The late Diana, Princess of Wales was born The Honourable Diana Frances Spencer on 1 July 1961 in Norfolk. She received the style Lady Diana Spencer in 1975, when her father inherited his Earldom. Lady Diana Spencer married The Prince of Wales at St Paul's Cathedral in London on 29 July 1981.
During her marriage the Princess undertook a wide range of royal duties. Family was very important to the Princess, who had two sons: Prince William and Prince Henry (Harry). After her divorce from The Prince of Wales, the Princess continued to be regarded as a member of the Royal Family.
Diana, Princess of Wales, died on Sunday, 31 August 1997, following a car crash in Paris. There was widespread public mourning at the death of this popular figure, culminating with her funeral at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, 6 September 1997. Even after her death, the Princess's work lives on in the form of commemorative charities and projects set up to help those in need. Continue reading from The Royal Family
After the divorce, Diana maintained her high public profile and continued many of the activities she had earlier undertaken on behalf of charities, supporting causes as diverse as the arts, children’s issues, and AIDS patients. She also was involved in efforts to ban land mines. To ensure that William and Harry had “an understanding of people’s emotions, their insecurities, people’s distress, and their hopes and dreams,” Diana brought her sons with her to hospitals, homeless shelters, and orphanages. To acquaint them with the world outside royal privilege, she took them to fast food restaurants and on public transportation. Her compassion, personal warmth, humility, and accessibility earned her the sobriquet “the People’s Princess.” Continue reading from Encyclopedia Britannica
She wanted to be the queen of all hearts, and in the end, Princess Diana achieved that in death. But before that, she was definitely the queen of all media. After all, whose face sold more books and newspapers? Who sparkled more brightly on a red carpet than any movie star? Whose pictures — some of them arranged by her on the sly — sold for higher prices and in greater numbers than any others? Whose triumphs, trials and tribulations launched a zillion celebrity-gossip magazines and TV shows?
As fans and observers mark the 20th anniversary of her death on Aug. 31, she remains a media magnet. Between 1980, when she first emerged as a potential wife for Prince Charles and thus a future Princess of Wales, and 1996, when their divorce after 15 tumultuous, unhappy years of marriage was finalized, the relationship between Diana and the news media was complicated. She loved some, she hated many, sometimes in the same week. She cared what they said about her, she complained frequently about them hounding her, and she attempted to manipulate them to help her fight various battles.
"The relationship between Diana and the press was famously and fatefully symbiotic," says British PR consultant and royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams, in something of an understatement. Continue reading from USA Today
