Diana Princess of Wales and her children. Princess Diana of Wales
Lady Diana. Princess of human hearts Benoit Sophia
Chapter 2. GENEALOGY OF “CINDERELLA”, or THE WHOLE TRUTH ABOUT DIANA SPENCER’S PARENTS
They often said about Diana: incredible, a simple teacher became a princess! Yes, this is the story of a modern Cinderella! Of course, the rise of a modest girl is like a fairy tale. But is this fairy tale about the people's princess so simple, and can the family of monarchs easily accept a simpleton from the street into their ranks? If you believe this, you might want to check out the pedigree of the shy "Cinderella."
The mother of the future Princess of Wales, Frances Althorp, traced her descent from the Irish politician, member of the British Parliament Edmund Bourke Roche, who lived in the 19th century. For his services to the prosperity of the British Empire, Queen Victoria granted Mr. Edmund Roche the title of baronet, after which he began to be called the first Baron Fermoy.
The third Baron Fermoy, Edmund's youngest son James Roche, married Frances Wark in 1880, the daughter of a wealthy American stockbroker. As historians testify, in those days, marriages between the scions of the British aristocracy and the “dollar princesses” of the New World were common, when two components were mixed: title and money. In this case, the arranged marriage ended after eleven years. Taking three children, the woman returned back to New York. Her father Frank Wark left his grandchildren Maurice and Francis thirty million pounds each, on the condition that the heirs... renounce their British titles and take American citizenship. But the brothers refused to accept such conditions. However, when Frank Work died in 1911, they found a way to get most of the inheritance and live a comfortable life. An amazing fate befell Maurice; a young man fought during the First World War; Due to family circumstances, he was forced to accept the title of fourth Baron Fermoy and return to Great Britain in 1921.
Edmund Bourke Roche - 1st Baron Fermoy
The experience of American life made him a stranger among his own. But the education received at Harvard, sincerity and lack of snobbery, and military training made his image attractive in the eyes of many young ladies of high society. However, sympathy for him was strong from different sides, which is confirmed by his repeated election to the House of Commons.
Maurice managed to become friends with Albert, Duke of York, the youngest son of King George V. The royal friend managed to secure such a privilege: the Fermoys were given a lease on the Park House guest house located on the territory of the royal Sandringham estate. Here, on January 20, 1936, Frances, the second daughter of Maurice, who later became the mother of Diana, would be born. The girl was born on a fateful day: the day of the death of King George V.
The British crown went to the late monarch's eldest son, Edward VIII. Who, as we know from history, was madly in love with the American Wallis Simpson. He dreamed of marrying his chosen one, but she was a divorced woman, and such a marriage could not take place in the royal family. The same story - an affair with the officer's ex-wife Camilla - will be experienced by the heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, and the beautiful Diana, by the will of fate, will be drawn into this ill-fated love triangle.
British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin threatened King Edward with legal resignation if he did not give up his unequal marriage. The prime minister's statement forced the monarch to choose: either the throne or love. Edward rushed to seek advice from his friend William Churchill, but received evasive answers. As a result, the monarch chose love and abdicated the throne on December 10, 1936 in favor of his younger brother Albert.
Edward, Prince of Wales and Wallis Simpson in 1935. It was the desire of the future king to marry the divorced Wallis that led to his abdication in December 1936
Duke of York Albert Frederick Arthur George, who ascended the throne as George VI, favored his close friend Maurice Fermoy. It is not surprising that the king's friend was desirable in the eyes of many beauties of high society. Lady Glenconner once remarked:
Maurice was such a red tape guy. Even I was a little afraid of him.
In 1917, during his next trip to America, the successful womanizer met the pretty American Edith Travis and fell in love with her. They had an illegitimate daughter; many years later, she published a book of memoirs, Lilac Days, telling about the passionate feelings of her parents Maurice and Edith.
Maurice's wife was a luckier and more prudent girl named Ruth Gill, whom the loving Briton met in Paris - where the daughter of a Scottish colonel studied piano at the conservatory. However, before meeting Maurice, Ruth dated his younger brother Francis. Realizing that the older brother would inherit the family title and position in society, the young musician immediately went over to Maurice.
She was 23 years old and he was 46 when they got married. This significant event occurred in 1931. Ruth was not only ambitious, but also a smart girl who knew very well what she wanted to get out of life. She learned to play by the rules of high society and easily turned a blind eye to her husband’s love affairs. And she wisely used her passion for music, becoming a patron of the brainchild she created in 1951 - the Festival of Art and Music in King's Lynn.
Maurice Rocher, 4th Baron Fermoy - Diana's maternal grandfather
Diana's grandmother managed to become friends with the Queen Mother, becoming the monarch's best friend. Perhaps, when it came to approving her granddaughter for the role of Princess of Wales, the royal family expected to see in Diana the qualities of her grandmother Lady Ruth Fermoy? But instead of patience and accommodating behavior, over the years, only one thing appeared in Diana - a willful desire for freedom. However, there were reasons for this...
The family of Maurice and Ruth had two daughters - the eldest “bug-eyed” (as she was called) Mary and the youngest “attractive, cheerful and sexy” (as defined by school friends) Frances. Years later, a member of Prince Charles' staff admitted:
When Frances looks at you with her bright blue eyes, she seems grander than the queen herself!
Among the girl's admirers was John, the eldest son of the seventh Earl Spencer, George VI's equerry, Viscount Althorp. Perhaps he would not have paid attention to the fifteen-year-old exalted baby if not for her domineering mother Lady Ruth Fermoy, who immediately set the goal of getting John as her son-in-law. She did everything to make the man interested in her daughter: she arranged “casual” dates, found common interests between them, slipped in nice gifts supposedly on behalf of Frances...
Viscount Althorp was undoubtedly an attractive match for the Baron Fermoy's pretty youngest daughter. And soon he believed that Frances was a charming girl, without whom he could not live.
And so, a few months after Frances turned seventeen, John announced his separation from his fiancée, Lady Anne Coke, and his engagement to Frances Roche Fermoy. In June 1954, a wedding ceremony took place in Westminster Abbey, which was attended by almost 2,000 guests, including Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
The mothers of many families dreamed of a groom like John. Of course - the eldest son of Earl Spencer, heir to thirteen thousand acres in the counties of Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Norfolk, owner of the family castle Althorp House, stuffed with priceless works of art!
Wedding of Diana's parents in June 1954
The British, who boast of their ancestry, never fail to emphasize their superiority over others. The Spencers also had their own big advantage. It turns out, and as the author of the book “Diana: The Lonely Princess” D. Medvedev tells us, “The first mentions of the Spencers appeared 250 years before the arrival of the famous Hanoverian dynasty, which began in 1714 by King George I, and 430 years before the current accession the ruling dynasty of Windsor (until 1917 - Saxe-Coburg-Gotha). The Spencers not only served the monarchy, they were among its creators. They lent money to King James I, contributed to the fall of his grandson James II and the elevation to the throne of George I. They were more than once related to the royal dynasties and famous families of the United Kingdom. As a result of genealogical intricacies, Diana was a distant relative of British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, seven US presidents, including George Washington and Franklin Roosevelt, and also - which is quite surprising! - eleventh cousin of her own husband, Prince Charles."
However, on individual sites you can find more extensive information about the pedigree of Lady Di, and among her ancient relatives there are: Rurik of Novgorod; Igor Kyiv; Svyatoslav Kyiv; Prince of Kyiv Vladimir the Great; daughter of Prince Vladimir, wife of the Polish king Boleslav the Brave, Maria Dobronega; as well as many, many famous representatives of the noble ducal and count families of Bavaria, Bohemia, Austria and England, as if they formed one highly branched family tree. The newfangled theory that the world is ruled by representatives of the same families easily fits into this situation, and some researchers see in this a planetary conspiracy, a Masonic plan, and even... a reptilian conspiracy.
Wikipedia, popular among Internet users, reports that Diana “was born on July 1, 1961 in Sandringham, Norfolk, in the family of John Spencer. Her father was Viscount Althorp, a branch of the same Spencer-Churchill family as the Duke of Marlborough and Winston Churchill. Diana's 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.”
Despite the low self-esteem of the representative of the Spencer family, Diana, the self-esteem of this entire strong family was fundamentally high, which was confirmed by the motto on the coat of arms: “God preserves the just.” And the British establishment respected the Spencers’ claims to be “right” and somewhat chosen.
Diana's father, John Althorp, was of noble birth, but unlike his fellow members of traditionally prim British society, he was an open person, preferring to show his emotions rather than hide them. His friend, Lord St. John Fawsley, insisted that John was not afraid to speak openly about his feelings and preferred to live life to the fullest. His eldest daughter Sarah spoke about her father, the Viscount:
My father had an innate ability to find a way to human hearts. If he was talking to someone, he really began to be carried away by the feelings of the interlocutor. He knew how to love people! I don’t think this quality can be learned: you either have it from birth or you don’t...
Albert Edward Jack Spencer, Viscount Althorp is Diana's paternal grandfather. Photo from 1921
This character was formed in John as a kind of opposite to the character of his father - the conservative and despotic Viscount Jack Spencer, who disdained everyone who was lower than him in the class caste. Even with his servants he communicated with gestures, pursing his lips contemptuously. It is not surprising that this heavyset and rude man was feared by many, including his son.
Due to his gentle nature and excessive openness, John was drawn to strong women; Frances turned out to be just like that - confident and strong-willed. One of his relatives confessed:
Johnny loves to communicate with strong and strong-willed ladies. There is a feeling that they are a real tonic for him.
Jack Spencer, who stifles any initiative of his son, making him dependent in everything, immediately disliked his young daughter-in-law. Of course, Frances repaid Jack in kind. Moreover, she not only hated her father-in-law, but also disdained his beloved, protected and cherished brainchild - the family castle of Althorp. The young woman openly stated:
The castle evokes a depressing melancholy, as if you are always in a museum that is closed after the departure of regular visitors.
Saving his strength for the decisive fight with his daughter-in-law, the father-in-law warned that he was expecting his first-born, to whom he could pass on the title (girls in British society do not inherit the title). Nine months after the wedding, the first child was born - daughter Sarah, whom the happy young mother immediately dubbed “the honeymoon child.”
Earl Spencer, who on the eve of the birth ordered that firewood be prepared in Althorp for future bonfires in honor of the birth of his grandson, angrily ordered everything to be curtailed until better times.
Francis and John Spencer
Two years later, Frances gave birth to her second child, and again it was a girl. She was given the name Jane. On January 12, 1960, a boy, John, was finally born into the family of Viscount Althorp, whose life lasted only eleven hours. As it turned out, the baby had lung dysfunction, which actually deprived him of his chances of survival.
Count Spencer, dissatisfied with what was happening and deprived of all sympathy, began to persistently demand the birth of an heir. But on the warm evening of July 1, 1961, a girl, Diana Francis, was born. And only in May 1964, the long-awaited heir to the Spencer family, Charles, was born.
Diana turned two years old
This text is an introductory fragment.
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Princess Diana can rightfully be considered the star of the British monarchy. Neither before nor after her, no one from the royal family was as loved and adored by the subjects of the “crown” as she was. Her life still arouses great interest among the media and ordinary people, although a lot of time has passed since the death of the princess.
What do we know about Diana?
Née Spencer was born in the summer of July 1, 1961 in Norfolk. Diana Frances had a noble origin. Her mother and father were viscounts and also maintained close ties to the English royal family.
Diana's father John was from the same family line as Churchill, as well as the Duke of Marlborough. All of them came from the Spencer-Churchill family. The father of the future princess himself was Viscount Elthorp.
Only through the illegitimate, but also recognized sons of King Charles II, Diana carried part of the “royal blood”. As a child, the future princess lived in Sandringham. The Viscount's daughter completed the first educational stage at home.
The girl's parents then taught her at a private school near King's Line. A little later, after failures in her studies, she entered Riddlesworth Hall School. At the age of eight, Diana experienced her parents' divorce. She, her half-sisters and brother remained to live with their father. Diana's father quickly got a new wife, but she was unable to establish contact with the children, so she played the role of an evil stepmother in their fate.
In 1975, Diana officially received the title "lady". This event was overshadowed by the death of her grandfather. At the age of twelve, Diana Francis was sent to West Hill School. She studied poorly; only Diana’s musical abilities aroused admiration.
In addition to her favorite music, Diana was fond of dancing. She loved these two activities and excelled in her creative field..
In 1978, the girl moved to live in London. She had her own home there. Being very young, Diana loved to tinker with kids, so she got a job looking after children at the Young England kindergarten as a teacher’s assistant.
How did the lady meet the prince?
The first meeting of the future princess of Britain with Prince Charles took place when she was only 16 years old. In 1977, the prince came to her father's estate to play polo.
After a short courtship, Charles invited Diana to the royal yacht. At the beginning of 1980, Diana had the honor of meeting the royal family at the family castle, Balmoral.
The press immediately drew attention to the Prince of Wales's genuine interest in the young lady. Although the engagement of the young people was kept secret, all the details of their meetings, which the media could find out, were savored by journalists from different sides almost every day.
Under such pressure, Prince Charles made a hasty proposal to Diana. This happened on February 6, 1981. Diana was then the first Englishwoman to later become a royal bride, and she was also the first bride to have a paid position before becoming a princess.
Before the wedding, the girl settled in Buckingham Palace with the Queen Mother. The Queen herself presented Diana with an elegant and intricate sapphire brooch as a sign of her affection.
Wedding celebration
The wedding of Diana and the Prince of Wales took place on July 29, 1981. The day was chosen taking into account weather conditions so that nothing could overshadow the grand celebration. The wedding ceremony took place in St. Paul's Cathedral. Why not in Westminster Abbey, which is generally accepted for monarchs and nobility? There were simply more places for guests in this cathedral. The church, of course, was not as pretentious as the abbey, but it also captivated with its surroundings and beauty.
So Lady Diana and the future queen of the hearts of her subjects became the Princess of Wales. The festive ceremony was shown by all world media. The broadcast was watched by approximately 700 thousand television viewers. Another approximately 650 thousand spectators waited for the couple on the street to enjoy the spectacle of the wedding procession.
The girl's wedding dress cost about 10 thousand pounds. The full length of her veil was also impressive, measuring 7.5 meters.
Fate after the wedding
The question of whether Charles truly loved Princess Diana remains open to this day. After the wedding, Lady Diana quit her job at the kindergarten and began her direct duties as Princess of Wales.
She visited kindergartens, schools, and charity events. Diana was very active in charity work. Helped those in need and supported AIDS patients. Its popularity among British citizens grew at a tremendous speed. Diana was literally considered an angel of mercy in the flesh. People began to call her our “Lady Di,” thereby showing special affection for her and her activities.
Every appearance, every trip abroad attracted a lot of attention to Charles’s wife. Diana very quickly became a trendsetter, managing to bring a little glamor to the strict royal dress code.
Diana loved to be in the company of children and ordinary people; she spoke openly about the problems of modern society, which earned herself even greater fame.
The princess could easily go for tea to establishments that she supported through her charitable activities. It was Diana who put an end to prejudices about AIDS patients by publicly shaking the hand of one person infected with the disease.
During her career as Charles's wife, Lady Di received the following awards:
- Order of Queen Elizabeth II;
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Crown;
- Egyptian Order of Virtue.
The princess had many more unofficial awards.
Unfulfilled dreams of happiness
The birth of Charles and Lady Di's first son, William, occurred on June 21, 1982. Then, on September 15, 1984, the couple's second son, Henry, was born. Diana always dreamed of a big family.
From the very beginning, the Princess of Wales insisted on a completely normal upbringing for her sons. At her insistence, they were sent to simple kindergartens, then attended an average English school.
After the birth of Prince Henry, known today as Harry, Diana and Charles' marriage began to crack. It is known that before the wedding, Charles told his friend that he did not love Diana yet, but perhaps he would be able to love her in the future.
Apparently, Charles, who was 13 years older than her, failed to fall in love with the girl. Then the couple began to live separately. After this event, Andrew Morton’s book “Diana: Her True Story” was published. The manuscript was published with the consent of the princess herself and with the participation of her friends.
This is how the world learned about Lady Di’s suicide attempts, about her experiences, loneliness, and also about the fact that she struggled with bulimia for many years. This book provided evidence that Charles was still interested in his former girlfriend Camilla Parker. This hurt the Princess of Wales, and ultimately led to the couple's divorce.
The Prince and Princess of Wales officially divorced in 1996.
The couple's divorce turned into a confrontation when Diana gave a frank interview to the BBC channel. In it, she sincerely spoke about how Charles never wanted to be king and about how difficult it was for her to live in the royal family. After the divorce, Diana devoted a lot of time to her children. She appeared with them at all social events.
Diana Spencer always said that she wanted to become a queen, but she did not want the English throne, but wanted to be the queen of people's hearts. Her reputation after the divorce was slightly damaged by information about affairs with other men. So Officer Hewitt vilely made his relationship with the princess public by writing a book about it.
When the divorce proceedings ended, the princess switched from direct charitable activities to other work. She put all her dresses up for auction. The proceeds from the sale amounted to more than £3.5 million. Diana also visited her sick mother Teresa. After the divorce, the media tirelessly followed Lady Di's activities, discussing her every step and every decision she made.
Divorce: before and after
Formally, the marriage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles broke up much earlier than the divorce proceedings began. Evil tongues said that even after marrying Diana, Charles did not end his relationship with his former girlfriend Camilla.
And Diana herself soon began an affair with cardiac surgeon Hasnat Khan. There is information that they really loved each other, but could not withstand public pressure and broke up. In addition, Khan’s parents were also against this relationship. Diana and Hasnat tried to save their relationship by leaving for Pakistan, but nothing worked out for the lovers there either.
Diana Frances Spencer's next relationship was the last in her life. So she was credited with an affair with Egyptian billionaire Dodi al-Fayed. The couple was allegedly even seen on the same yacht. But it was never possible to confirm this connection with indisputable facts.
Cause of death of Princess Diana
The Princess of Wales died from injuries acquired in a car accident on August 31, 1997. Diana was traveling in the car with her bodyguard and her “tabloid” lover Dodi al-Fayed. Everyone who was driving around Paris in that ill-fated car, except for the bodyguard, died.
Even after a lengthy investigation, the police were unable to convincingly explain why the car accident occurred..
The disaster occurred when the driver attempted to break away from reporters on motorcycles pursuing Diana. In the tunnel, he lost control, and according to one version, a collision occurred.
Princess Diana was hospitalized, but she died after two hours in the hospital. Trevor Rea Jones (Lady Di's bodyguard), having recovered from his injuries, claimed to remember nothing about the accident. After the incident, his face had to be restored almost completely using plastic surgery. The fatal scene took place in a tunnel under the Parisian Pont Alma. Diana's car collided with a concrete support.
At the age of 36, the people's favorite Lady Di passed away. A wave of grief swept across Britain and France. Memorials were erected in honor of the princess, to which people laid flowers.
The princess was buried in her native Elthorp on a secluded island. Versions of her death excited the hearts and minds of people for a long time. Some believed that Diana's death was a direct consequence of a conspiracy against her. Others blamed it on the paparazzi who followed the princess. Scotland Yard also published its version, which said that the driver's blood alcohol was three times the limit, and the speed in the tunnel was also greatly exceeded.
Many songs and poems were written in memory of Diana. Elton John and Michael Jackson also dedicated their works to her. 10 years after the accident, a film was made about Princess Diana and the last hours of her life. In addition, today stamps with her image are issued in many countries. According to inexorable statistics, Princess Diana has broken all records of popularity among British monarchs. She remained in the hearts of people as their true unofficial queen.
The book “The Real Diana” by Lady Colin Campbell, the same aristocratic writer close to royal circles who has already written a book about the Queen Mother that shook the whole world, has appeared on the shelves of British bookstores. Now she has revealed unknown facts about Diana's life in the royal family.
Lady Campbell claims that Diana's father, the ambitious Lord John Spencer, harbored a plan for many years to marry his daughter to Prince Charles. But it wasn’t Diana who was meant at all, but her older sister Sarah.
And when Charles’s father, Prince Philip, began looking for a bride for him, Sarah Spencer was one of the first to be considered. But this union did not take place because Sarah’s statement was published in the press: “I don’t care whose wife I become, a prince or a garbage man, as long as there is love between us!” After all, the Queen, as you know, cannot stand anyone from her family discussing their personal life in public.
The future Princess Diana was the youngest of the three Spencer daughters. "Diana's family hoped she would marry Prince Andrew," writes Colin Campbell. - Diana kept his photograph on her bedside table the entire time she was studying at West Heath school. Her family even nicknamed her the Duchess - that would have been Diana’s title if she had become the wife of Andrew, Duke of York.”
The youth of aristocratic families have known the young offspring of the royal family since childhood, so Diana knew everyone - Charles, Andrew, Anna, and Edward. But it was with Andrew that she had a childhood friendship - according to Lady Campbell, in infancy they played together on the grounds of the royal Sandringham estate, where the Spencers rented a mansion. This right was granted by King George VI to his friend, Diana's maternal grandfather. In addition, the Windsor and Spencer families had long-standing connections: one of Diana's great-grandmothers was the mistress of George IV and, according to rumors, even gave birth to an illegitimate child. And grandmother Ruth (as well as grandmother Cynthia on her mother’s side) served as a maid of honor to the Queen Mother. John Spencer himself performed the honorary duties of Queen Elizabeth's equerry.
After Sarah left the race, the Spencer family council decided to urgently replace her with Diana, the writer claims. Diana was ordered to attend all events where Charles appeared. And then the opportunity to get closer to the heir to the throne finally came - at one of the country receptions, Diana saw that Charles had gone for a walk alone. “In a field, near a haystack, the prince stopped and sat down. Diana came up and sat down next to her: “You really miss Lord Mountbatten, right? Now you really need someone to take care of you!” - she said. Not long before this, Charles had lost his beloved great-uncle and mentor, Lord Mountbatten, and he really needed sympathy,” says Lady Campbell.
The butler Paul Burrell, who served there at that time, writes about how Diana first arrived at the royal Balmoral Castle as Charles’s personal guest (he, in turn, also wrote a book about Diana, “Royal Duty”).
The fact is that Diana made a mistake - she brought with her only one evening dress for three days. She was lucky - the evenings turned out to be warm, and everyone gathered in an informal setting - in a barbecue house. So no one except Paul Burrell noticed her miscalculation. However, it’s forgivable - Diana was only nineteen years old, while the rest of Charles’s company were over thirty, or even forty. Moreover, even though she was an aristocrat, she worked as a modest teacher in a kindergarten and lived in a rented London apartment, and not at all with her father and stepmother, with whom she felt uncomfortable. “She acted modestly and often blushed,” recalls Paul Burrell. - Over time, the ladies of the court noticed the meagerness of her wardrobe and ordered something for her: a blue skirt, a collarless jacket of the same color, matching shoes and a white blouse with a stand-up collar.
It was this costume that the princess wore when her engagement to Prince Charles was publicly announced on February 24 at Buckingham Palace.”
Lady Colin Campbell believes that this same suit later played a bad joke on Diana: “She put on a ready-made blue suit, which fit her baggyly. In it she seemed much fuller than she actually was. When she saw photos of herself in the press, she muttered, “Oh my God, I’m so fat!” Charles tried to console her by saying that she looked great. And at the same time he pinched her on the fold of fat on her waist.” Lady Campbell believes that it was this moment, after which Diana set herself the goal of losing weight before her wedding, that was the beginning of her notorious bulimia.
“For three days Diana starved herself, after which she broke down and ran to the nearest candy store for candy. She only stopped when she had eaten the entire box. After which she was horrified, rushed into the bathroom and used the well-known “two fingers in the mouth” method. Deciding that this was a great way out of the situation, Diana began to do this every day,” writes Lady Campbell. The dressmaker who was working on the wedding dress grumbled - once again the outfit had to be sewn in. After all, Diana lost 12 kilograms in a short time. She looked great. The same could not be said about the state of her nerves. “As usually happens with bulimia, she began to have mood swings, and there were causeless bouts of sobbing. Over time, Charles had to take a sip of all this,” says Lady Campbell.
According to her information, Diana showed a tendency towards bulimia from school. It was difficult for young Lady Spencer to control how much she ate. “Classmates recall that she could eat a dozen slices of bread at one time. And then three more full bowls of baked beans,” the book says. And it started at the age of eight - that is, exactly when Diana’s parents were getting divorced.
DID DIANA HAVE THE RIGHT TO MARRY CHARLES?
The divorce of John and Frances Spencer became one of the most discussed social scandals of the late 60s. Everyone condemned Frances, who, without waiting for a divorce, took a lover. No one wanted to hear that the real reason she left her husband was abuse.
Diana's mother claimed that her husband beat and humiliated her. But she had no witnesses... As a result, custody of the children - three daughters and a son - went to John. “And he soon sent them to boarding schools and took himself a new wife, whom his offspring hated,” writes Lady Campbell. At the same time, the children also condemned their own mother. “She should have stayed with us! I would never, ever abandon my children! It would be better if I died! - Diana said, even as an adult.
Lady Campbell claims that Charles also lacked parental love since childhood: his mother Elizabeth was too busy with government affairs, and his father subjected his every action to ruthless criticism, from which Charles developed something like a neurosis.
They say that even as an adult, Charles once could not resist tears when he heard from his father: “Everything you say is complete nonsense!” - in response to discussions about architecture, which Charles was well versed in. Charles's first (and, as it turned out later, only lifelong) love, Camilla Shand, chose the handsome royal guard officer Andrew Parker-Bowles over him, whom she married, despite Charles' persistent courtship.
And when, six years after her marriage, Camilla, having lost interest in her husband, nevertheless responded to the love of the Prince of Wales, their marriage was no longer possible - even if she had divorced, the heir to the throne cannot marry a divorced woman. Nevertheless, at the ball at the Royal Polo Club, these two kissed in front of everyone.
It was then that Prince Philip urgently began to look for a bride for his son, for whose role Diana was somewhat hastily chosen. Lady Campbell believes that for some time Charles believed that young Spencer would be able to give him what he so passionately dreamed of - that is, selfless and reckless love. “But here’s the problem: Diana, who really sincerely liked Charles, also suffered from a “dislike complex,” therefore, instead of loving someone, she needed someone to love her herself,” writes Campbell.
Preparations for the wedding were kept secret for as long as possible. Paul Burrell recalls: “When the royal jeweler David Thomas brought a case containing a selection of engagement rings to the palace, the servants were told that it contained rings intended as a gift for Prince Andrew on his 21st birthday.
Although the rings were obviously women's. Charles asked the Queen to make the choice. Diana later told her friends: “I would never have chosen such a tasteless ring. I would prefer something simpler and more elegant."
According to Lady Campbell, when Charles proposed to Diana, he implored her to think carefully before answering. After all, a member of the royal family has many responsibilities, every step is visible, you need to be able to keep your face, and you can immediately forget about personal freedom. “But Diana agreed instantly, without any hesitation. It seems that she simply could not imagine that any difficulties could follow her wedding with the prince. She was raised on the romance novels of Barbara Cartland, where after the wedding the ending immediately comes: “And they lived happily ever after, loving each other...”
Lady Campbell writes.
Previously, there was no doubt that Diana at least met one of the main requirements for the bride of the heir to the throne. It is known that before the wedding, the queen’s personal gynecologist examined her and declared that Diana was healthy and innocent. On this occasion, one friend of Camilla Parker-Bowles even quipped: “It may well be that Lady Diana was chosen precisely because she remained the only virgin aristocrat of marriageable age in this country.” But Lady Colin Campbell, having interviewed Diana’s school friends, makes a sensational statement: “Diana was only seventeen when she met young Daniel Wiggin. The son of a baronet, he was a friend of her brother Charles.
And he became her first lover. Soon Diana met the next one - James Coltrust, also the son of a baronet. He was very physically attractive to her, he was just her type of man - tall, dark, muscular.” In addition to them, Lady Campbell lists five more of Diana's premarital lovers. Moreover, the future Princess of Wales, according to her information, was so close to Guardsman Rory Scott that she spent weekends at his parents’ farm, washing and ironing his shirts. And Rory confirmed to the writer that his relationship with Diana was “determinedly not platonic.” Little of! Allegedly, he was not Diana’s first yet.
According to Lady Campbell, there was one more thing that could have upset the wedding if it had been known in 1981.
“The fact that Diana's mother's great-great-great-grandmother Eliza Kewark was an Indian, born in Bombay, was one of the Spencer family's best-kept secrets,” writes Lady Colin Campbell. “After all, if anyone had found out about this, then none of Frances Spencer’s three daughters would have ever been able to marry successfully.”
IS THE PRINCESS TOO FRIENDLY WITH THE SERVANTS?
And so on July 29, 1981, in St. Paul's Cathedral, 32-year-old Prince Charles married 20-year-old Diana Spencer. The ceremony of the fabulous wedding, by all accounts, was watched by 75 million people. It is known that at the wedding, Queen Elizabeth, to celebrate, slightly picked up her skirt and famously danced a jig. It seemed to everyone that this marriage would bring happiness to both the newlyweds and England.
But for Charles and Diana, these hopes were dashed during their honeymoon, which they spent on a cruise in the Mediterranean Sea on board the royal ship Britannia. According to Lady Campbell, it was there that it became clear that Charles was not able to devote enough time to his young wife, by her standards, and Diana was not able to come to terms with this. The prince plunged into his own affairs several times a day - looking through business papers, or even just for fun reading something on philosophy. Meanwhile, Diana was languishing with boredom and complaining about life. “Bulimia had by then severely undermined her nervous system,” writes Lady Campbell. It ended with Charles having an irresistible desire to call Camilla Parker-Bowles directly from the yacht Britannia, locked in the bathroom of his own cabin.
Diana accidentally overheard their conversation. There was gossip about Charles' affair with Camilla in royal circles, but until recently Diana led a completely different life, and these rumors did not reach her. Now she found out everything and demanded that her husband end his relationship with Camilla.
“The worst thing was that the newlyweds, apart from a passionate desire to be loved and happy, had very little in common,” says Lady Campbell. So footman Paul Burrell, who after the wedding was made the personal butler of the Prince and Princess of Wales, recalls how Charles used to sit all evenings downstairs in the library, listening to Haydn, while Diana was playing Whitney Houston in her room on the second floor. In terms of her interests, she was an ordinary resident of London.
Perhaps she is kinder and more sympathetic - this is what her work with children taught her. Having become Princess of Wales, Diana had the opportunity to do what she had long been disposed to do - help people. Paul Burrell tells of the horror he experienced when he was driving somewhere with the princess, and she suddenly stopped next to a vulgarly made-up girl in a short skirt, freezing in the damp wind. While the butler was breaking out in a cold sweat, imagining the headlines of tomorrow's newspapers: “Princess Diana spends time in the company of prostitutes,” his patron handed the girl 100 pounds and said: “Buy yourself something warm. And so that the next time I pass here, you are better dressed.” Moreover, after a couple of weeks, Diana actually made sure that the girl was now waiting for clients in a warm leather jacket.
But Diana did not share Charles’s interests in art, philosophy, fishing and hunting. When, after her first participation in the royal hunt, according to the ritual, her cheeks were smeared with blood taken from the belly of a freshly killed deer, cut with a hunting knife, Diana shuddered in disgust. But not so long ago, Charles initiated Camilla into a hunter in the same way, and she was delighted with the medieval rite! “Even the sports in which Diana was strong - tennis, swimming, dancing - were not those that Charles appreciated, who preferred horse riding,” Lady Campbell claims.
In the first months, Diana and Charles lived in Buckingham Palace, which, as you know, is a real labyrinth of endless corridors, halls and rooms. As soon as Diana moved further away from her apartment, she became lost. After all, no one thought to give her a tour of the palace.
Somehow Diana learned the way to the pool and also to the throne room, where she was allowed to take ballet and tap dancing lessons. Diana fluttered there in tights, not far from two ancient thrones, standing on their gilded legs under a heavy burgundy canopy with gold tassels. One higher, for the Queen, the other lower, for the Duke of Edinburgh.
As for Charles's parents, in their own way they tried very hard to be affectionate and hospitable with Diana. Every now and then in the evenings, when Diana got tired of sitting alone, she called the royal page: “Please find out, will the Queen be dining alone today?” He went to report and received the answer: “Please tell Lady Diana that I will be happy to have dinner with her at 8:15.” The crowned mother-in-law never refused her.
But the atmosphere was too formal for intimate conversations. What can we say about the crowded receptions that Diana now had to attend. The Queen, being an excellent hostess, always made sure that no guest sat at the table twice with the same neighbor. And Diana always wanted to sit with Prince Charles.
In a word, irritation accumulated. According to Lady Colin Campbell, even the royal dogs began to seem disgusting to Diana: “During tea parties with her mother-in-law, these corgis hovered around Diana like a little demon, dripping saliva onto her shoes. And she slowly kicked them in the side. And then she complained to her husband: “They smelled me! Do they think my legs are steaks?” Diana also disliked the labrador Sandringham, who belonged to Charles himself.
She complained: “You pay more attention to this animal than to me.” In the end, Charles, tired of quarreling with his wife over the dog, found nothing better than to take Sandringham to the veterinarian and euthanize him. Although Diana did not ask for anything like that. She just wanted Charles to spend more time with her, because she felt so lonely... “After the death of the dog, to which Charles was very attached, something seemed to die in the prince himself,” writes Lady Campbell.
With whom the princess found an outlet, it was with the servants. She often sat with the silverware keeper, Victor Fletcher. Or chatting in the kitchen with chef Robert Pine, who regaled her with rustic jokes and homemade ice cream. Or in the pantry drying dishes with Paul Burrell. “It ended with Prince Charles, to his great surprise, finding footman Mark Simpson in the princess’s bedroom.
He sat on the edge of the bed and calmly talked with Diana, who was not at all embarrassed that she was not dressed decently enough,” recalls Burrell. This Mark smuggled a Big Mac from McDonald's into the palace for her.
It was thanks to her friendship with the servants that Diana learned that her husband, in her absence, still maintained a relationship with Camilla. One day, while waiting for Burrell in the pantry, she looked into the notebook where he wrote down the guests expected at the table. "Mr and Mrs Oliver Hour and Mrs Parker Bowles for dinner", "Mrs Candida Lucette-Green and Mrs Parker Bowles for dinner", "Mr and Mrs Parker Bowles with children."
DIANA STRIKES BACK
Subsequently, collaborating in 1992 with journalist Andrew Morton, who wrote the book “Diana. Her true story,” the princess said that, while pregnant with William, she threw herself down a wooden staircase in front of her husband. Out of despair and powerlessness to change anything. Lady Colin Campbell writes: “In fact, according to the testimony of the servants present at that scene, everything was not so. She simply slipped on the slippery wooden steps and fell. Fortunately, everything worked out - for both Diana and William." According to her information, Diana more than once tried to play on Charles’s feelings, imitating suicide attempts. Once, in the heat of a quarrel, she took a penknife and held it over her wrist - however, without even scratching herself. Another time she poked herself in the leg with a lemon squeezer.
Well, Charles... “At the slightest sign of an impending showdown, he simply turned and left,” writes Lady Campbell.
According to the writer, the affairs that Diana eventually began to have on the side were explained partly by the need for happiness and love, and partly by the desire to arouse at least jealousy in her husband. But Charles did not react. “Knowing his wife’s relationship with banker Philip Dunne, the prince personally invited him to join them on holiday in Switzerland,” Campbell claims. Diana's father-in-law and mother-in-law viewed Diana's novels completely differently. When they heard rumors about their daughter-in-law's next hobby - her own bodyguard Barry Mannaki - he was hastily transferred to a run-of-the-mill police department. Diana was most amazed that her lover so easily agreed to break up with her.
After all, he could, in the end, resign! It soon became clear that the story did not end there. “Barry was going to sell the Diana love story to one of the tabloids,” writes Lady Campbell. “Not even a few weeks passed before he died. Diana did not believe that his death was accidental, seeing it as the machinations of the secret services.”
As for the red-haired officer James Hewitt, with whom Diana also had an affair and whom many now believe is Prince Harry's biological father, Lady Campbell firmly rejects this possibility. According to her information, Diana had an affair with Barry after Harry was born, and with Hewitt even later. By the way, the same story ended up repeating itself with Hewitt - the palace found out about their relationship, and Diana’s lover was transferred to serve in Germany for two years.
But trying to prevent a scandal was as useless as trying to hold back water with a sieve.
At first, Diana and Charles decided to separate, which was impossible to keep secret. Then the same book by Andrew Morton came out, written based on conversations with Diana. And to top it all off, the princess herself gave a television interview in which she told the whole world about her problems with piercing frankness: “I loved my husband very much and wanted to share both grief and joy with him. I thought we were a very good couple." - “Do you think that Mrs. Parker-Bowles played a role in the breakdown of your marriage?” - “You see, there were three of us in this marriage. A little cramped, isn’t it?” In the same television interview, Diana spoke about her bulimia.
And when asked if she plans to eventually become a queen, Diana replied: “I would like to be the queen of people’s hearts, but I can’t imagine myself being the queen of this country.” Finally, she also admitted that she had an affair with James Hewitt.
This interview truly turned the already popular Diana into the queen of people's hearts. Millions of people reasoned: not only is she actively involved in charity work, she brings hope to people with cancer and AIDS, the homeless, the poor, those affected by landmines... She is also a sincere, loving and at the same time deeply unhappy person. But Diana became a decidedly unsuitable person for Windsor Castle.
PINK GRANDMOTHER, BROWN GRANDMOTHER
The Queen could not ignore the scandals surrounding her son's marriage indefinitely, and eventually made the difficult decision to officially divorce. Considering that there was no actual marriage for a long time, this struck Diana terribly. Paul Burrell recalls: “On the table lay a letter on the stamp paper of Windsor Castle, written in the Queen’s recognizable clear handwriting. It began with the words “Dear Diana...” and ended, as usual: “With love, from mom.” The princess was greatly offended by the letter's mention that the queen had consulted the government and the church. “But this is my marriage! No one has the right to interfere in my husband’s and my problems! - she shouted. - They are telling me about the interests of the country.
But why doesn’t anyone care about my interests or the interests of my children?” Diana sat down at the table and wrote to the queen, asking for time to think. But the very next day a letter arrived on the same topic from Prince Charles. To Diana's fury, some of the wording in the letters from her husband and mother-in-law coincided verbatim. For example, “a personal and national tragedy” or “a depressing and confusing situation in which we all find ourselves.”
After the divorce, Diana lost her title of Royal Highness and from now on had to curtsey even to her own sons at official events. She was even more upset that Charles now went entirely to her hated rival, Camilla. However, the new situation also had its advantages. For example, freedom.
Now Diana has access to cash again. Throughout the marriage, she had to use only the card or sign checks: “Welsh”. But it’s awkward to somehow pay in this way at the cinema or in a fast food restaurant. In addition, all expenses were in full view of the mother-in-law, which was also tiring. Paul Burrell recalls: “The first thing Diana did was to take twenty of her dresses and suits to a second-hand store, and from this alone she earned about 11 thousand pounds in cash. So the young princes saw paper money for the first time, and they really liked it. Especially because the queen's face is on the banknotes. The princes immediately nicknamed the five-pound note “blue grandmother,” the ten-pound note “brown grandmother,” and the fifty pounds “pink grandmother.” It was the “pink granny” that William and Harry vied with each other to try to grab when their mother, laughing, handed them money.”
And then Dodi al-Fayed appeared in Diana’s life.
“No one would have traded her for a career under any circumstances - Dodi’s special attitude towards work gave him a lot of free time, and he willingly devoted it to Diana in whatever quantities she wanted,” writes Lady Campbell. - In addition, they had a lot in common: they loved the same films, books, music. These two could have found true happiness and lived together until old age, if not for that terrible accident. By the way, the only person who survived in her, bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, having restored his memory, said that the last sound he heard from the dying Diana was a groan: “Dodie”...
The causes of the accident have not yet been figured out. “The only thing that can now be said with almost certainty, many years later, is that the paparazzi following the princess’s car were not directly to blame for her death, as originally thought,” writes Lady Campbell. “The investigation, which lasted several years, established that there were traces of white paint on the mangled remains of Diana’s black car. This means that the cause of the accident was a collision with a mysterious car that fled the scene. Despite years of joint searches by French and British police, this car was never found.”
Reflecting on all this, the writer recalls Diana’s plans to move with her sons to America, which Paul Burrell told her about. “These plans were unlikely to please the British elite,” she claims.
The butler himself recalls it this way: “The princess showed me a magazine with a plan of a house that was sold in California on the ocean coast. We sat down on the floor in the living room and began to plan: here will be William’s room, here will be Harry’s, here will be the main hall, and here will the servants live. She dreamed of morning runs on the beach, of bright sunshine, unlike London. “We could also get a dog there,” Diana said. - Labrador...”
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, holder of the title Viscount Elthorp, came from the ancient Spencer-Churchill family, bearers of royal blood descended from Charles the Second, famous as the “Merry King”. Charles had 14 recognized illegitimate sons who received the title, a large number of unrecognized children and not a single heir born in an official marriage. However, thanks to this king, the list of aristocratic families 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. The future Princess Diana received her primary education 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. Diana received further education at Silfield private school, and later studied at Riddlesworth Hall. As a child, the character of the future princess was not difficult, but she was always quite stubborn.
According to the 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 was a great shock for the 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.
The next place of study for the future Princess of Wales is the exclusive West Hill School for Girls in Kent. Here Diana did not prove herself to be a diligent student, but music and dancing became her hobbies, and, according to rumors, in her youth Lady Di was not good at 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 worried 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 dressed in the full uniform of a 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 who watched the live broadcast of the celebrations 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 Mediterranean cruise. At the end of the cruise, another reception was given in Scotland, where members of the press were given permission to photograph the newlyweds.
The wedding celebrations cost taxpayers 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 head injuries, 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 favorite 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 his blood that was three times the legal limit.
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 people in British history, ahead of other English monarchs in this ranking.
Awards
- Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown
- Order of Virtue Special Class
1967
Diana's parents divorced. Diana initially lived with her mother, and then her father sued and received custody.
1969
Diana's mother married Peter Shand Kydd.
1970
After being educated by teachers, Diana was sent to Riddlesworth Hall, Norfolk, a boarding school
1972
Diana's father began a relationship with Raine Legge, Countess of Dartmouth, whose mother was Barbara Cartland, a novelist
1973
Diana began her education at West Heath Girls School in Kent, an exclusive boarding school for girls.
1974
Diana moved to the Spencer family estate in Althorp
1975
Diana's father inherited the title of Earl Spencer, and Diana received the title of Lady Diana
1976
Diana's father married Raine Legge
1977
Diana left West Girls Heath School; her father sent her to the Swiss physical education school, Chateau d'Oex, but she only studied there for a few months
1977
Prince Charles and Diana met in November when he was dating her sister, Lady Sarah. Diana taught him to dance
1979
Diana moved to London, where she worked as a housekeeper, nanny and assistant kindergarten teacher; she lived with three other girls in a three-room apartment bought by her father
1980
While visiting her sister Jane, who was married to Robert Fellows, the Queen's assistant secretary, Diana and Charles met again; Charles soon asked Diana on a date, and in November he introduced her to severalmembers of the royal family: queen, queen mother and the Duke of Edinburgh (his mother, grandmother and father)
Prince Charles proposed to Lady Diana Spencer during dinner at Buckingham Palace
Lady Diana went on a previously planned holiday in Australia
Wedding of Lady Diana Spencer and Charles, Prince of Wales, in St. Paul's Cathedral; television broadcast
October 1981
The Prince and Princess of Wales visit Wales
Official announcement that Diana is pregnant
Prince William (William Arthur Philip Louis) born
Prince Harry (Henry Charles Albert David) born
1986
Disagreements in the marriage became obvious to the public, Diana begins a relationship with James Hewitt
Diana's father died
Publication of Morton's bookDiana: Her True Story" , including the story of Charles's long affair withCamilla Parker Bowlesand allegations of five suicide attempts, including sometime during Diana's first pregnancy; It was later revealed that Diana, or at least her family, collaborated with the author; her father contributed many family photographs
Official announcement of the legal separation of Diana and Charles
Announcement from Diana that she is retiring from public life
1994
Prince Charles, interviewed by Jonathan Dimbleby, admitted that he had been in a relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles since 1986 (later revealed to have started earlier) - to a British television audience of 14 million.
Martin Bashir's BBC interview with Princess Diana was watched by 21.1 million viewers in Britain. Diana talked about her struggles with depression, bulimia and self-deprecation. In this interview, Diana said her famous line: "Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded," referring to her husband's relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles
Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen had written to the Prince and Princess of Wales, with the support of the Prime Minister and a secret lawyer, advising them to get a divorce.
Princess Diana said she agreed to divorce
July 1996
Diana and Charles agreed to divorce
Divorce of Diana, Princess of Wales and Charles, Prince of Wales. Diana received approximately $23 million plus $600,000 per year, retained the title "Princess of Wales" but not the title "Her Royal Highness" and continued to live at Kensington Palace; the agreement was that both parents were to be actively involved in their children's lives
Late 1996
Diana became involved in the problem of landmines
1997
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines, with which Diana worked, has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Christie's in New York auctioned 79 of Diana's evening dresses; Proceeds of approximately $3.5 million went to cancer and AIDS charities.
1997
Romantic relationship with 42-year-old Dodi Al-Fayed, whose father Mohammed Al-Fayed was the owner of Harrod's department store and the Ritz Hotel in Paris.
Diana, Princess of Wales, died from injuries sustained in a car accident in Paris, France
Princess Diana's funeral. She was buried on an island in the middle of the lake on the Spencer estate in Althorp.
