Tony Blair, Robin Cook, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, Rosa Monckton, Charles, Prince of Wales, Lord Stevens, Lord Condon, Lord Mishcon, Lord Fellowes, Sir Michael Jay, and the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, The Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph of being involved in covering up or participating in her death .
   In 2006 the results of an inquiry convened by Lord Stevens, former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Operation Paget, was published and dismissed all allegations of conspiracy as without foundation.
   On October 2, 2007 an inquest began into her death and was scheduled to last for at least six months. During his summing up at the inquest, the coroner stated: "The conspiracy theory advanced by Mohamed Al Fayed has been minutely examined and shown to be without any substance". The jury decided on 7 April, 2008 that Diana had been unlawfully killed by the grossly negligent driving of chauffeur Henri Paul and paparazzi photographers.
Contemporary opinions
An iconic presence on the world stage, Diana was noted for her sense of compassion, style, charisma, and high-profile charity work, yet her philanthropic endeavours were overshadowed by her difficult marriage to Prince Charles.
   From the time of her engagement to the Prince of Wales in 1981 until her death after a car accident in 1997, Diana was one of the most famous women in the world—a pre-eminent celebrity of her generation. During her lifetime, she was often described as the world's most photographed woman. One biographer suggested that Diana was possibly suffering from Borderline personality disorder. Diana admitted to struggling with depression, and the eating disorder bulimia, which recurred throughout her adult life. Royal biographer, Sarah Bradford commented, "The only cure for her (Diana's) suffering would have been the love of the Prince of Wales which she so passionately desired, something which would always be denied her. His was the final rejection; the way in which he consistently denigrated her reduced her to despair." Diana herself commented, "My husband made me feel inadequate in every possible way that each time I came up for air he pushed me down again ..."
Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

1 July 1961 – 9 June 1975: The Honourable Diana Frances Spencer
9 June 1975 – 29 July 1981: The Lady Diana Frances Spencer
29 July 1981 – 28 August 1996: Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales
28 August 1996 – 31 August 1997: Diana, Princess of Wales Posthumously, as in life, she's most popularly referred to as "Princess Diana", a title she never held. Still, she's sometimes referred to incorrectly in the media as "Lady Diana Spencer", or simply as "Lady Di". After Tony Blair's famous speech she's also referred to as the People's Princess. However, there's speculation that when William assumes the throne one day, he may posthumously grant his mother back the title of "Her Royal Highness".
Diana's full style, while married, was Her Royal Highness the Princess Charles Philip Arthur George, Princess of Wales and Countess of Chester, Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay, Countess of Carrick, Baroness of Renfrew, Lady of the Isles, Princess of Scotland.
Honours
British honours
Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II Foreign honours
Grand Officer, House Order of Orange
Arms
As the wife of the Prince of Wales, Diana used arms that included the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom with a plain, three-point label and the inescutcheon of the Coat of Arms of the Principality of Wales (the arms of the Prince of Wales), impaled with a shield bearing 1st and 4th quarters plain white, and the 2nd and 3rd quarters bearing a golden fret on a red background defaced with three escallopes (the arms of the Earl Spencer, her father). The supporters were the crowned golden lion from the Royal Arms, and a winged griffin from the Spencer arms. The shield was topped by the Prince of Wales crown. Her motto was Dieu Defend le Droit (English: God defends the right), also used in the Spencer arms.
   After her divorce and before her death, Diana used the arms of the Spencer family, crowned by a royal coronet.
Legacy

Diana's interest in supporting and helping young people led to the establishment of the Diana Memorial Award, awarded to youths who have demonstrated the unselfish devotion and commitment to causes advocated by the Princess. In 2002, Diana was ranked 3rd in the 100 Greatest Britons poll, outranking Queen Elizabeth II and other British monarchs.
On August 29, 2007, Peruvian photographer Mario Testino announced that on November 20, he'll auction a signed photo of Diana for the benefit of Peru earthquake (in London by Phillips de Pury & Co). The photo appeared in a 1997 Vanity Fair issue, and shows Diana wearing a black dress.
The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground was erected in Kensington gardens at a cost of £1.7 million.(External Link)
The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk was dedicated to the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, it stretches between Kensington Gardens, Green Park, Hyde Park and St James's Park.
On July 6, 2004 Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain. It is located in the southwest corner of Hyde Park in London.
In 1999 the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Award for Inspirational Young People was established.
Ancestry

Further Information
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