Diana
Frances Spencer was born July 1, 1961 at Park House, the home her parents rented
on the the English royal family's estate at Sandringham. As a child she
occasionally played with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, who were near her in
age. Diana had two older sisters, Sarah and Jane, and a younger brother,
Charles. When Diana was six, her mother left her father. The Spencers divorced
in 1969, and Diana's father received custody of the children. In 1975 Diana's
father became the eighth Earl Spencer, making Diana a Lady. Diana and her
siblings moved to Althorp, the Spencer family estate in Northampton. Diana
attended private boarding schools. Although she wasn't an especially good
student, she was excelled at sports, and won trophies for her swimming. She
dreamed of being a ballerina, but grew too tall (as an adult she was
5'10"). After leaving school in 1978 she worked as a nanny, waitress, and
cleaning woman before becoming a teacher at the Young England kindergarten in
Pimlico, London. Her romance with the Prince of Wales began in 1980. He was
twelve years older than Diana, and had previously dated her sister Sarah. Almost
from the start, the press took a special interest in "Lady Di." They
staked out her apartment and followed her everwhere. Diana later said that she
found the constant attention unbearable. Diana and Charles were married July 29,
1981 at St Paul's Cathedral. The wedding was broadcast in 74 countries and
watched by 750 million people worldwide. Diana was the first English woman to
marry an heir to England's throne in over 300 years. At the ceremony the
Archbishop of Canterbury said,"Here is the stuff of which fairy tales are
made." But the fairy tale was an illusion, as Diana had already discovered.
Prince Charles was still in love with an old girlfriend, Camilla Parker-Bowles.
"There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded,"
Princess Diana remarked years later. Distraught, Diana developed bulimia and
attempted suicide. Despite her problems, she was a devoted mother to her two
sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. She worked tirelessly for charity, and
was beloved by the public for her warmth and humanity. In 1992 Princess Diana
decided to expose the truth about her relationship with Prince Charles to the
public. She secretly collaborated with author Andrew Morton on his book Diana,
Her True Story. The princess's direct involvement in the writing of the book was
not revealed to the public until after her death. The separation of the Prince
and Princess of Wales was announced on December 9, 1992. The divorce became
official August 28, 1996. Princess Diana kept the title Princess of Wales and
continued to work for her favorite charities. She and Prince Charles had joint
custody of their sons. In 1997 Princess Diana fell in love with Emad "Dodi"
Fayed, the son of billionaire businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed. Their romance ended
abruptly on August 31, 1997 when both were killed in a car accident in Paris
while fleeing from paparazzi. Princess Diana's sudden death led to an
unprecedented worldwide outpouring of grief and love. As her brother said at her
funeral, she was "the unique, the complex, the extraordinary and
irreplacable Diana, whose beauty, both internal and external, will never be
extinguished from our minds."