Princess Diana was one of the most prominent figures of the royal family due to her class, glamor and kind heart. She was known for her impeccable sense of fashion, her charitable ways, and her overall friendliness and charming personality with everyone around her. Loved by many, Diana was easily a topic of conversation and the center of attention wherever she went.
Born into the British nobility, she grew up close to the royal family and later married into it when she married King Charles III in 1981, thus making her the Princess of Wales. The general public had a fondness for the new princess and took to her liking pretty well. Together, Diana and Charles had two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. However, the couple’s marriage was full of problems, leading to a separation in 1992 and a divorce in 1996. Diana died on Aug. 31, 1997, from the injuries she sustained in a car crash in a tunnel in Paris, France.
Although Princess Diana tragically passed away, her legacy has lived on over the 25 years since her passing. Known as an icon for her fashion, poise and motherhood — Princess Diana was a one-of-a-kind royal family member. She wanted to be known for more than the glitz and glamor that came with her public outings and role, and instead for being an outstanding mother.
Rather than giving her children to nannies to be bathed and taken to school, Princess Diana was adamant about being a present mother in Prince William and Prince Harry’s lives.
Diana, Princess of Wales (1988), (David Levenson/Hulton Archive via Getty Images)
Little Diana Frances Spencer was born to a family with 500 years of nobility. Her upbringing was posh, but it wasn’t always happy.
It was revealed in a book that her mother, Frances Shand Kydd, left her father, John Spencer, then Viscount Althorp, for another man. Her mother had been 18 at the time of her marriage to the viscount, who was 12 years her senior. According to comments made by friends and family, the marriage had left Diana’s mother deeply unhappy.
One of the things Kydd struggled with was the pressure to produce a male heir, which was still considered an important detail at the time. After the death of her firstborn son and the birth of two daughters, the Spencer family even convinced her to visit a gynecologist “to see why she produced only healthy girls.” This pressure and these doctor visits were what eventually eroded the marriage.
Despite this tragedy, the earlier images of Princess Diana showcased the humanity of the girl who would become the “People’s Princess” later in her life. Viscount Spencer retained custody over his children and raised Diana and her siblings in their countryside home.
Diana was born into an aristocratic family, and the late Queen Elizabeth even attended her parents’ wedding. After her parents divorced, she was left to live mostly with her father, though it was reported that he apparently left her in the care of nannies and boarding schools.
Early in her childhood, she and her family lived in a rented property on the queen’s estate, according to the BBC.
Diana is pictured here on a skiing trip to Austria with her kids, Harry and William. This photograph was shot shortly after Harry turned nine years old. He’s adorable, and the whole family is stunning!
Diana and her children visited Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands in 1990, together with her sister’s children. The island was owned by Richard Branson of Virgin.
Diana knows how to have a good time. Look at this lovely photo of her and Harry visiting the amusement park Thorpe Park in 1992.
Diana was dubbed “The People’s Princess” by many. She was involved in numerous humanitarian endeavors, offering a good example of how a kind and loving person should act.
Princess Diana is shown here visiting an Orthopedic workshop in Luanda, Angola, and sitting with land mine victims.
We could go on and on about Diana’s wonderful photographs. This one was taken in 1971, while she was on vacation in Itchenor, West Sussex.
Meanwhile, this one was taken outside Diana’s flat in Coleherne Court, London, before to her engagement to Charles.
Harry is pictured here sticking out his tongue to the crowd gathering around Buckingham Palace. Diana seemed to be taken aback.
Barbour is still a popular royal apparel brand, although Princess Diana may have worn it best.
Diana adored Barbour, and her journey to the Outer Hebrides in Scotland in 985 was the ideal occasion to wear her Barbour-style waxed cotton jacket.
Jayne Fincher, a royal photographer who captured some of Princess Diana’s most memorable images, trailed the royal couple everywhere they went. She’d rented a jet to travel to the Outer Hebrides, where Charles and Diana were on official business.
“When I caught up,” says Fincher, “Charles said, ‘Where have you been?’”
The Outer Hebrides are subject to extremes of wind and rain, which Princess Diana experienced during her visit there in 1985.But she looks great in the images from the trip, and photographer Jayne noticed something after going over the negatives.
“You don’t see Diana dressed like that very often. She looked so happy. It was pouring rain, but her makeup was perfect and un-smudged. I looked a mess, as usual,” she said.
The photo below was taken during Diana’s last summer alive. She is seen with her boyfriend Dodi Al Fayed on a boat in St. Tropez, France, jumping into the water.
Diana will be remembered as a truly great and loving human being.
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