A bright, amazing woman, an extraordinary personality, one of the most famous people of her time - that was exactly what Diana, Princess of Wales was like. The inhabitants of Great Britain adored her, calling her the Queen of Hearts, and the sympathies of the whole world manifested themselves in the short but warm nickname Lady Dee, which also went down in history. A number of films have been made about her, many books have been written in all languages. But the answer to the most important question is whether Diana was really happy at least sometime in her bright, but very difficult and such short life, - will forever remain hidden by a veil of secrecy ...

Princess Diana: a biography of the early years

On July 1, 1963, at the home of the Viscount and Viscountess Althorp, rented by them in the royal domain of Sandrigham, Norfolk, their third daughter was born.

The birth of a girl somewhat disappointed her father, Edward John Spencer, heir to an ancient earl family. Two daughters, Sarah and Jane, were already growing up in the family, and the title of nobility could only be transferred to the son. The baby was named Diana Francis - and it was she who was destined to later become her father's favorite. And soon after the birth of Diana, the family was replenished with the long-awaited boy - Charles.

The wife of Earl Spencer, Francis Ruth (Roche), also came from a noble family of Fermoy; her mother was a lady-in-waiting at the queen's court. Childhood future English princess Diana spent at Sandrigham. The children of an aristocratic couple were brought up in strict rules, more characteristic of old England than for a country of the middle of the twentieth century: governesses and nannies, harsh schedules, walks in the park, riding lessons ...

Diana grew up as a kind and open child. However, when she was only six years old, life inflicted a serious mental trauma on the girl: her father and mother filed for divorce. Countess Spencer moved to London to businessman Peter Shand-Kid, who left his wife and three children for her. About a year later they got married.

After a lengthy legal battle, the Spencer children remained in the care of their father. He was also very upset by what happened, but he tried in every possible way to support the children - he occupied himself with singing and dancing, arranged holidays, personally hired tutors and servants. He meticulously chose the school for his older daughters and, when the time came, he sent them to Sealfield Primary School in King Lease.

At school, Diana was loved for her responsiveness and kind character. She was not the best in her studies, but she made great strides in history and literature, was fond of drawing, dancing, singing, swimming, and was always ready to help fellow students. Close people noted her tendency to fantasize - obviously, it was easier for the girl to deal with her feelings. "I will definitely become someone outstanding!" she liked to repeat.

Meeting Prince Charles

In 1975, the story of Princess Diana enters a new stage. Her father takes the hereditary title of earl and transports the family to Northamptonshire, where the Spencer family estate, Althorp House, is located. It was here that Diana first met Prince Charles when he came to these places to hunt. However, they did not impress each other then. Intelligent Charles with impeccable manners, sixteen-year-old Diana found "sweet and funny." The Prince of Wales, on the other hand, seemed completely infatuated with Sarah, her older sister. And soon Diana went to continue her studies in Switzerland.

However, the boarding school quickly bored her. Having begged her parents to take her out of there, at the age of eighteen she returns home. Father gave Diana an apartment in the capital, and the future princess plunged into independent life. Earning money to support herself, she worked for wealthy acquaintances, cleaning their apartments and babysitting the kids, and then got a job as an educator in kindergarten"Young England".

In 1980, at a picnic at Althorp House, fate again pushed her against the Prince of Wales, and this meeting became fateful. Diana expressed her sincere sympathy to Charles on the recent death of his grandfather, the Earl of Mountbaden. The Prince of Wales was touched; a conversation ensued. The whole evening after that, Charles did not leave Diana a single step ...

They continued to meet, and soon Charles secretly told one of his friends that he seemed to have met the girl he would like to marry. Since that time, the press drew attention to Diana. Photojournalists began a real hunt for her.

Wedding

In February 1981, Prince Charles made an official offer to Lady Diana, to which she agreed. And almost six months later, in July, the young Countess Diana Spencer was already walking down the aisle with the heir british throne in St. Paul's Cathedral.

A married couple of designers - David and Elizabeth Emmanuel - created a masterpiece outfit in which Diana walked to the altar. The princess was dressed in a snow-white dress, sewn from three hundred and fifty meters of silk. About ten thousand pearls, thousands of rhinestones, tens of meters of gold threads were used to decorate it. To avoid misunderstandings, three copies of the wedding dress were sewn at once, one of which is now kept in Madame Tussauds.

For the festive banquet, twenty-eight cakes were prepared, which were baked for fourteen weeks.

The newlyweds received many valuable and memorable gifts. Among them were twenty silver dishes donated by the Australian government, silver jewelry from the heir to the throne Saudi Arabia. The representative of New Zealand presented the couple with a luxurious carpet.

Journalists dubbed the wedding of Diana and Charles "the greatest and loudest in the history of the twentieth century." Seven hundred and fifty million people around the world had the opportunity to watch the magnificent ceremony from television screens. It was one of the most widely broadcast events in the history of television.

Princess of Wales: first steps

Almost from the very beginning, life in marriage was not at all what Diana dreamed of. Princess of Wales - the high-profile title she acquired after marriage was cold and stiff, like the whole atmosphere in the house royal family. The crowned mother-in-law, Elizabeth II, did not take any steps to ensure that the young daughter-in-law would more easily fit into the family.

Open, emotional and sincere, Diana found it very difficult to accept the external isolation, hypocrisy, flattery and impenetrability of emotions that govern life in Kensington Palace.

Princess Diana's love of music, dance and fashion ran counter to the way the palace used to spend leisure time. But hunting, horseback riding, fishing and shooting - the recognized entertainments of crowned persons - were of little interest to her. In her desire to be closer to ordinary Britons, she often broke the unspoken rules that dictate how a member of the royal family should behave.

She was different - people saw this and accepted her with admiration and joy. Diana's popularity among the country's population grew steadily. But in the royal family they often did not understand her - and, most likely, they did not really try to understand her.

Birth of sons

Diana's main passion was her sons. William, the future heir to the British throne, was born on June 21, 1982. Two years later, on September 15, 1984, his younger brother Harry was born.

From the very beginning, Princess Diana tried to do everything so that her sons did not turn into unfortunate hostages of their own origin. She tried her best to make the little princes come into contact with the simple, ordinary life filled with impressions and joys familiar to all children.

She spent much more time with her sons than the etiquette of the royal house prescribed. On vacation, she let them wear jeans, sweatpants and T-shirts. She took them to the cinemas and to the park, where the princes had fun and ran, ate hamburgers and popcorn, stood in line for their favorite rides just like other little Britons.

When it was time for William and Harry to receive elementary education, it was Diana who sharply opposed the fact that they were brought up in the closed world of the royal house. The princes began attending pre-school classes and then went to a regular British school.

Divorce

The dissimilarity of the characters of Prince Charles and Princess Diana manifested itself from the very beginning of their life together. By the early 1990s, there was a final discord between the spouses. The prince's relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles, which began even before his marriage to Diana, played a significant role in this.

At the end of 1992, Prime Minister John Major made an official statement in the British Parliament that Diana and Charles were living separately, but were not going to get divorced. However, three and a half years later, their marriage was still officially annulled by a court order.

Diana, Princess of Wales, officially retained the title for life, although she ceased to be Her Highness. She continued to live and work at Kensington Palace, remaining the mother of the heirs to the throne, and her business schedule was officially included in the official routine of the royal family.

Social activity

After her divorce, Princess Diana devoted most of her time to charity and social activities. Her ideal was Mother Teresa, whom the princess considered her spiritual mentor.

Using her huge popularity, she focused people's attention on really important problems. modern society: AIDS, leukemia, the lives of people with incurable spinal injuries, children with heart defects. On her charity trips, she visited almost the whole world.

She was recognized everywhere, warmly welcomed, thousands of letters were written to her, answering which the princess sometimes went to bed long after midnight. A film made by Diana about anti-personnel mines in the fields of Angola prompted the diplomats of many states to prepare reports for their governments on the prohibition of the purchase of the use of these weapons. At the invitation of Kofi Annan, Secretary General UN, Diana made a presentation on Angola at the assembly of this organization. And in home country many suggested that she become a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF.

trendsetter

For many years, Diana, Princess of Wales, was also considered a style icon in the UK. Being a crowned person, she traditionally wore outfits exclusively by British designers, but later she significantly expanded the geography of her own wardrobe.

Her style, makeup and hairstyle instantly became popular not only among ordinary British women, but also among designers, as well as movie and pop stars. Stories about Princess Diana's outfits and interesting cases related to them are still appearing in the press.

So, back in 1985, Diana appeared at the White House at a reception at the Reagan presidential couple in a luxurious dark blue silk velvet dress. It was in it that she danced in tandem with John Travolta.

And the magnificent black evening dress, in which Diana visited the Palace of Versailles in 1994, honored her with the title of "princess-sun", sounded from the lips of the famous designer Pierre Cardin.

Hats, handbags, gloves, Diana's accessories have always been evidence of her impeccable taste. The princess sold a significant part of her clothes at auctions, donating money to charity.

Dodi Al Fayed and Princess Diana: a love story with a tragic end

Lady Dee's personal life was also constantly under the gun of reporters' cameras. Their intrusive attention never for a moment left in peace such an extraordinary personality as Princess Diana was. The love story of her and Dodi Al-Fayed, the son of an Arab millionaire, instantly became the subject of numerous newspaper articles.

By the time they got close in 1997, Diana and Dodi had known each other for several years. It was Dodi who became the first man with whom the English princess after her divorce was openly published. She was visiting him at a villa in St. Tropez with her sons, and later met with him in London. Some time later, the luxurious Al Fayed yacht "Jonikap" set off on a cruise on mediterranean sea. On board were Dodi and Diana.

The last days of the princess coincided with the weekend that ended their romantic trip. On August 30, 1997, the couple went to Paris. After dinner at the restaurant of the Ritz Hotel, owned by Dodi, at one o'clock in the morning they prepared to go home. Not wanting to be the center of attention of the paparazzi crowding at the door of the institution, Diana and Dodi left the hotel through the service entrance and, accompanied by a bodyguard and a driver, hurried to leave the hotel ...

The details of what happened a few minutes later are still not clear enough. However, in an underground tunnel under Delalma Square, the car had a terrible accident, crashing into one of the support columns. The driver and Dodi al-Fayed died at the scene. Diana, unconscious, was taken to the Salpêtrière hospital. Doctors fought for her life for several hours, but they could not save the princess.

Funeral

The death of Princess Diana shocked the whole world. On the day of her funeral, national mourning was declared and national flags were flown at half mast throughout the UK. In Hyde Park, two huge screens were placed - for those who could not be at the mourning ceremony and memorial service. For young couples who had a wedding scheduled for that date, English insurance companies paid significant amounts of compensation for its cancellation. The square in front of Buckingham Palace was littered with flowers, and thousands of memorial candles burned on the pavement.

Princess Diana's funeral took place at Althorp House, the Spencer family estate. Lady Dee found her last refuge in the middle of a small secluded island on the lake, which she loved to visit during her lifetime. By personal order of Prince Charles, the coffin of Princess Diana was covered with a royal standard - an honor that is awarded exclusively to members of the royal family ...

Investigation and causes of death

Court hearings to establish the circumstances of the death of Princess Diana were held in 2004. They were then temporarily shelved while an investigation into the circumstances of the car crash in Paris and resumed three years later at the London Crown Court. The jury heard the testimony of more than two hundred and fifty witnesses from eight countries around the world.

At the end of the hearing, the court concluded that the cause of death of Diana, her companion Dodi Al-Fayed and the driver Henri Paul was the illegal actions of the paparazzi chasing their car, and driving vehicle Pole drunk.

Nowadays, there are several versions of why Princess Diana actually died. However, none of them has been proven.

Real, kind, lively, generously giving people the warmth of her soul - such was she, Princess Diana. Biography and life path this extraordinary woman is still the subject of undying interest of millions of people. In the memory of her descendants, she is destined to forever remain the Queen of Hearts, and not only in her native country, but throughout the world ...

Lady Diana. Princess of human hearts Benoit Sophia

Chapter 2

It was often said about Diana: incredibly, 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 should check out the pedigree of the shy "Cinderella".

The mother of the future Princess of Wales, Frances Althorp, was descended from an Irish politician, a member of the British Parliament, Edmund Burke Roche, who lived in the 19th century. For services to the prosperity of the British Empire, Queen Victoria granted Mr. Edmund Roche the title of baronet, after which he began to be nicknamed 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 offspring 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 marriage of convenience broke up after eleven years. Taking three children, the woman returned back to New York. Her father, Frank Wark, left his grandsons Maurice and Francis thirty million pounds each, provided that the heirs ... renounce British titles and take American citizenship. But the brothers refused to accept such conditions. However, when Frank Wark died in 1911, they found a way to get most inheritance and live a comfortable life. An amazing fate befell Maurice; the 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 Burke 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 confirms his repeated election to the House of Commons.

Maurice managed to make friends with Albert, Duke of York, younger son King George V. The royal friend managed to obtain such a privilege: the Farmhouses were leased the Park House guest house located on the territory of the royal estate of Sandringham. Here, on January 20, 1936, Frances, the second daughter of Maurice, who later became the mother of Diana, will be born. The girl was born on a fateful day: on the day of the death of King George V.

The British crown went to the eldest son of the late monarch, Edward VIII. Who, as we know from history, was madly in love with 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 ex-wife of an officer Camilla - will be experienced by the heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, and the beautiful Diana will be drawn into this ill-fated love triangle by the will of fate.

British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin threatened King Edward with legal resignation if he did not give up the unequal marriage. The prime minister's statement put the monarch before a choice: 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 on December 10, 1936, he abdicated 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 caused him to abdicate the throne in December 1936.

The Duke of York, Albert Frederick Arthur George, who ascended the throne under the name of George VI, favored his close friend Maurice Fermoy. It is not surprising that the friend of the king was desired in the eyes of many beauties of high society. Lady Glenconner once remarked:

Maurice was still some kind of red tape. Even I was a little afraid of him.

In 1917, during another trip to America, a successful womanizer met a pretty American Edith Travis and fell in love with her. They were born illegitimate daughter; many years later, she published a book of memoirs "Lilac Days", talking about the passionate feelings of her parents Maurice and Edith.

Maurice's wife was a more successful and more prudent girl named Ruth Gil, whom the loving Briton met in Paris, where the daughter of a Scottish colonel studied piano at the conservatory. However, before meeting Maurice, Ruth met with his younger brother Francis. Realizing that the elder brother inherits the family title and position in society, the young musician immediately went over to Maurice.

She was 23 years old, he was 46 when they signed. This significant event took place in 1931. Ruth was not only ambitious, but also a smart girl who knew perfectly well what she wanted to get from 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 competently used her passion for music, becoming the patron of the brainchild created by her in 1951 - the Festival of Art and Music in King's Lynn.

Maurice Rocher, 4th Baron de Fermoy - Diana's maternal grandfather

Diana's grandmother managed to make friends with the Queen Mother, becoming the best friend for the monarch. Perhaps, when it came to endorsing her granddaughter's candidacy 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 over the years, only one thing appeared in Diana - a masterful desire for freedom. However, there were reasons for that ...

The family of Maurice and Ruth had two daughters - the eldest "bug-eye" (as she was called) Mary and the younger "attractive, cheerful and sexy" (by the definition of school friends) Francis. Years later, an employee who worked for Prince Charles admits:

When Frances looks at you with her bright blue eyes, she seems grander than the queen herself!

Among the admirers of the girl was John, the eldest son of the seventh Earl Spencer, the equerry of George VI, Viscount Althorp. Perhaps he would not have paid attention to the fifteen-year-old exalted baby, if not for her imperious mother, Lady Ruth Fermoy, who immediately set a goal to get John as a son-in-law. She did everything to awaken interest in her daughter in a man: she set up “casual” dates, found common interests between them, slipped cute gifts allegedly on behalf of Francis ...

Viscount Althorp was no doubt a profitable match for the pretty youngest daughter Baron Fermoy. And soon he believed that Francis was a charming girl, without whom he could not live.

And so, a few months after Francis turned seventeen, John announced his break with his fiancée Lady Anne Coke and his engagement to Frances Rocher Fermat. In June 1954, a wedding ceremony was held at Westminster Abbey, which was attended by almost 2,000 guests, including Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Mothers of many families dreamed of such a groom as John. Still - the eldest son of Earl Spencer, the heir to thirteen thousand acres in the counties of Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Norfolk, the owner of the family castle Elthorp House, stuffed with priceless works of art!

The wedding of Diana's parents in June 1954

The British, boasting of their pedigrees, will never fail to emphasize their superiority over others. The Spencers also had their big plus. It turns out, and as the author of the book “Diana: The Lonely Princess” D. Medvedev informs us, “The first mention 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 accession of the current the ruling dynasty of the Windsors (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 enthronement 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 absolutely amazing! - eleventh cousin of her own husband, Prince Charles.

However, on separate sites you can find more extensive information about the pedigree of Lady Dee, and among her ancient relatives there are: Rurik of Novgorod; Igor Kyiv; Svyatoslav of 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 made up one highly branched genealogical tree. The newfangled theory that the world is ruled by representatives of the same families easily fits into this alignment, and some researchers see this as an all-planetary conspiracy, a Masonic plan, and even ... a conspiracy of reptiles.

Wikipedia, which is popular with Internet users, reports that Diana “was born 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 carriers royal blood through the illegitimate sons of King Charles II and the illegitimate daughter of his brother and successor, King James II. The Spencer Earls have long lived in the very center of London, at 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 also confirmed by the motto on the coat of arms: "God save the right." And the British establishment respected the claims of the Spencers "to be right" and to be chosen.

Diana's father, John Althorp, was of noble birth, but unlike his fellows in the traditionally prim British society, he was an open person, preferring to show his emotions rather than hide them. His friend, Lord St. John Fousley, assured that John was not afraid to openly talk about his feelings and preferred to live full life. About her father, the viscount, his eldest daughter Sarah spoke like this:

My father had an innate ability to find a way to people's hearts. If he talked 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 that this quality can be learned: you either have it from birth, or you don’t have it ...

Albert Edward Jack Spencer, Viscount Althorpe is Diana's paternal grandfather. Photo from 1921

Such a character was formed in John as a kind of opposite to the character of his father - the conservative and despotic Viscount Jack Spencer, who neglected everyone who was below him in the caste. He even spoke with his servants with gestures, contemptuously pursing his lips. It is not surprising that many, including his son, were afraid of this overweight and rude man.

Due to his gentle nature and excessive openness, John was drawn to strong women; Francis 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, strangling any initiative of his son, making him dependent in everything, immediately disliked the young daughter-in-law. Understandably, Frances repaid Jack in kind. Moreover, she not only hated her father-in-law, but also contemptuously treated his beloved, protected and cherished offspring - the family castle of Althorp. The young woman openly declared:

The castle induces depressing melancholy, as if you are always in a museum, closed after the departure of regular visitors.

Saving his strength for the decisive struggle with his daughter-in-law, the father-in-law warned that he was expecting the first-born, to whom he could pass 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 ordered on the eve of the birth to prepare brushwood in Althorp for future festive bonfires in honor of the appearance of his grandson, in anger 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, the 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 the chance to survive.

Earl Spencer, dissatisfied with what was happening and devoid of all sympathy, began to insistently demand the birth of an heir. But on a warm evening on 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 is two years old

This text is an introductory piece.

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The idyll did not last long: convicted of adultery, Countess Spencer left for London, taking her younger children. The divorce process was accompanied by a scandal - at the trial, Diana's grandmother testified against her daughter. Family discord forever remained associated for Diana with the terrible word "divorce". Relations with her stepmother did not work out, and for the rest of her childhood, Diana rushed between her mother's mansion in Scotland and her father's in England, not feeling at home anywhere.

Diana (far right) with her father, sisters Sarah and Jane and brother Charles

Popular

Diana was not particularly diligent, and teachers spoke of her as a smart, but not very gifted girl. The true reason for her indifference to the sciences was that she was already absorbed by another passion - ballet, but her high growth prevented her passion from becoming a matter of life. Deprived of the opportunity to become a ballerina, Diana turned to social activities. Her enthusiastic nature and ability to infect others with her enthusiasm was noted by everyone around.

Not just a friend

Prince Charles and Diana met when she was 16. Diana's sister Sarah then met with the heir to the British throne, but the affair ended after a careless interview with the girl. Shortly after the breakup, Charles began to look at the one in which he had previously seen only the younger sister of his girlfriend, and soon came to the conclusion: Diana is perfection itself! The girl was flattered by the attention of the prince, and everything went to a happy ending.

A weekend at a friends country house was followed by a cruise on the Britannia yacht, and then an invitation to Balmoral Castle, the summer residence of the English monarchs, where Diana was formally introduced to the royal family. In order to marry, the future monarch needs the permission of the current monarch. Formally, Diana was the ideal candidate for the role of the bride. Possessing all the virtues of a less fortunate sister (noble birth, excellent upbringing and attractive appearance), she could boast of innocence and modesty, which the lively Sarah clearly lacked. And only one embarrassed Elizabeth II - Diana seemed too unsuitable for palace life. But Charles was over thirty, the search for the best contender could be delayed, and after long hesitation, the queen finally gave her blessing.

On February 6, 1981, Diana accepted the prince's proposal, and on July 29 they got married in St. Paul's Cathedral. The broadcast of the ceremony was watched by 750,000,000 people, and the wedding itself was like a fairy tale: Diana, in a fluffy white dress with an eight-meter train, drove up to the church in a carriage surrounded by an escort of officers of the Royal Horse Guards. The word “obey” was removed from the marriage vows, which caused a sensation - of course, because even the Queen of England herself promised to obey her husband in everything.

Just a year after the wedding, Diana rocked her son and heir, Prince William. Harry was born a couple of years later. Diana later admitted that these years were the best in her relationship with Charles. They spent all their free time with their children. “Family is the most important thing,” the beaming Diana told reporters.

At this time, Lady Dee first showed a decisive character. Despising customs, she herself chose the names for the princes, refused the help of the royal nanny (by hiring her own) and tried in every possible way to protect the highest interference in the life of her family. A devoted and affectionate mother, she organized her affairs so that they did not interfere with her meeting the children from school. And there was an incredible amount of cases!

Royal affairs...

The duties of Princess Diana, stipulated by the ceremonial, included attending charity events. Traditionally, charity is the occupation of every member of the royal family. Princes and princesses have long patronized hospitals, orphanages, hospices, orphanages and non-profit organizations, but none of the British monarchs did this with such passion as Diana.

She greatly expanded the list of institutions visited, including hospitals for AIDS patients and leper colonies. The princess devoted a lot of time to the problems of children and youth, but among her wards were nursing homes and rehabilitation centers for alcoholics and drug addicts. She also supported the campaign to ban anti-personnel mines in Africa.

Princess Diana generously spent her means and the wealth of the royal family on good deeds, and also attracted friends from high society as sponsors. It was impossible to resist her soft, but indestructible charm. All her compatriots adored her, and Lady Di had many admirers abroad. “The worst disease of the world is that there is little love in it,” she constantly repeated. At the same time, Diana unsuccessfully struggled with her own hereditary disease - bulimia (an eating disorder), and against the background of nervous experiences and stress, it was torture to restrain herself.

... and family matters

Family life turned out to be unhappy. Charles's many years of romance with married woman- Lady Camilla Parker-Bowles, which Diana learned about after the wedding, resumed in the mid-80s. The offended Diana became close to James Hewitt, a riding instructor. Tensions escalated when tapes of incriminating reports were leaked to the press. telephone conversations both spouses with lovers. Numerous interviews followed, during which Charles and Diana accused each other of breaking up their union. “There were too many people in my marriage,” the princess joked sadly.

The indignant queen tried to expedite her son's divorce. The papers were signed on August 28, 1996, and from that moment Princess Diana lost all rights to address Your Royal Highness. She herself always said that she wanted to be only the queen of people's hearts, and not the wife of the reigning monarch. After the divorce, Diana felt a little freer, although her life was still regulated by protocol: she was an ex-wife crown prince and mother of two heirs. It was love for her sons that made her maintain the appearance of a family and endure her husband's betrayals: “Any normal woman would have left long ago. But I couldn't. I have sons." Even in the midst of the scandal, Lady Dee did not stop doing charity work.

After the divorce, Diana did not leave charity, and she really managed to change the world for the better. She directed her efforts to fight AIDS, cancer, turned her help to children with heart defects.

During this time, the princess had a passionate affair with a Pakistani-born surgeon, Hasnat Khan. Khan came from a very religious family, and Diana, in love, seriously considered converting to Islam in order to be able to marry her lover. Unfortunately, the contradictions between the two cultures were too great, and in June 1997 the couple broke up. Just a few weeks later, Lady Dee began dating Dodi Al-Fayed, a producer and son of an Egyptian multimillionaire.

You lived your life like a candle burning in the wind...

On August 31, 1997, Diana and Dodi were in Paris. By car, they left the hotel when they were followed by cars with paparazzi. Trying to get away from the chase, the driver lost control and crashed into the concrete support of the bridge. He and Dodi Al-Fayed died on the spot, Diana was taken to the hospital, where she died two hours later. The sole survivor of the crash, bodyguard Trevor Rhys-Jones, has no memory of the events.

The police conducted a thorough investigation, as a result of which the cause of death of the princess was declared an accident caused by the negligence of the driver and the carelessness of the passengers in the car (none of them were wearing seat belts).

Twenty years ago, on August 31, 1997, a car accident occurred in the tunnel in front of the Alma bridge on the Seine embankment, in which Diana Frances Spencer died. Princess Diana was not just a favorite of the public, but also a public figure and philanthropist. With the participation of Dina, hundreds of charitable foundations were created in different countries. Diana has supported organizations that help AIDS patients, the Royal Mardsen Foundation, the Leprosy Mission, the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, Centerpoint, the English National Ballet Theater and many others.

Many of Diana's trips around the world involved visiting the homeless, refugees, people with handicapped, with HIV. In the second half of the 1990s, Princess Diana was active in banning landmines. To convince the governments of countries to abandon this type of weapon, Diana traveled to many countries, from Angola to Bosnia, visited hospitals and mobile infirmaries to see with her own eyes the consequences of the use of high-explosive mines.

The Philanthropist recalls Princess Diana's major charitable projects, including her visit to Russia in 1995.

Attitude towards patients with HIV

In April 1987, Princess Diana was invited to the Middlesex Hospital to open the UK's first AIDS unit. At that time there was a lot of speculation about AIDS and a lot of fear. Princess Diana wanted to dispel this myth, in the department she took off her gloves and shook hands with all the patients of the clinic. Pictures of Princess Diana shaking hands with an HIV patient have gone viral around the world. From that moment on, Diana began to deal with the problems of combating AIDS.

So, in February 1989, the princess traveled to New York, where she visited the Harlem Hospital for Children with AIDS. She spent an hour and a half there and spent most of her time interacting with the children and staff. “Underneath the external brilliance, a heart of real gold is hidden,” the media wrote after this visit. She did it spontaneously, gently lifting a seven-year-old boy from Harlem who was dying of AIDS in her arms. How many of us millions of mothers would do that? We are assured that there is no risk of catching the world's worst disease through hugs, but babies have wet hands and slobbery kisses. Can we honestly say that we would not have felt fear, and not the all-encompassing tenderness that Diana felt, confessing: “I feel very sad when I think about how I held this little boy on hands. I still think about him."

In subsequent years, she regularly visited children with AIDS, including visits to a hospice in Toronto and a hospital for orphans with HIV in Rio de Janeiro.

After Diana's death, Gavin Hart, founder of the National AIDS Trust, said: "In our opinion, Diana has done more to help people with HIV than anyone else, and still no one is doing anything like this" .

Help for lepers

Princess Diana often traveled on missionary trips to countries where the incidence of leprosy is still high. She was a patron of The Leprosy Mission and has been to hospitals in India, Nepal, Zimbabwe. She easily communicated with patients, spent a lot of time with them and so helped to deal with public opinion and myths about this disease.

“It always seemed important to me to touch lepers, to shake hands with them, so I wanted to show people that these patients are the same people, that they are not outcasts. You can touch people with leprosy and not get infected,” said Diana.

Homeless and refugees

In 1992, Princess Diana became a trustee of the London center for helping the homeless Centerpoint and helped them a lot until her death. Diana took both sons, Prince William and Harry, with her to the center. At 23, Prince William continued his mother's work and became a trustee of this organization.

He said in an interview with The Telegraph: “My mother showed me this side of life many years ago. It was a real revelation for me and I am very grateful to her for that.”

Love for children

Princess Diana was very fond of children, loved to play and communicate with them. She was a patron of the Royal Mardsen Hospital, which had a good oncology department, as well as the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. Many photographs of Princess Diana have survived, where she talks to children, hugs or listens to them.

In an interview, she spoke about working at the Royal Brompton Hospital: “I go there at least three times a week, spend several hours with the children, sometimes just holding their hand or talking. Some of them will live, some will not, but each of them needs love here and now. I want to give them that love."

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The fight to abolish anti-personnel mines

In January 1997, Princess Diana visited Angola as part of a Red Cross mission, the number of mines remaining in the land was then estimated at nine million, with a population of 10 million people. “I read statistics that in Angola more people with amputated body parts than anywhere else in the world, Diana recalled. “But even knowing all this, I was not prepared for what I saw.”

The princess also visited the most mined city in Angola, Quito. There she walked through a recently cleared field. For safety, she put on a blue body armor and covered her face behind a special bulletproof screen.

Diana's son Prince Harry, trustee of the anti-personnel mine action fund The HALO Trust, was also in Angola and put on a suit, in one of his speeches he called on the whole world to get rid of weapons by 2025.

ANGOLA - JANUARY 05: Diana, Princess of Wales wearing protective body armor and a visor visits a landmine minefield being cleared by the charity Halo in Huambo, Angola (Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images)

Ballet and theater

The princess was very fond of ballet, after a divorce in 1995, she became even more active in helping non-profit organizations. And the only project not related to social issues was the English National Ballet. She often went to performances, took her sons with her - William and Harry. She hosted fundraising balls and galas that helped raise hundreds of pounds to support the theatre.

Princess Diana and Mother Teresa

In February 1992, Diana came to India, visited a shelter for abandoned children, a leper colony and a hospice founded by Mother Teresa in Calcutta. Inside the hospice, she saw rows of cots filled with hundreds of sick and dying people.

Upon return to Kensington Palace Lady Diana wrote: “At last, after so many years of searching, I have found my way. When I arrived at Mother Teresa's hospice, the sisters of mercy sang a solemn hymn especially for me. It was an unforgettable spiritual experience. I literally soared in spirit. The emotions were so strong that they couldn't help but have a huge impact on me. I just now realized that with all my heart, with all my soul, I want to do this business on a global scale.”

Princess Diana in Russia

On June 15-16, 1995, Princess Diana flew to Moscow. One of her affairs in the capital was a visit to the Tushino Children's Hospital, to which the princess had previously provided charitable assistance (Diana donated medical equipment to the hospital).

“Very calm and persistent woman. She went into the trauma department, and there were children after road and railway accidents, and she saw all the wounds. Even the persons accompanying her fainted, and she calmly walked through the department, ”recalled Viktor Shein, at that time the deputy chief physician for surgery at the Tushino hospital

According to the participants of the visit, while visiting the hospital, the princess violated the protocol of the meeting: she ignored the offices of the heads of the clinic, passing by, because she was in a hurry to the wards of small patients and the playroom. Diana persistently asked her interpreter to translate in detail everything that the children say to her. In the game, the princess surprised everyone: she sat down on her knees in front of the kids and started playing with them.

June 16, 1995 at the British Embassy in Moscow, Princess Diana was awarded the International Leonardo Prize. This public award is given to patrons and people who have made a personal contribution to the development of the humanitarian sphere.

Inspiration and support

Even after death, the name of Princess Diana continues to help.

In September 1997, the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund ).

In March 1998, it was announced that the foundation would provide grants of £1 million to each of the six charities officially supported by Princess Diana (English National Ballet, Leprosy Mission, National Society AIDS Support, Centerpoint, Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, Royal Marsden Hospital).

Now the organization helps hospices and palliative departments, the homeless and refugees, prisoners, the foundation gives grants to hundreds of organizations around the world.

Since its inception in 1998, the foundation has raised and distributed over £138m in aid and grants (2012 data)

The foundation is currently run by Princess Diana's sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.

Princess Diana has always strived to instill in her sons a love of charity and a desire to help people. She took William and Harry with her when she visited patients in hospitals and the homeless. Already grown brothers actively support all social projects that their mother helped.

Anna

Because her whole life was spent with the participation of photographers. Even death. It happened, she was a princess.

Tanto

For some reason, all the good deeds of Diana took place with the participation of photographers. True charity is not public.

Diana, Princess of Wales (Diana, Princess of Wales), nee Diana Francis Spencer (Diana Francis Spencer; July 1, 1961, Sandringham, Norfolk - August 31, 1997, Paris) - from 1981 to 1996, the first wife of the Prince Welsh Charles, heir to the British throne. Commonly known as Princess Diana, Lady Diana or Lady Di. According to a poll conducted in 2002 by the BBC broadcaster, Diana was ranked third in the list of the hundred greatest Britons in history.

Diana was born July 1, 1961 in Sandringham, Norfolk to John Spencer. Her father was Viscount Althorp, a branch of the same Spencer-Churchill family as the Duke of Marlborough, and.

Diana's paternal ancestors were carriers of royal blood through the illegitimate sons of King Charles II and the illegitimate daughter of his brother and successor, King James II. Earls Spencers have long lived in the very center of London, in Spencer House.

Diana spent her childhood in Sandringham, where she received her primary home education. Her teacher was the governess Gertrude Allen, who taught Diana's mother. She continued her education in Sealfield, in private school near King's Line, then at Riddlesworth Hall Preparatory School.

When Diana was 8 years old, her parents divorced. She stayed with her father, along with her sisters and brother. The divorce had a strong influence on the girl, and soon a stepmother appeared in the house, who disliked children.

In 1975, following the death of her grandfather, Diana's father became the 8th Earl Spencer and she received the courtesy title of "lady" reserved for daughters of high peers. During this period, the family moved to the ancient ancestral castle of Althorp House in Nottrogtonshire.

At the age of 12, the future princess was accepted into a privileged school for girls in West Hill, in Sevenoaks, Kent. Here she turned out to be a bad student and could not finish it. At the same time, her musical abilities were not in doubt. The girl was also fascinated by dancing.

In 1977, she briefly attended school in the Swiss city of Rougemont. Once in Switzerland, Diana soon began to feel homesick and returned to England ahead of schedule.

Princess Diana Height: 178 centimeters.

Princess Diana's personal life:

In the winter of 1977, before leaving for training, she met her future husband for the first time - - - when he comes to Althorp to hunt.

In 1978 she moved to London, where she initially stayed in her mother's apartment (who then spent most of her time in Scotland). As a gift for her 18th birthday, she received her own £100,000 apartment in Earls Court, where she lived with three friends. During this period, Diana, who previously adored children, began working as an assistant teacher at Young England Nursery School in Pimiliko.

The wedding of Charles and Diana, which took place on July 29, 1981, attracted a lot of attention from the public and the media. In 1982 and 1984, the sons of Diana and Charles were born - the Princes and Wales, who are next in line of succession to the British crown after their father.

By the early 1990s, relations between the spouses were upset, in particular, due to Charles's continued relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles (subsequently, after the death of Diana, who became his second wife).

Diana herself had been in a close relationship with her riding instructor James Hewitt for some time, which she confessed to in a 1995 television interview (Charles had made a similar confession to Camilla a year earlier).

The marriage broke up in 1992, after which the couple lived separately, and ended in divorce in 1996 at the initiative of the Queen.

Shortly before her death, in June 1997, Diana began dating film producer Dodi al-Fayed, son Egyptian billionaire Mohamed al-Fayed, however, apart from the press, none of her friends confirmed this fact, and this is also denied in the book of Lady Diana's butler, Paul Burrell, who was a close friend of the princess.

Diana was actively involved in charitable and peacekeeping activities(in particular, she was an activist in the fight against AIDS and the movement to stop the production of anti-personnel mines).

She was one of the most popular women in the world of her time. In the UK, she has always been considered the most popular member of the royal family, she was called the "Queen of Hearts" or "Queen of Hearts" (Queen of Hearts).

On June 15-16, 1995, Princess Diana made a short visit to Moscow. She visited the Tushino Children's Hospital, which she had previously provided charitable assistance to (the princess donated medical equipment to the hospital), and the Primary general education school No. 751, where she solemnly opened a branch of the Waverly House fund for helping children with disabilities.

On June 16, 1995, the ceremony of presenting Princess Diana with the International Leonardo Prize took place at the British Embassy in Moscow.

Death of Princess Diana

On August 31, 1997, Diana died in a car accident in Paris, along with Dodi al-Fayed and driver Henri Paul. Al-Fayed and Paul died instantly, Diana, taken from the scene (in the tunnel in front of the Alma bridge on the Seine embankment) to the Salpêtrière hospital, died two hours later.

The cause of the accident is not entirely clear, there are a number of versions (alcohol intoxication of the driver, the need to escape at speed from the persecution of the paparazzi, as well as various conspiracy theories). The only surviving passenger of the car "Mercedes S280" with the number "688 LTV 75", bodyguard Trevor Rhys Jones, who was seriously injured (his face had to be restored by surgeons), does not remember the events.

On December 14, 2007, a report was presented by the ex-commissioner of Scotland Yard, Lord John Stevens, who stated that the British investigation confirmed the conclusions according to which the amount of alcohol in the blood of the driver of the car, Henri Paul, at the time of his death, was exceeded three times, than is acceptable in French legislation. In addition, the speed of the car exceeded the permissible in this place twice. Lord Stevens also noted that the passengers, including Diana, were not wearing seat belts, which also played a role in their deaths.

Princess Diana was buried on September 6 at the Spencer family estate of Althorp in Northamptonshire, on a secluded island.

Who bothered Princess Diana

Diana has been repeatedly called "the most photographed woman in the world" (some sources share this title between her and Grace Kelly).

Many books have been written about Diana in various languages. Almost all of her friends and close employees spoke with memories. There are several documentaries and even feature films. There are both fanatical fans of the memory of the princess, insisting even on her holiness, and criticism of her personality and the pop cult that has arisen around her.

As part of the Black Celebration (1986) album by Depeche Mode, the composition "New Dress" was released, in which the author of words and music, Martin Gore, ironically plays up how close the media paid attention to the life of Princess Diana.