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Biography of Diana, Princess of Wales

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Princess Diana (born Diana Frances Spencer; July 1, 1961–August 31, 1997) was the consort of Charles, Prince of Wales. She was the mother of Prince William, currently in line for the throne after his father, Diane's former husband, and of Prince Harry. Diana was also known for her charity work and her fashion image.

Fast Facts: Diana, Princess of Wales

• Known For: Diana became a member of the British royal family when she married Charles, Prince of Wales, in 1981.
• Also Known As: Diana Frances Spencer, Lady Di, Princess Diana
• Born: July 1, 1961 in Sandringham, England
• Parents: John Spencer and Frances Spencer
• Died: August 31, 1997 in Paris, France
• Spouse: Charles, Prince of Wales (m. 1981–1996)
• Children: Prince William (William Arthur Philip Louis), Prince Harry (Henry Charles Albert David)

Diana Frances Spencer was born on July 1, 1961, in Sandringham, England. Although she was a member of the British aristocracy, she was technically a commoner, not a royal. Diana's father was John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, a personal aide to King George VI and to Queen Elizabeth II . Her mother was the Honourable Frances Shand-Kydd.

Diana's parents divorced in 1969. Her mother ran away with a wealthy heir, and her father gained custody of the children. He later married Raine Legge, whose mother was Barbara Cartland, a romance novelist.

Diana grew up practically next door to Queen Elizabeth II and her family, at Park House, a mansion next to the Sandringham estate of the royal family. Prince Charles was 12 years older, but Prince Andrew was closer to her age and was a childhood playmate.

After Diana's parents divorced, her father gained custody of her and her siblings. Diana was educated at home until she was 9 and was then sent to Riddlesworth Hall and West Heath School. Diana did not get along well with her stepmother, nor did she do well in school. Instead, she found an interest in ballet and, according to some reports, Prince Charles, whose picture she had on the wall of her room at school. When Diana was 16, she met Prince Charles again. He had dated her older sister Sarah. She made some impression on him, but she was still too young for him to date. After she dropped out of West Heath School at 16, she attended a finishing school in Switzerland, Chateau d'Oex. She left after a few months.

After Diana left school, she moved to London and worked as a housekeeper, nanny, and kindergarten teacher's aide. She lived in a house purchased by her father and had three roommates. In 1980, Diana and Charles met again when she went to visit her sister, whose husband worked for the queen . They began to date, and six months later Charles proposed. The two were married on July 29, 1981, in a much-watched wedding that's been called the "wedding of the century." Diana was the first British citizen to marry the heir to the British throne in almost 300 years.

Diana immediately began making public appearances despite her reservations about being in the public eye. One of her first official visits was to the funeral of Princess Grace of Monaco. Diana soon became pregnant, giving birth to Prince William (William Arthur Philip Louis) on June 21, 1982, and then to Prince Harry (Henry Charles Albert David) on September 15, 1984.

Early in their marriage, Diana and Charles were publicly affectionate. By 1986, however, their time apart and coolness when together were obvious. The 1992 publication of Andrew Morton's biography of Diana revealed the story of Charles' long affair with Camilla Parker Bowles and alleged that Diana had made several suicide attempts. In February 1996, Diana announced that she had agreed to a divorce.

The divorce was finalized on August 28, 1996. Settlement terms reportedly included about $23 million for Diana plus $600,000 per year. She and Charles would both be active in their sons' lives. Diana continued to live at Kensington Palace and was permitted to retain the title Princess of Wales. At her divorce, she also gave up most of the charities she'd been working with, limiting herself to only a few causes: homelessness, AIDS, leprosy, and cancer.

In 1996, Diana became involved in a campaign to ban landmines. She visited several nations in her involvement with the anti-landmine campaign, an activity more political than the norm for the British royal family.

In early 1997, Diana was linked romantically with the 42-year-old playboy "Dodi" Fayed (Emad Mohammed al-Fayed). His father, Mohammed al-Fayed, owned Harrod's department store and the Ritz Hotel in Paris, among other properties.

On August 30, 1997, Diana and Fayed left the Ritz Hotel in Paris, accompanied in a car by a driver and Dodi's bodyguard. They were pursued by paparazzi. Just after midnight, the car spun out of control in a Paris tunnel and crashed. Fayed and the driver were killed instantly; Diana died later in a hospital despite efforts to save her. The bodyguard survived despite critical injuries.

The world quickly reacted. First came horror and shock. Blame was next, much of which was directed at the paparazzi who were following the princess's car and from whom the driver was apparently trying to escape. Later tests showed the driver had been well over the legal alcohol limit, but immediate blame was placed on the photographers and their seemingly incessant quest to capture images of Diana that could be sold to the press.

Then came an outpouring of sorrow and grief. The Spencers, Diana's family, established a charitable fund in her name, and within a week $150 million in donations had been raised. Princess Diana's funeral on September 6 drew worldwide attention. Millions turned out to line the path of the funeral procession.

In many ways, Diana and her life story paralleled much in popular culture. She was married near the beginning of the 1980s, and her fairy-tale wedding, complete with a glass coach and a dress that could not quite fit inside, was in sync with the ostentatious wealth and spending of the 1980s.

Her struggles with bulimia and depression shared so publicly in the press were also typical of the 1980s' focus on self-help and self-esteem. That she seemed to have finally begun to transcend many of her problems made her loss seem all the more tragic.

The 1980s realization of the AIDS crisis was one in which Diana played a significant part. Her willingness to touch and hug AIDS sufferers—at a time when many in the public wanted to quarantine those with the disease based on irrational and uneducated fears of easy communicability—helped change how AIDS patients were treated.

Today, Diana is still remembered as the "People's Princess," a woman of contradictions who was born into wealth yet seemed to have a "common touch"; a woman who struggled with her self-image yet was a fashion icon; a woman who sought attention but often stayed at hospitals and other charity sites long after the press had left. Her life has been the subject of numerous books and films, including "Diana: Her True Story," "Diana: Last Days of a Princess," and "Diana, 7 Days."

• Bumiller, Elisabeth, et al. “Death of Diana: Times Journalists Recall Night of the Crash.” The New York Times, 31 Aug. 2017.
• Clayton, Tim, and Phil Craig. "Diana: Story of a Princess." Atria Books, 2003.
• Lyall, Sarah. “Diana's Legacy: A Reshaped Monarchy, a More Emotional U.K.” The New York Times , 31 Aug. 2017.
• Morton, Andrew. "Diana: Her True Story - in Her Own Words." Michael O'Mara Books Limited, 2019.
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Biography Online

Princess Diana Biography

After her divorce, officially, she was called Diana, Princess of Wales.

Diana was often called Princess Diana by the media and the public, but she did not possess such a title and was not personally a princess, a point Diana herself made to people who referred to her as such. Contrary to belief, being Princess of Wales does not make one a princess in one’s own right. It merely indicates that one was married to a Prince of Wales.

From the time of her engagement to the Prince of Wales in 1981 until her death in a car accident in 1997, the Princess was arguably the most famous woman in the world, the pre-eminent female celebrity of her generation: a fashion icon, an image of feminine beauty, admired and emulated for her high-profile involvement in AIDS issues, and the international campaign against landmines. During her lifetime, she was often referred to as the most photographed person in the world.

Early years of Princess Diana

See: Childhood photos

Diana Frances Spencer was born as the youngest daughter of Edward Spencer, Viscount Althorp, and his first wife, Frances Spencer, at Park House on the Sandringham estate. On the death of her paternal grandfather, Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer, in 1975, Diana’s father became the 8th Earl Spencer, and she acquired the courtesy title of The Lady Diana Spencer and moved from her childhood home at Park House to her family’s sixteenth-century ancestral home of Althorp. A year later, Lord Spencer married Raine, Countess of Dartmouth, the only daughter of the romance novelist Barbara Cartland, after being named as the “other party” in the Earl and Countess of Dartmouth’s divorce.

Diana was educated at Riddlesworth Hall in Norfolk and at West Heath Girls’ School (later reorganized as the New School at West Heath, a special school for boys and girls) in Sevenoaks, Kent, where she was regarded as an academically below-average student, having failed all of her O-level examinations. In 1977, aged 16, she left West Heath and briefly attended Institut Alpin Videmanette, a finishing school in Rougemont, Switzerland (Diana’s future husband was also dating her sister, Lady Sarah at that time). Diana was a talented amateur singer, excelled in sports and reportedly longed to be a ballerina.

Diana’s family, the Spencers, had been close to the British Royal Family for decades. Her maternal grandmother, Ruth, Lady Fermoy, was a longtime friend of, and a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

The Prince’s love life had always been the subject of press speculation, and he was linked to numerous women. Nearing his mid-thirties, he was under increasing pressure to marry. In order to gain the approval of his family and their advisors, including his great-uncle Lord Mountbatten of Burma, any potential bride had to have an aristocratic background, could not have been previously married, should be Protestant and, preferably, a virgin. Diana fulfilled all of these qualifications.

Reportedly, the Prince’s former girlfriend (and, eventually, his second wife) Camilla Parker Bowles helped him select the 19-year-old Lady Diana Spencer as a potential bride, who was working as an assistant at the Young England kindergarten in Pimlico. It was at this kindergarten school that the famous iconic snap of a 19-year-old Lady Diana Spencer was taken by John Minihan with the morning sun to her back, her legs in silhouette through her skirt.

Buckingham Palace announced the engagement on 24 February 1981. Mrs Parker Bowles had been dismissed by Lord Mountbatten of Burma as a potential spouse for the heir to throne some years before, reportedly due to her age (16 months the Prince’s senior), her sexual experience, and her lack of suitably aristocratic lineage.

Wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana

The wedding took place at St Paul’s Cathedral in London on Wednesday 29 July 1981 before 3,500 invited guests (including Mrs Parker Bowles and her husband, a godson of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) and an estimated 1 billion television viewers around the world.

Diana was the first Englishwoman to marry the heir to the throne since 1659 when Lady Anne Hyde married the Duke of York and Albany, the future King James II (although, unlike Charles, James was heir presumptive and not the heir apparent). Upon her marriage, Diana became Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales and was ranked as the third most senior royal woman in the United Kingdom after the Queen and the Queen Mother.

The Prince and Princess of Wales had two children, Prince William of Wales on 21 June 1982 and Prince Henry of Wales (commonly called Prince Harry) on 15 September 1984.

Princess Diana – Break up of Marriage with Prince Charles

In the mid-1980s her marriage fell apart, an event at first suppressed, but then sensationalised, by the world media. Both the Prince and Princess of Wales allegedly spoke to the press through friends, accusing each other of the blame for the marriage’s demise. Charles resumed his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, whilst Diana became involved with James Hewitt and possibly later with James Gilbey, with whom she was involved in the so-called Squidgygate affair. She later confirmed (in a television interview with Martin Bashir) the affair with her riding instructor, James Hewitt. Another alleged lover was a bodyguard assigned to the Princess’s security detail, although the Princess adamantly denied a sexual relationship with him. After her separation from Prince Charles, Diana was allegedly involved with married art dealer Oliver Hoare and rugby player Will Carling. She did publicly date heart surgeon Hasnat Khan before becoming involved with Dodi Fayed.

The Prince and Princess of Wales were separated on 9 December 1992; their divorce was finalised on 28 August 1996. The Princess lost the style Her Royal Highness and instead was styled as Diana, Princess of Wales. However, since the divorce, Buckingham Palace has maintained that Diana was officially a member of the Royal Family since she was the mother of the second and third in line to the throne.

Princess Diana Charity work

Starting in the mid-to-late 1980s, the Princess of Wales became well known for her support of charity projects , and is credited with considerable influence for her campaigns against the use of landmines and helping the victims of AIDS.

In April 1987, the Princess of Wales was the first high-profile celebrity to be photographed knowingly touching a person infected with the HIV virus. Her contribution to changing the public opinion of AIDS sufferers was summarised in December 2001 by Bill Clinton at the ‘Diana, Princess of Wales Lecture on AIDS’, when he said:

“ In 1987, when so many still believed that AIDS could be contracted through casual contact, Princess Diana sat on the sickbed of a man with AIDS and held his hand. She showed the world that people with AIDS deserve no isolation, but compassion and kindness. It helped change world opinion, and gave hope to people with AIDS with an outcome of saved lives of people at risk. “

Princess Diana also made clandestine visits to show kindness to terminally ill AIDS patients. According to nurses, she would turn up unannounced, for example, at the Mildmay Hospice in London, with specific instructions that these visits were to be concealed from the media.

Princess Diana and Landmines Campaign

Perhaps her most widely publicised charity appearance was her visit to Angola in January 1997, when, serving as an International Red Cross VIP volunteer [1], she visited landmine survivors in hospitals, toured de-mining projects run by the HALO Trust, and attended mine awareness education classes about the dangers of mines immediately surrounding homes and villages.

The pictures of Diana touring a minefield, in a ballistic helmet and flak jacket, were seen worldwide. (In fact, mine-clearance experts had already cleared the pre-planned walk that Diana took wearing the protective equipment.) In August that year, she visited Bosnia with the Landmine Survivors Network. Her interest in landmines was focused on the injuries they create, often to children, long after the conflict has finished.

She is widely acclaimed for her influence on the signing by the governments of the UK and other nations of the Ottawa Treaty in December 1997, after her death, which created an international ban on the use of anti-personnel landmines. Introducing the Second Reading of the Landmines Bill 1998 to the British House of Commons, the Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, paid tribute to Diana’s work on landmines:

“ All Honourable Members will be aware from their postbags of the immense contribution made by Diana, Princess of Wales to bringing home to many of our constituents the human costs of landmines. The best way in which to record our appreciation of her work, and the work of NGOs that have campaigned against landmines, is to pass the Bill, and to pave the way towards a global ban on landmines. “

As of January 2005, Diana’s legacy on landmines remained unfulfilled. The United Nations appealed to the nations which produced and stockpiled the largest numbers of landmines (China, India, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and the United States) to sign the Ottawa Treaty forbidding their production and use, for which Diana had campaigned. Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said that landmines remained “a deadly attraction for children, whose innate curiosity and need for play often lure them directly into harm’s way”.

Death of Princess Diana

On 31 August 1997, Diana was involved in a car accident in the Pont de l’Alma road tunnel in Paris, along with her friend and lover Dodi Al-Fayed, and their driver Henri Paul. Fayed’s bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones is the only person who survived the wreckage. The death of the Princess has been widely blamed on reporters who were reportedly hounding the Princess and were following the vehicle at a high speed. Ever since the word paparazzi has been associated with the death of the Princess.

Citation: Tejvan Pettinger , Oxford, UK. www. Biography Online  Published 01/06/2006. Updated 22 Feb 2018.

Diana: Princess of Wales by Mario Testino

Diana: Princess of Wales by Mario Testino at Amazon.

Princess Diana: Her Life Story, 1961-1997

Princess Diana: Her Life Story, 1961-1997 at Amazon

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Diana, Princess of Wales

Member of the british royal family (1961–1997) / from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, dear wikiwand ai, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:.

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Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer ; 1   July 1961   – 31   August 1997) was a member of the British royal family . She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales ) and mother of Princes William and Harry . Her activism and glamour made her an international icon, and earned her enduring popularity.

Diana was born into British nobility , and grew up close to the royal family on their Sandringham estate . In 1981, while working as a nursery teacher's assistant, she became engaged to Charles, the eldest son of Elizabeth II . Their wedding took place at St Paul's Cathedral in July 1981 and made her Princess of Wales , a role in which she was enthusiastically received by the public. The couple had two sons, William and Harry, who were then respectively second and third in the line of succession to the British throne . Diana's marriage to Charles suffered due to their incompatibility and extramarital affairs. They separated in 1992, soon after the breakdown of their relationship became public knowledge. Their marital difficulties were widely publicised, and the couple divorced in 1996.

As Princess of Wales, Diana undertook royal duties on behalf of the Queen and represented her at functions across the Commonwealth realms . She was celebrated in the media for her unconventional approach to charity work. Her patronages were initially centred on children and the elderly, but she later became known for her involvement in two particular campaigns: one involved the social attitudes towards and the acceptance of AIDS patients , and the other for the removal of landmines , promoted through the International Red Cross . She also raised awareness and advocated for ways to help people affected by cancer and mental illness. Diana was initially noted for her shyness, but her charisma and friendliness endeared her to the public and helped her reputation survive the public collapse of her marriage. Considered photogenic, she is regarded as a fashion icon of the 1980s and 1990s.

In August 1997, Diana died in a car crash in Paris; the incident led to extensive public mourning and global media attention. An inquest returned a verdict of unlawful killing following Operation Paget , an investigation by the Metropolitan Police . Her legacy has had a significant effect on the royal family and British society . [1]

The Final Years of Princess Diana

Before her untimely death in 1997, the People's Princess was determined to forge her own path.

Diana's marriage to Charles dissolved

On December 9, 1992, Prime Minister John Major announced to the House of Commons that Charles and Diana had separated. It wasn't a big surprise: estrangement between the two had been evident, and a recent book by Andrew Morton, entitled Diana: Her True Story , had detailed her unhappiness (Diana denied involvement with the book but had in fact cooperated).

Yet the separation placed Diana in an awkward position, as it was Charles who had the defined role as heir to the throne. Though she remained extremely popular, and she'd always be the mother of a future king, she was no longer considered a true member of the royal family.

She was on a quest for normality

In 1993, Diana successfully headed a Remembrance Day service in Northern Ireland, among other duties. But she also remained an object of tabloid fascination — in November, photos taken of her exercising in a leotard appeared in the Daily Mirror . On December 3, she announced she was temporarily stepping away from public life and its "overwhelming" media attention.

Soon afterward, wanting more privacy and normality in her life, Diana also relinquished her police protection. From 1994 onward, she usually had no official bodyguard. Paparazzi, who loved the fact that Diana was unguarded, began to take more and more photos — a practice that continued right up to the night of her death.

As Charles' camp tried to boost his reputation, Diana was seen as emotionally volatile

Today Diana's reputation shines, but critical stories often appeared about her. In 1994, the press stated she'd been making nuisance phone calls to the home of a married man. And the publication of Princess in Love revealed details about Diana's affair with army officer James Hewitt.

People in her husband's camp were also determined to bolster Charles' reputation, making him the subject of a positive biography and documentary to celebrate his 25th anniversary as Prince of Wales in 1994 (though an on-camera admission of adultery didn't help the prince). For some, Diana and Charles were a zero-sum game: Diana had to be seen as emotionally volatile in order to explain Charles' actions. All this made Diana determined to reveal her side of things once more.

She did a secret TV interview to tell her truth

Many friends cautioned Diana not to get on the wrong side of the royal family, and the princess knew the establishment wouldn't approve of an on-camera interview. But she struck a deal with BBC's Panorama, and on November 5, 1995, interviewer Martin Bashir and crew came to Kensington Palace to talk to Diana (she'd given her staff time off to maintain secrecy). She didn't tell Buckingham Palace what she'd done until less than a week before the interview was scheduled to air.

On November 20, the program was seen by 23 million people in Britain. In it, Diana talked about her marriage, infidelity, bulimia and depression, and stated, "I'd like to be a queen of people's hearts, in people's hearts, but I don't see myself being Queen of this country." She also questioned Charles's ability to rule. The interview did boost the princess's popularity, but it also precipitated a final exit from the royal roost.

READ MORE: Was Princess Diana a Commoner Before Marrying Prince Charles?

Diana and Charles officially divorced just one year before her death

In December 1995, the Queen wrote to Charles and Diana to say it would be better if they divorced. The pair agreed to do so in February 1996, and their marriage officially ended on August 28, 1996.

Diana ended up receiving a lump sum payment of £17 million and shared custody of Princes William and Harry . However, though she would still be known as the Princess of Wales, she no longer had the title "Her Royal Highness." She'd been fully kicked out of the royal family.

READ MORE: How Princes William and Harry Are Carrying out Princess Diana's Legacy

She found love again

While her divorce was happening, Diana had a bright spot in her life: She'd fallen in love again. In 1995, she met Dr. Hasnat Khan, a cardiac surgeon who was tending to the husband of a friend. Through him, Diana experienced some of the normality she'd always craved — she got to order drinks at a pub and stand in a line. According to one friend, the princess noted, "You meet such interesting people queuing!"

Diana may even have hoped to marry Khan. She traveled to Pakistan to meet his family and saw them when they visited England. But her lover was devoted to his medical career, and the spotlight that came with Diana would be a huge burden. The relationship ended in the summer of 1997.

About two months after their split, Diana began dating Dodi Fayed , who was also involved in the car crash that took their lives.

READ MORE: Why Princess Diana Risked Her Life for Humanitarian Causes in Africa

Diana devoted her time to support worthwhile causes

Diana continued to support humanitarian causes following her divorce. In January 1997, she traveled to Angola with a BBC film crew to bring attention to the problem of landmines, which remained across the country following a civil war.

During her trip, Diana spent time with landmine victims and visited a prosthesis clinic. She also walked across a cleared minefield (still a dangerous decision, as mines could have been left behind). And when photographers complained they didn't have the shots they needed, she walked through the field again.

Diana's celebrity brought attention to an important cause. After she died, 122 governments signed the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty in December 1997. The impact of just one trip highlights again what a tragedy her early death was, and how much more she could have done for the world.

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The royal captured the public's attention from her engagement to her funeral

Lady Diana Frances Spencer was born on July 1, 1961, in Norfolk, England. The third of four children born to the 8th Earl Spencer and his then-wife, Frances, Lady Diana developed a love of and talent for music and dancing, according to the royal family’s website.

After a whirlwind courtship, Lady Diana married Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, on July 29, 1981, in one of the most-watched events in royal history. The 20-year-old wore a voluminous silk taffeta dress with a 25-foot train that filled the aisle of St. Paul's Cathedral.

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The couple spent their honeymoon at the Mountbatten family home at Broadlands, in Hampshire, England, and then on a 12-day cruise through the Mediterranean. They finished their trip at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, shown here.

On June 21, 1982, Princess Diana gave birth to Prince William Arthur Philip Louis, her first child. As the new family of three departed St. Mary's Hospital in London the next day, Princess Diana wore a polka-dot dress.

PA Wire/Zuma

William’s wife, Kate Middleton, also appeared in a polka-dot dress after the birth of their first son decades later.

Parsons Media/Zuma

Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

In 1984, Princess Diana gave birth to her second son, Henry Charles Albert David—Prince Harry.

John Shelley Collection/Avalon/Zuma

As a royal, Princess Diana emerged as a glamorous figure with star power. In 1985, she danced with actor John Travolta at a White House dinner event in the royal couple’s honor. Later that year, she performed on stage at London’s Royal Opera House with dancer Wayne Sleep.

Pete Souza/Ronald Reagan Library/AP

Princess Diana took on charities and causes as part of her duties, eventually becoming president or patron for over 100 charities during her marriage to Prince Charles. In 1987, during a time of stigma and misinformation around AIDS, she was photographed shaking the hand of an AIDS patient in London.

John Redman/AP

Princess Diana was a glamorous figure but also charmed the public. She was seen as someone they could relate to, a mother who loved her children. She competed in a race with other parents at Prince Harry’s school in 1991.

Anwar Hussein/WireImage/Getty

Amid speculation about the state of the royals’ marriage, royal reporter Andrew Morton’s "Diana: Her True Story" was published in 1992. The best-selling tell-all book, produced with the princess’s cooperation, discussed Charles’s longtime affair with Camilla Parker Bowles and Diana’s struggles with the affair, bulimia and celebrity.

Ben Curtis/PA Wire/Reuters

Peter Jordan/AP

After news of Prince Charles’s infidelity, which he made public in a television special, Princess Diana made a public appearance at a fundraising dinner hosted by Vanity Fair in what became known as her “revenge dress.”

Ian Jones/Zuma

In 1995, Princess Diana talked about many of her struggles, as well as her own infidelity, during an interview with journalist Martin Bashir on BBC’s “Panorama.” In one memorable moment, she was asked if Ms. Parker Bowles was a factor in the breakdown of her marriage. “Well there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded," she said. The BBC has since apologized for unethical methods and fake documents used to obtain the interview.

BBC/PA Wire/Reuters

Months later, Prince Charles received a letter from his mother, urging divorce, and he agreed. By February 1996, Princess Diana had also agreed. The couple received a final decree of divorce in August 1996.

After her divorce, Diana resigned from many of the charity positions she had held as a working member of the royal family. But she continued to work on certain humanitarian issues. In January 1997, she visited Angola as part of a campaign to ban land mines.

Express Newspapers/AP

John Stillwell/PA Wire/Zuma

She began a relationship with Dodi Fayed, the son of the billionaire and former owner of Harrods, Mohamed al-Fayed. The two, often photographed by paparazzi, sailed around the Mediterranean, stopping in the French Riviera resort of St. Tropez.

Patrick Bar/Nice-Matin/AP

Diana, Princess of Wales, and Mr. Fayed both died on Aug. 31, 1997, in a high-speed accident in Paris. The vehicle crashed in the Pont de l'Alma underpass as the driver, who French authorities said was inebriated, was trying to evade paparazzi. She was 36 years old.

Diana, Princess of Wales, and Mr. Fayed both died on Aug. 31, 1997, in a high-speed accident in Paris. The vehicle crashed in the Pont de l'Alma underpass as the driver, who French authorities said was inebriated, was trying to evade paparazzi. She was 36.

Jerome Delay/AP

Pierre Boussel/AFP/Getty

A funeral for Princess Diana, who former Prime Minister Tony Blair called the “people’s princess,” took place on Sept. 6 in Westminster Abbey. Elton John performed a rewritten version of his song “Candle in the Wind” dedicated to her. The song, later released as a single, topped charts in the U.K. and U.S.

Princess Diana’s tensions with the royal family outlived her. Many considered their initial response to her death inadequate. Tony Blair, the former prime minister, has said he spoke with the family about how to react, and that he thought a televised statement the queen gave ahead of Diana’s funeral was “near perfect.”

Ian Waldie/Reuters

Her sudden death shocked the world. An estimated 2 billion people watched her funeral , making it one of the most-viewed events in television history. Even today, people leave bouquets and other gifts outside the gates of Kensington Palace on the anniversary of her death.

John Stillwell/PA Wire/Reuters

Interest in Diana persists 25 years after her death. In recent years, documentaries, movies and TV shows about her life have been made , including the film “Spencer,” shown here, and the opulent Netflix series on the royal family, “The Crown.”

Frederic Batier/Neon/Everett Collection

Produced by Matthew Riva

Cover photo: Keystone Press Agency/Zuma Credits photo: Johnny Eggitt/AFP/Getty

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Princess Diana’s Death

By: History.com Editors

Updated: November 13, 2023 | Original: August 3, 2017

Princess Diana —who married into British royalty, only to later be divorced from it—devoted herself to charitable causes and became a global icon before dying in a car accident in Paris in 1997. When she married Prince Charles in 1981, Lady Diana Spencer became the first Englishwoman to marry an heir to the throne in more than 300 years. Although their wedding was watched by millions worldwide, and their marriage produced two sons—both potential heirs to the throne—it is for her untimely death that Diana is perhaps best remembered.

Lady Diana Spencer: From Teacher to Princess

Diana was born on July 1, 1961, to Edward John Spencer and his wife Frances. At the time of her birth, in Britain’s peerage system, her father held the title of Viscount Althorp. Her parents were divorced in 1969, when she was eight, and her father won sole custody.

In 1975, when Diana was 14, her father inherited the title of Earl from his own father, who passed away that year. The title has been awarded since 1765, as the Spencers have been wealthy landowners in England for centuries.

Her family rented Park House, an estate owned by Queen Elizabeth II , Prince Charles’ mother. During Diana’s time as a child on the estate, she may have played with Charles’ younger brothers, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. (Charles was 13 years older than Diana.)

Although she lost touch with him as a result of spending much of her youth attending prestigious boarding schools, Diana became re-acquainted with Prince Charles after moving to London to live and work in 1978. In the capital, she initially worked as a nanny before taking a job as a kindergarten teacher at the Young England School.

The courtship of Charles and Diana lasted several years before they were married at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London on July 29, 1981 . With the wedding, Diana was granted the title of Princess of Wales, as Charles’ official royal title was then the Prince of Wales. Charles ascended to the throne on September 8, 2022, after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana had two sons—Prince William in 1982 and Prince Henry (Harry) in 1984. Their marriage, however, was an unhappy one marked by extramarital affairs. In 1992, they announced their separation, and they divorced officially in 1996.

Princess Diana’s Humanitarian Causes

Diana, who had developed an interest in music and fashion as a child, quickly became a global icon of popular culture as she developed relationships with a number of entertainment personalities, including singers George Michael and Elton John .

She was also admired because she used her fame to raise public awareness—and charitable funds—for issues that mattered to her. As a former teacher, she was a lifelong advocate for children and supported efforts to abolish the use of land mines.

She also advocated for AIDS -related causes (she was the guest of honor at the opening of the United Kingdom’s first dedicated HIV/AIDS unit in 1987), and she is credited with helping to change the public’s perception of those who suffer from the disease.

She famously shook the hands of a patient with AIDS, in front of the media, without wearing gloves, dispelling the notion that the disease is transmitted via touch.

After her divorce from Prince Charles was finalized, Diana’s relationship with Egyptian film producer Dodi Al-Fayed , the son of a billionaire and former owner of London’s iconic Harrod’s department store and the city’s soccer team Fulham F.C. Dodi is perhaps best known as the producer of the film Chariots of Fire .

The couple’s relationship quickly became the subject of tabloid fodder, and they were routinely harassed by the paparazzi wherever they went.

Death of Princess Diana

On the evening of August 31, 1997 , Diana and Al-Fayed were dining privately in the Imperial Suite at Paris’ famous Ritz Hotel. They had planned to have a quiet, romantic meal at the hotel’s restaurant—Al-Fayed had reportedly purchased a ring for Diana earlier in the day—but they had to leave after 10 minutes because they were being disturbed by the press and other patrons.

At 11:30 that night, as they left the hotel to return to Al-Fayed’s Paris apartment, they were hounded by paparazzi, despite the fact that significant security precautions had been taken, including the use of a decoy vehicle, which left from the front of the hotel.

Diana and Al-Fayed left the hotel using a rear entrance, with French driver Henri Paul and one of the Princess’ bodyguards, Trevor Rees-Jones.

Driving a Mercedes S-280 limousine, Paul took Rees-Jones, Diana and Al-Fayed on a high-speed trip through the boulevards and narrow streets of central Paris. Investigators later estimated that the car may have been traveling in excess of 60 miles per hour.

At 12:19 a.m., the Mercedes carrying the couple, Paul and Rees-Jones, crashed into the 13th pillar of the Pont d’Alma Bridge, which traverses the River Seine. They were less than two miles from the Ritz Hotel.

Al-Fayed and Paul died at the scene. Diana was taken to Paris’ La Pitie Salpetriere Hospital, but several hours later, at 4 a.m., she died as a result of injuries she sustained in the crash, including a severed pulmonary vein. She was 36 years old.

The bodyguard, Rees-Jones, survived, despite suffering significant injuries. He recovered and returned to England, where he works in a family business and has published a book on his experiences with Diana.

Princess Diana’s Funeral

Princess Diana's death prompted an immediate—and unprecedented—outpouring of grief from all over the world.

Her funeral took place in London, five days after her death. An estimated 1 million people lined the funeral route from her London home in Kensington Palace to Westminster Abbey , where her funeral was held.

Diana is buried on a small island surrounded by a lake at Althorp, her family’s ancestral estate in Northamptonshire, England.

Investigating Princess Diana’s Death

Initially, the incident had been blamed on their French chauffeur, Henri Paul, who may have been exceeding the speed limit to avoid tabloid photographers.

A subsequent inquest on the crash performed by the British police, and released in 2006, ruled Diana’s death a “tragic accident.” The inquest found that Paul had been drunk at the time of the accident, and that his condition may have been worsened by prescription anti-depressants he was taking.

In fact, tests of Paul’s blood following the crash revealed that his alcohol levels were more than three times the legal limit in France for drunk driving. Investigators believe this caused him to lose control of the Mercedes.

The inquest jury ruled that both Paul and the paparazzi chasing Diana and Al-Fayed were responsible for the crash due to “gross negligence.” The deaths of Diana and Al-Fayed were also ruled “unlawful killings”—the court equivalent of manslaughter.

In addition, the jury ruled that the couple might have survived the crash had they been wearing seatbelts.

No one was charged in the deaths of Diana and Al-Fayed, as Paul was himself killed. Several members of the paparazzi were questioned immediately after the accident, but were released.

Diana’s Legacy

In addition to her accomplishments on behalf of those with HIV/AIDS while she was alive, Diana is fondly remembered as a patron of the United Kingdom’s National AIDS Trust, an advocacy organization for people with the disease and their families. Many of the organization’s initiatives are named in her honor.

Diana is also credited, by at least one biographer, with effectively modernizing the royal family in their relations with the British public.

Generally reserved, the royal family, and in particular Queen Elizabeth, have arguably been more engaged with the public since Diana’s passing, visiting with victims of terrorist attacks in London, for example.

Her sons William and Harry have also credited their late mother with shaping their own charitable efforts, which include HIV/AIDS and wildlife conservation work in Africa, among other initiatives.

Diana, Princess of Wales. The Home of the Royal Family. A Family History. Spencer of Althorp. How Princess Diana changed attitudes to Aids. BBC News. Diana death a ‘tragic accident.’ BBC News. Princess Diana’s Life and Legacy. ABC News.

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How Princess Diana's tell-all biography by Andrew Morton came to be

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide please call the  U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline  at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or go to  SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources  for additional resources.

Princess Diana had a story that everyone wanted to hear — and no one could tell it better than she could. In the decade since marrying Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, the royal had skyrocketed to global fame, and had also experienced the difficulties of being part of her new family.

The title of Andrew Morton’s bombshell book “Diana: Her True Story In Her Own Words" is literal.

As Season Five of “The Crown” shows, Diana contributed directly to the creation of the book — though that fact didn’t emerge until after her death in 1997 at the age of 36 .

When the book came out in 1992, it was initially published under the title, "Diana: Her True Story," and became a bestseller.

The book went into detail about the royal's life before becoming Princess of Wales and gave a private perspective on Diana’s public life: Her unhappy marriage , her husband’s relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles and Diana’s struggles with an eating disorder . 

During the initial publication, Morton and Diana alike denied she was part of the book’s sourcing, per Frontline . Morton said he was accused of lying, recalling the experience in a 2017 interview with the Belfast Telegraph .

More about Princess Diana

• How did Princess Diana die? The facts about her death 25 years later
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• I was Princess Diana’s astrologer — and this is what I saw in her chart

“I knew it was all true, because the words came out of Diana’s own mouth. But it was frustrating that I was getting lambasted. I thought journalists might have got the nods and winks in the text about how I got the quotes from Diana. But most of them were asking how dare I write it,” he said. 

In 1997, Morton revealed who, exactly, had been sharing all those details: Diana herself. A revised version, entitled "Diana: Her True Story In Her Own Words," contained an 18,000 word transcript of the tapes Diana recorded and passed along to Morton.

“The story is based on a lengthy, tape-recorded interview with Diana, supplemented by her family and friends,” Morton wrote in the foreword of the memoir’s revised version, published in 1997.

This methodology sets the book apart from the many other books written about Diana . "This his biography is unique in that the story contained in its pages would never have appeared had it not been for the wholehearted cooperation of Diana, the late Princess of Wales,” Morton wrote. 

Read on for more about the creation of the memoir — and the fallout of going public. 

The biography was Diana’s way of sharing her story 

Speaking to NBC News in 2004, Dr. James Colthust — who acted as a go-between for Morton and the princess — shared that the book was Diana’s idea.

According to Colthurst, who met Diana during a skiing trip when she was 19, writing the book was a way to share her side of the story.

“I think it was a gradual realization by her that she needed to have some control over what was said … and that wasn‘t going to be possible in a newspaper. It was better, in fact, to do that through a book. And really that was a decision that she gradually came to over some months,” Colthurst said.

In the introduction to the revised version book, Morton wrote that, amid her crumbling marriage, Diana was in a “genuine predicament.”

Her task? “To give the public an insight to her side of the story while untangling the legal, emotional and constitutional knots that kept her tethered to the monarchy.” 

Diana felt herself a “prisoner trapped inside a bitterly unfulfilled marriage,” and felt “shackled to a whole unrealistic public image of her royal life” and to “an unsympathetic royal system.”

For Diana, a book was the solution. Charles later contributed to his own book. He admitted to infidelity in a 1994 interview with Jonathan Dimbleby , who later wrote a book with his cooperation.  

The princess hand-picked Morton for the job, not the other way around 

In “The Crown,” Diana gets wind of a book by Morton, and decides to contribute. But historical accounts say that Diana picked Morton herself to write the book. 

Colthurst explained to NBC, “He had done some books on her, and she felt they were sympathetic, although they were quite lightweight in the subject matter.”

Diana felt that, since Morton was young — he was about 39 in 1992 — he might be more “sympathetic” to her. 

A 1997 story in the New York Times backs up Colthurst’s account: “Mr. Morton said he was asked to become the conduit for her story after Diana learned he was preparing a biography of her. A friend of hers summoned him to a working-class pub in the northwest London suburb of Ruislip and reported her interest, saying she had been impressed by his fairness in articles and books he had written during his years as the royal correspondent for two national tabloids."

Morton and Diana never met, instead communicating through tapes delivered by James Colthurst

Speaking to NBC, Colthurst explained how the process worked. He would “peddle in” to Kensington Palace with a briefcase, containing Morton’s questions in a briefcase in the bicycle basket.

“Initially, I sat and I read out the questions, but that was too slow for Diana. She snatched the questions away from me and then clipped the microphone on to herself and the tape recorder was on and away she went,” Colthurst said. 

Colthurst then delivered the tapes back to Morton. “I was never face-to-face with Diana, so that we could give her deniability,” Morton said in 2017 to the Belfast Telegraph .

The publisher had to be convinced Diana's allegations were real

In the book "The Diana Chronicles," Tina Brown recounted the lengths Diana went to convince publishers her stories were true — especially regarding her marriage.

Morton's publisher Michael O'Mara wanted proof "besides Diana's word" that Camilla Parker Bowles was linked to Charles.

"Diana stole a cache of Camilla's love letters to Charles from the Princes' briefcase at Balmoral and allowed her publishers to peruse them as evidence. The team was instantly persuaded that the affair was real," Brown wrote.

What, exactly, does the book say?

A lot! Below, find some of the revelations.

She recounted their engagement

Diana gave a play-by-pay of how Charles proposed after about 13 meetings.

"He said: ‘Will you marry me?’ and I laughed. I remember thinking: ‘This is a joke’, and I said: ‘Yeah, OK’, and laughed. He was deadly serious. He said: ‘You do realize that one day you will be Queen.’ And a voice said to me inside: ‘You won’t be Queen but you’ll have a tough role.’ So I thought: ‘OK’, so I said: ‘Yes.’ I said: ‘I love you so much, I love you so much.’ He said: ‘Whatever love means.’ He said it then. So I thought that was great! I thought he meant that! And so he ran upstairs and rang his mother."

Diana said her eating disorder began the week after her engagement

Diana pinpointed the exact moment that "triggered" her bulimia.

“It was all very strange, I just felt miserable. My husband put his hand on my waistline and said: ‘Oh, a bit chubby here, aren’t we?’ and that triggered off something in me,” she explained. “And the Camilla thing, I was desperate, desperate. I remember the first time I made myself sick. I was so thrilled because I thought this was the release of tension.” 

She spoke to her mental health struggles and suicide attempt

Diana said she when she "threw" herself "down the stairs" during her pregnancy with William: “Charles said I was crying wolf and I said I felt so desperate and I was crying my eyes out and he said: ‘I’m not going to listen. You’re always doing this to me. I’m going riding now.’ So I threw myself down the stairs."

Diana said she attempted suicide a second time.

“I was running around with a lemon knife, one with the serrated edges. I was just so desperate,” Diana recalled, not specifying the date when this occurred. “I knew what was wrong with me but nobody else around me understood me. I needed rest and to be looked after inside my house and for people to understand the torment and anguish going on in my head. It was a desperate cry for help. I’m not spoiled — I just needed to be allowed to adapt to my new position.”

She spoke to the queen about her marriage problems

Diana said she and her mother-in-law had a conversation about her marriage to Charles.

"'I’ll never let you down but I cannot say the same for your son.’ She took it quite well,” Diana recalled telling the queen. “She indicated to me that the reason why our marriage had gone downhill was because Prince Charles was having such a difficult time with my bulimia. She told me that.” 

And her confrontation with Camilla

According to the book, Diana confronted Camilla about her relationship with Charles in the '80s.

"I said to Camilla: ‘I’m sorry I’m in the way, I obviously am in the way and it must be hell for both of you, but I do know what is going on. Don’t treat me like an idiot,'" Diana recalled saying.

Diana and Charles separated in 1992

The book was published in June. Months later, in December, the Prince and Princess of Windsor announced their formal separation. 

The book has been revised twice since its first publication

After Diana’s death, Morton revealed that Diana was his primary source in an expanded 1997 edition. In 2017, for the 20th anniversary of her death, Morton published another expanded edition taking into account William and Harry’s lives . “I think my book is basically about appreciating and understanding the life of the woman we lost,” Morton told the Belfast Telegraph.

The 2017 documentary contains footage from the tapes

The expanded version, published in 1997, included an 18,000 word transcript of Diana’s tapes. For another immersive look at “her own words,” the 2017 documentary “Diana: In Her Own Words” contains audio footage that Morton used to write his memoir. 

Elena Nicolaou is a senior entertainment editor at Today.com, where she covers the latest in TV, pop culture, movies and all things streaming. Previously, she covered culture at Refinery29 and Oprah Daily. Her superpower is matching people up with the perfect book, which she does on her podcast, Blind Date With a Book.

Andrew Morton's 1992 Biography of Princess Diana, As Seen in The Crown , Is Worth a Read

The book features in the second episode of the new season of The Crown . Morton published a new edition of the book in 2017, featuring even more insights into Princess Diana's life

Every item on this page was chosen by a Town & Country editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.

After the publication of the book, Morton told the New York Times that what he found most surprising was the lack of support the royal family gave Princess Diana. "Checkout girls in the supermarket get more training for their jobs than Diana did," he said . "And that antipathy has been allowed to go on for 10 years. Eventually you would have thought they would come around to examine the problem. But nothing gets tackled until it becomes a crisis, which is a fundamental weakness in the organization . "

Simon & Schuster Diana: Her True Story--in Her Own Words

At the time, Morton shared with the press that the three main sources he used were Diana's brother, Charles Spencer , her close friend and Prince Harry's godmother, Carolyn Bartholomew , and James Gilbey, who was another close friend (and rumored lover) of Diana's. Yet, when she tragically died five years later, Morton re-issued the book as Diana: Her True Story—in Her Own Words, acknowledging his collaboration with the Princess of Wales to tell her story.

"This biography is unique in that the story contained in its pages would never have appeared had it not been for the wholehearted co-operation of Diana, the late Princess of Wales," Morton writes in the acknowledgements of the most recent edition. "The story is based on lengthy, tape-recorded interviews with Diana, supplemented by the testimony of her family and friends. Like Diana, they spoke with honesty and frankness in spite of the fact it meant laying aside the ingrained habits of discretion and loyalty which proximity to royalty invariably engenders. My thanks for their co-operation are therefore all the more heartfelt and sincere."

Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma , a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram .

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The true story behind Andrew Morton's Princess Diana biography

The new season of The Crown details how Diana helped the journalist to write 1992 book.

Senior Writer

"I've tried everything," says Elizabeth Debicki 's Princess Diana on the new season of The Crown , explaining why she has decided to help journalist Andrew Morton write a book about her. "I've confronted my husband about his mistress and I've been dismissed. I've gone to The Queen, it's like facing a blank wall. And it finally dawned on me that unless I get my side of the story out there, people will never understand how it's really been for me."

Diana's collaboration with Morton would result in Diana: Her True Story . Published in July 1992, the book revealed the Princess' unhappiness with her marriage to the unfaithful Prince Charles, her battle with bulimia, and her feelings of isolation and depression. While Morton denied at the time that Diana had helped him write the book, Diana: Her True Story became a publishing sensation, translated into 29 languages and reportedly selling five million copies around the world. Morton's work effectively signaled the end of the royal marriage, and in December 1992 Prime Minister John Major announced that the couple had separated.

So how did Diana come to help Morton with his explosive book? And what has the writer been doing in the years since?

Morton began his journalism career in the '80s, working for British tabloid newspaper The Daily Star , first as a general reporter and then royal correspondent. The writer, who stands at six feet four inches tall, would claim that he was given the latter job because of his ability to see over crowds. Morton wrote books about both Prince Andrew and his wife, the Duchess of York, and in 1990 published the unauthorized Diana's Diary: An Intimate Portrait of the Princess of Wales . The journalist was keen to write a more substantive biography of Diana and cultivated the friendship of the Princess' friend Dr. James Colthurst, who Morton met while covering Diana's visit to a hospital. When Morton suggested, via Colthurst, that Diana help him write a biography of her the Princess proved open to the idea.

"Diana had a nagging fear that, any moment, her Palace would have her classified as mentally ill and locked away. Where to turn?" Morton recalled earlier this year in a first-hand account published by The Daily Mail . "It had dawned on her that unless the full story of her life was told, the public would never understand the reasons behind anything she decided to do."

As depicted on The Crown , Diana declined to be interviewed by Morton directly but taped lengthy answers to the writer's questions at her Kensington Palace home, with Colthurst acting as a go-between. When Morton began listening to the results, he was amazed at the candor shown by the princess. "Turning on my tape recorder, I listened with mounting astonishment to the unmistakable voice of Princess Diana, pouring out a tale of woe in a rapid stream of consciousness," he recalled this year . "She was talking about her unhappiness, her sense of betrayal, her suicide attempts — and two things I'd never previously heard of: an eating disorder called bulimia nervosa and a woman called Camilla."

When the book was published, Morton only admitted to speaking with friends of Diana, although there was little doubt that his sympathies lay with the princess rather than the royal family.

"Checkout girls in the supermarket get more training for their jobs than Diana did," Morton told The New York Times in Dec. 1992. "And that antipathy has been going on for 10 years. Eventually you would have thought they would come around to examine the problem. But nothing gets tackled until it becomes a crisis, which is a fundamental weakness in the organization."

While Diana: Her True Story inspired many people to view Diana in a more positive light, Morton was also criticized for writing the book.

"It was all, 'How dare you write about this?' and 'How much money are you making?'" he later told The Toronto Sun . "The questions were never about the story, they were about the periphery of the story. They lost sight of the first rule of journalism, which is to tell the story."

The year after publication, Morton's book was turned into a TV movie starring Serena Scott Thomas as Diana and David Threlfall as Charles. "Like all classic romantic couples — Antony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet, Joey Buttafuoco and Amy Fisher — the Prince and Princess of Wales were destined to be mythologized as pop icons of the first order," EW's Ken Tucker wrote in his review , concluding that the result was "a classy-looking movie about a distinctly un-classy aspect of the British upper class."

Morton faced further criticism when, in Oct. 1997, just two months after the princess' death in a Paris car crash, Morton published a new edition of the book titled Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words . This time, the author made clear that Diana had been the principal source for the original book and included edited transcripts of the princess' recorded responses to his questions. The Guardian writer Mark Lawson called Morton a "moral leper" for publishing the new edition of the book, criticizing the journalist for "deciding that promises of confidentiality are not posthumous."

In the years after the publication of the revised edition of his most famous book, Morton wrote biographies of Monica Lewinsky, Madonna, Angelina Jolie, and Tom Cruise. "It's easier to do Hollywood celebrities [than members of the royal family]," Morton told EW in 2011 . "First of all, there's an arc about their lives, in the sense that they have to push through to show their talent — in Angelina's case due to her parents, her famous father, her mother's psychological problems — it's an arc of revelation. With Tom Cruise, it's asking questions of how and why he would be involved with something like Scientology. So with both of them, it's a very different trajectory to, say, Prince William."

In more recent times, Morton has repeatedly returned to the British royal family as his subject matter with books like 2011's William & Catherine: Their Story and last year's Elizabeth & Margaret: The Intimate World of the Windsor Sisters .

Morton has yet to weigh in on season 5 of The Crown , which finds him portrayed by Andrew Steele ( Outlander ). We do know he is a fan of the show and in particular of Emma Corrin 's portrayal of Diana in season 4, which he described to Vanity Fair as the most realistic he had seen to date.

"I found the buildup to the wedding very affecting, as there was a slowly unfolding realization on both sides that they were heading toward an unwanted and unhappy outcome, namely the royal wedding," Morton continued. "It reminded me of what a close friend of Diana's said about the whole wretched mess when I was researching Diana: Her True Story : 'I am sorry for the tragedy of it all. My heart bleeds for the whole misunderstanding but it bleeds most for Diana.'"

Season 5 of The Crown is streaming now on Netflix.

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Related content:

• The Crown star Jonathan Pryce says new season isn't disrespectful to royal family
• The Crown star Imelda Staunton says she was 'devastated' by Queen's death
• The Crown 's Elizabeth Debicki says wearing Diana's Revenge Dress made her feel powerful
• Battle Royal: The Crown 's Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki on portraying Charles and Diana's bitter divorce
• The Crown 's Elizabeth Debicki says Diana's final days are being handled with sensitivity

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Diana: Her True Story--in Her Own Words Paperback – June 27, 2017

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• ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1501169734
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster; Anniversary edition (June 27, 2017)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781501169731
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1501169731
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 0.035 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.1 x 9 inches
• #6 in Historical British Biographies
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• #134 in Women's Biographies

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About the author

Andrew morton.

ANDREW MORTON is one of the world's best-known biographers and a leading authority on modern celebrity. His groundbreaking 1992 biography revealed the secret world of Princess Diana, prompting Tina Brown to declare in The Diana Chronicles, "The journalist Morton most reminds me of is Bob Woodward." Diana: Her True Story became a #1 New York Times bestseller, as did Monica's Story, Morton's portrait of the young woman behind the blue dress in the Clinton White House.

The winner of numerous awards, including Author of the Year by the British Book Awards and Scoop of the Year by the London Press Club, he lives in London and has traveled extensively in the U.S., Canada, and Europe in his research for this biography.

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Diana : Her True Story - In Her Own Words

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Princess Diana Was the Tallest Female in the British Royal Family

• Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below

As one of the most beloved royals, Princess Diana is known for many things. But did you know that her height set her apart from the rest of the royal family?

Jayne Fincher/Getty Images

Princess Diana was the tallest female during her time in the royal family. Standing at five feet, ten inches tall, the late royal was taller than every other woman in the family —and since then.

This includes Kate Middleton (five feet, nine inches), Queen Camilla (five feet, eight inches), Princess Anne (five feet, six inches), Meghan Markle (five feet, six inches), Princess Eugenie (five feet, five inches), Princess Beatrice (five feet, four inches) and Queen Elizabeth (five feet, four inches).

Anwar Hussein/WireImage

Princess Diana passed down her tall genetics to her oldest son, Prince William, who will make history with his height when he ascends the throne from his dad, King Charles. Measuring in at six feet, three inches, the Prince of Wales will become the second-tallest monarch in the British royal family’s history,

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there’s Queen Victoria, who was the shortest British monarch in history . Standing at just five feet, zero inches, the royal was by far the most petite sovereign to date. Despite her small stature, her height didn’t make her any less powerful. In fact, she was the second-longest reigning British monarch (63 years) behind Queen Elizabeth (70 years). Victoria ruled from 1837 to 1901.

British history at its finest.

Stay up-to-date on every breaking royal family story by subscribing here .

Listen to Royally Obsessed, the podcast for people who love the royal family

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Princess Diana Was the Tallest Female in the British Royal Family

She was five feet, ten inches.

As one of the most beloved royals, Princess Diana is known for many things. But did you know that her height set her apart from the rest of the royal family? 

Princess Diana was the tallest female during her time in the royal family. Standing at five feet, ten inches tall, the late royal was taller than every other woman in the family —and since then. 

This includes Kate Middleton (five feet, nine inches), Queen Camilla (five feet, eight inches), Princess Anne (five feet, six inches), Meghan Markle (five feet, six inches), Princess Eugenie (five feet, five inches), Princess Beatrice (five feet, four inches) and Queen Elizabeth (five feet, four inches).

Princess Diana passed down her tall genetics to her oldest son, Prince William, who will make history with his height when he ascends the throne from his dad, King Charles. Measuring in at six feet, three inches, the Prince of Wales will become the second-tallest monarch in the British royal family’s history,

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there’s Queen Victoria, who was the shortest British monarch in history . Standing at just five feet, zero inches, the royal was by far the most petite sovereign to date. Despite her small stature, her height didn’t make her any less powerful. In fact, she was the second-longest reigning British monarch (63 years) behind Queen Elizabeth (70 years). Victoria ruled from 1837 to 1901.

British history at its finest. 

Stay up-to-date on every breaking royal family story by subscribing here .

Listen to Royally Obsessed, the podcast for people who love the royal family

Senior Editor

A rare document shows Princess Diana hustling for her first job, seemingly lying about her age and cooking skills

• Princess Diana's first work contract is being auctioned.
• Diana appeared to lie about her age to secure a job with an elite nannying agency.
• The contract, which is being auctioned, is expected to fetch between $6,200 and $9,940.

Princess Diana 's first work contract is up for auction, and it suggests she lied to get a nannying job before becoming a royal.

The princess, then known as Lady Diana Spencer, worked as a nanny for a private agency and as a kindergarten teacher before marrying Prince Charles in 1981 .

Photos shared by Auctioneum , a UK-based auction house, showed Diana lied about her age in a contract for Solve Your Problem Ltd, a nannying agency for London's rich and famous.

Diana filled out the contract in black ink in May 1979, two months before her 18th birthday. She incorrectly listed her birth date as July 1, 1960, when she was actually born a year later on July 1, 1961.

"Our client had always been told that this was done deliberately, in order that Diana would appear older and therefore more likely to secure a job with the agency, or at least a higher rate of pay!" auctioneer Andrew Stowe said in a press release sent to Business Insider.

"It could of course, just be a simple oversight!" he added.

Though the agency eventually discovered Diana's true age, it didn't stop her from getting a job. Someone thought to be a representative for the agency wrote "nearly 18" in blue ink next to where Diana had noted the wrong date of birth.

Related stories

The same handwriting added: "Lovely girl — send anywhere."

Under the qualifications and experience section, the same handwriting reads: "cook — basic," alongside "housework," "animals" and "ballet dancer."

The references to Diana's cooking abilities were vague and seemed to be added by the employer in the same blue ink.

Darren McGrady , who worked as Diana's private chef at Kensington Palace from 1993 until 1997, previously told Us Weekly that she was an "awful cook."

"She didn't like to cook at all in the kitchen," he said.

In 1980, Diana was employed as a part-time nanny for Mary Robertson, an American businesswoman living in London. Speaking to Inside Edition in 2017, Roberston said she paid Diana $5 an hour to look after her son, Patrick.

Diana's time with Robertson overlapped with her relationship with Charles, whom she became engaged to in February 1981.

"She said, 'When you leave for work this morning, there are reporters and photographers at the end of the street,'" Robertson said.

"I asked, 'Who are they there for?' She said, 'They are there for me,'" she added.

Diana's contract will be featured in the Autographs and Memorabilia Online Auction on April 30. It's thought to be worth between £5,000 and £8,000 (between $6,200 and $9,940), the press release said.

Items owned by the royal family have sold for thousand s — and sometimes millions — of dollars at auctions over the years. Most recently, a dress worn by Diana on royal engagements was auctioned at $1.1 million in December 2023, selling for 11 times more than its original estimate.

Watch: How much does the British royal family cost?

• Main content

Princess Diana Was the Tallest Female in the British Royal Family

A s one of the most beloved royals, Princess Diana is known for many things. But did you know that her height set her apart from the rest of the royal family? 

Jayne Fincher/Getty Images

Princess Diana was the tallest female during her time in the royal family. Standing at five feet, ten inches tall, the late royal was taller than every other woman in the family —and since then. 

This includes Kate Middleton (five feet, nine inches), Queen Camilla (five feet, eight inches), Princess Anne (five feet, six inches), Meghan Markle (five feet, six inches), Princess Eugenie (five feet, five inches), Princess Beatrice (five feet, four inches) and Queen Elizabeth (five feet, four inches).

Anwar Hussein/WireImage

Princess Diana passed down her tall genetics to her oldest son, Prince William, who will make history with his height when he ascends the throne from his dad, King Charles. Measuring in at six feet, three inches, the Prince of Wales will become the second-tallest monarch in the British royal family’s history,

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there’s Queen Victoria, who was the shortest British monarch in history . Standing at just five feet, zero inches, the royal was by far the most petite sovereign to date. Despite her small stature, her height didn’t make her any less powerful. In fact, she was the second-longest reigning British monarch (63 years) behind Queen Elizabeth (70 years). Victoria ruled from 1837 to 1901.

British history at its finest. 

Stay up-to-date on every breaking royal family story by subscribing here .

Listen to Royally Obsessed, the podcast for people who love the royal family