LIFE AND DEATH OF PRINCESS DIANA

PRINCESS DIANA

Lady Diana, Princess of Wales was born in 1961 in Sandringham, Norfolk, England. Her full name was Diana Frances Spencer. Diana was born into the Spencer family. On her mother's side, Diana had English, Irish, Scottish, American and Armenian ancestry. One of her great-grandmothers on her mother's side was the New York heiress Frances Work. She was also a descendant of the Dukes of Devonshire. On her father's side, she was a descendant of King Charles II of England.

She attended the exclusive West Heath boarding school in Kent for four years, but dropped out when she was 16. After a term at a Swiss finishing school, she ended her formal education and from 1979 until 1981 Diana worked as a kinder-garden teacher in London.

Though she had known the Prince of Wales, heir to the throne of the United Kingdom, their relationship began to intensify during a visit with her sister Jane, who was married to the queen's assistant secretary, as a guest of the royal family at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. When the press noticed the prince's growing interest in the young Lady Spencer, they began to follow Diana's movements and photograph her at every opportunity. At the age of 19, Lady Diana Spencer had become an object of fixation for the national media, and she soon cultivated a bashful but charming smile for the cameras that earned her the nickname "Shy Di."

On February 24, 1981, her engagement to Prince Charles , the heir to the British throne , was announced. They were married in St. Paul's Cathedral on July 29,1981.

The couple had two sons: Prince William Arthur Philip Louis. He was born on 21 June 1982.

And Prince Henry Charles Albert David, who was born a little over two years later on 15 September 1984.

After the birth of the second son the relationship between Charles and Diana began to worsen. Charles seemed not to take part in the life of his wife and his children. He looked awkward trying to play with his children. Charles and Diana seldom appeared in public together. He began to see his former lover Camilla Parker. Diana changed a lot. She would never be a naive girl again for whom marrying into the Royal Family had been like a miracle.

John Major announced the separation of the couple in December 1992.

Diana continued to give an active support to many charities related to homeless and deprived children, drug abuse, and victims of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Diana shocked many people in1987, when she shook the hand of an AIDS patient.

She was loved by people.

She was becoming even more popular than Elizabeth II. People sympathized with her after the divorce. The Windsors began to dislike Diana and tried to get rid of her. She was deprived of the title " Her Highness" and given a money compensation for it. Diana wanted to leave England but she could not take her sons, the heirs of the throne, with her. Diana stayed.

After the divorce, Diana retained her apartment in Kensington Palace, completely redecorated, and it remained her home until her death.

She publicly dated the respected heart surgeon from Pakistan, Hasnat Khan, who was called "the love of her life",for almost two years, before Khan ended the relationship due to cultural differences.

Soon she began her relationship with Dodi Al-Fayed.

Her life aroused a great interest of the public. This interest was extremely exaggerated by the paparazzi. They followed her everywhere. They often acted tactlessly. By one of the versions Diana's tragic death was caused by the paparazzi, who were following her car that day. It happened on August 31, 1997 in one

of the tunnels in Paris

Diana died after a car crash in the road tunnel in Paris with Dodi Al-Fayed and the acting security manager of the Hôtel Ritz Paris, Henri Paul, who was instructed to drive the hired Mercedes-Benz through Paris in order to elude the paparazzi. Their black 1994 Mercedes-Benz crashed into the thirteenth pillar of the tunnel. The tunnel was built without metal barriers in front of the pillars. None of the four occupants wore seat belts.

She was still alive right after the crash. An ambulance took her to the hospital, but the injuries were so serious that she did not survive.

Her funeral on 6 September 1997 was broadcasted and watched by an estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide.

The sudden and unexpected death of a very popular royal figure brought statements from senior figures worldwide and many tributes by members of the public. In reaction to the death people left public offerings of flowers, candles, cards and personal messages.

There are two memorials devoted to Princess Diana:

The first of two memorials to Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Al-Fayed in Harrods.

"Innocent Victims", the second of two memorials in Harrods.

She was always a silent woman, the last and the greatest Silent Star of our noisy age, shining with quietness. Her life was meant to be watched, not heard. She was the image that outdid all others. She could be anything that we wanted her to be, Princess Diana, queen of our hearts, our Lady of Sorrow, everyone's and no one's

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