The People’s Princess
Childhood and Education
Lady Diana Frances Spencer was born on July 1st 1961 at Park House near Sandringham. Diana was the youngest of four children and was named The Honourable Diana Spencer until her father inherited the Earldom. She was first educated at preparatory school, Riddlesworth Hall, in Norfolk. In 1974 she moved to West Heath in Kent and became a border where she stayed until 1977. After leaving West Heath she attended a finishing school at the Institut Alpin Videmanette in Switzerland. Diana left finishing school in 1978 and by 79 she was living in a flat in London and spent her day looking after the children of an American couple. During this time she also worked as a nursery teacher at the Young England School in Pimlico. For her 18th birthday, Diana’s mother bought her a flat in Earl’s Court where she lived until February 1981.
Relationship and Marriage
Lady Diana first met Charles, Prince of Wales, when she was just 16 in 1977. At the time he was dating her older sister Lady Sarah. They didn’t start dating until the summer of 1980 where they both spent a weekend in the country. Diana avidly watched Charles play polo resulting in him taking much interest in her being his potential bride. Charles proposed on the 6th February 1981 at Windsor Castle. The engagement was then officially announced on the 24th of February.
The couple were married at St. Paul’s Cathedral on the 29th July with a fully televised ceremony drawing a global television and radio audience of one thousand million people. Hundreds of thousands more lined the streets from Buckingham Palace to the Cathedral. The wedding reception was held at Buckingham Palace. The now Princess was the first Englishwoman to marry an heir in 300 years. The ceremony soon became known as the wedding of the century. The Prince and Princess of Wales spent their honeymoon at the Mountbatten house in Hampshire before flying to Gibraltar to join the Royal Yacht HMY BRITANNIA for a 12-day cruise through the Mediterranean to Egypt, finishing with a stay at Balmoral. Their principal home was at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire with an apartment in Kensington Palace.
Together the couple went on to have 2 sons, both born at St Mary’s Hospital in London. Prince William Arthur Philip Louis is the oldest born on June 21st 1982. Followed pretty quickly by Prince Henry (Harry) Charles Albert David on September 15th 1984. Diana was known for being very protective of her 2 boys; having suffered from the constant following of the press and paparazzi, she always did what she could in order to keep them safe. Her brother Charles, years later in her eulogy, poignantly stated that ‘a girl given the name of the ancient goddess of hunting was, in the end, the most hunted person of the modern age’.
After 5 years of marriage, the 12 year age gap was starting to take its toll with both of them having extramarital affairs. Charles resumed his relationship with former girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles and Diana later started seeing Major James Hewitt. Many Speculate that Hewitt is actually Harry’s father due to their physical similarities although these claims have always been denied due to inaccuracies in the timeline of their relationship. Eventually, in December 1992, it was announced that the Prince and Princess of Wales had decided to separate.
On 20 November 1995 Diana gave her most renowned interview with Martin Bashir for the BBC show Panorama. The Princess discussed her and Charles’ extramarital affairs, her battle with depression and ‘rampant bulimia’. The interview is most famous for Diana making reference to the affair of Charles and Camilla. She claimed ‘Well, there was 3 of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded’.
In August 1996, the divorce was finalised with both signing a confidentiality agreement that prohibited them from discussing details of the divorce or their married life. After the divorce, Diana was still known as the Princess of Wales but without her HRH status.
Charity Work
In her life, the Princess was president or patron of over 100 charities, many that involved homelessness, disability, children and HIV/AIDS. In 1988 she carried out 191 official engagements and 397 in 1991. Stephen Lee, director of the UK Institute of Charity Fundraising Managers said ‘Her overall effect on charity is probably more significant than any other person in the 20th Century. In 1987, Diana was awarded the Honorary Freedom of the City of London, the highest honour that the city of London can bestow on someone.
After her divorce, she announced her resignation from over 100 charities and stayed a patron of only 6. These were Centrepoint, English National Ballet, Great Ormond Street Hospital, The Leprosy Mission, National AIDS Trust and The Royal Marsden Hospital. Although no longer a patron, Dian also continued her work with the British Red Cross Anti-Personnel Land Mines Campaign.
Diana began her work with AIDS patients in the 1980s. She was the first British Royal to have physical contact with a person suffering from AIDS, fighting the stigma surrounding the then very life-threatening disease. In 1989, she opened Landmark AIDS centre in South London and then went on to open Grandma’s House in Washington D.C, a home for young AIDS patients, in 1990. 1991 saw Diana hug a patient at Middlesex Hospital, where she previously opened the AIDS ward in 1987. It was the first unit in the UK purely dedicated to the cause. A few years later, in 1997, she visited South Africa and met President Nelson Mandela. After planning a merge of the 2 charities before her death, Mandela announced in November 2002 that the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund would be teaming up with the Diana, Princess of Wales, Memorial Fund to help those with AIDS. Mandela praised Diana, ‘When she stroked the limbs of someone with leprosy or sat on the bed of a man with HIV/AIDS and held his hand, she transformed public attitudes and improved the life chances of such people’.
Later Years and Death
Having dated a few people after her divorce from Charles, in the few months before her death Diana started dating Dodi Fayed. Fayed was the eldest son of former Harrods owner, Egyptian Billionaire, Mohamed Al-Fayed. They began their relationship in July of 1997.
Tragedy struck on the 31st August 1997 when Diana died after a car crash which occurred in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris, while the driver was trying to flee the paparazzi. The fatal crash killed Diana, Dodi Fayed, the driver Henri Paul and severely injured Diana’s bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones. The Princess was taken to the La Pitie Salpetriere Hospital. She underwent 2 hours of emergency surgery before being pronounced dead at 0300 BST.
The funeral took place on September 6th at Westminster Abbey. The televised funeral was watched by a British audience that peaked at 32.1 million, with millions more watching across the world. Her brother Lord Spencer said ‘She proved in the last year that she needed no royal title to continue to generate her particular brand of magic’. As a tribute, Elton John rewrote ‘Candle in the Wind’ for Diana and performed live at the service. Later, released as a single, Elton ensured that the global proceedings from the song would go to Diana’s charities. A private burial took place later that day at Althorp Park, the Spencer family home, where Charles, her sons, mother, siblings, a close friend and clergyman were present. Laid to rest in a black long-sleeved dress designed by Catherine Walker, Diana held a set of rosary beads she had previously received from Mother Theresa who had also died the same week.
Conspiracy Theories
The fatal crash that killed Diana was felt around the world. For some, that night was simply just a tragic accident. For others, it spurred a conspiracy whirlwind that became so widespread that the Met Police were forced to launch Operation Paget. The report examined 175 individual theories which eventually found none to be true. Below are some of the most believed conspiracies surrounding the accident.
- Diana was pregnant.
According to Dodi’s father Mohamed Al Fayed, this was the reason for the killing of both Diana and his son. He believed the Royal Family ‘could not accept that an Egyptian Muslim could eventually be the stepfather of the future King of England. However, the post mortem examination showed no signs of pregnancy.
- Diana believed the Royal Family wanted to kill her.
Diana’s butler Paul Burrell disclosed a letter Diana had given to him for safekeeping. The letter eerily foreshadowed the tragic event “I am sitting here at my desk today in October, longing for someone to hug me and encourage me to keep strong and hold my head high. This particular phase in my life is the most dangerous. […] is planning ‘an accident’ in my car, brake failure and a serious head injury in order to make the path clear for Charles to marry”. Her qualms had been aired after having multiple issues with her car and that a bodyguard of hers had recently died in an accident that she believed was a conspiracy.
- The paparazzi caused the crash.
There are many different versions of how people believe the paparazzi were to blame for the crash occurring. The paparazzi chased/pushed the Mercedes causing it to crash, the paparazzi encouraged an environment where the crash could happen and that the paparazzi unintentionally created said environment that was then exploited by conspirators who wanted them dead.
- Driver Henri Paul caused the crash on purpose.
The official verdict was that Paul had been driving under the influence when he crashed into the 13th pillar of the tunnel at a speed of 70mph, 40mph over the speed limit. Many believed that he was used as a scapegoat to cover up the killings. It is believed that his toxicology results were falsified as he had not been seen drinking that evening nor appeared drunk. It was also a last-minute change that he would end up driving that evening instead of the normal driver. Apparently, Henri Paul was also in the pay of two organisations: the French and UK security services causing conspiracies that he was ordered to cause the crash.
- Diana’s medical care was sabotaged.
This theory is based on many factors. When the crash initially occurred, Diana was still alive and talking only presenting with a slight concussion, a broken arm and cut thigh. It was not until later that she went into cardiac arrest and medics realised she had been more seriously injured than initially thought. Diana had suffered a very rare small injury, a vein tear in her lung, which ultimately caused her death. Many cannot understand why it took nearly an hour for Diana to get to the hospital. La Pitie Salpetriere Hospital was not the closest hospital and many believe that if she had been taken to one closer she would have survived.
Known worldwide as The People’s Princess she genuinely touched the hearts of thousands of people and still continues to be talked about with each new generation. Although having suffered terribly during her short life with the ever-looming paparazzi she always shined brighter than the camera flashes. Diana has over the years become the subject of many conspiracy theories, but ultimately I guess we will never know what truly happened with many taking their secrets to the grave. Some even go as far as believing that she faked her own death in order to have the private life she so desperately longed for.
