DIANA SPENCER 1961 – 1997

            Diana, Princess of Wales was admired throughout the world for her vitality, de­termination and beauty. Tragically she was killed when she was in the prime of her life. When she first came on the royal scene in 1981 she brought a new dimen­sions to the Royal Family, and was soon regarded as one of the most glamorous women in the wired. Her charm was ap­parent to all her style was distinctive, her influence immense. She truly was the Peo­ple’s Princess.

The Princess of Wales was not royal by birth, although her family descends from Henry VII*.

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*Henry VII (1457-1509) —King 1485-1509, first of home of Tudor.

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              She was born the Honourable Diana Frances Spencer on July 1961 Park House on the Sandringham Estate in Nor­folk. Diana had two older sisters, Sarah and Jane, and a younger brother, Charles.

                  Life at Park House was orderly traditional and aristocratic. The Spencer children lived in the nursery wing on the firstfloor, set away from the main building, and saw their parents only for an hour in the morning and at tea time. Childhood playmates included the young princes, Andrew and Ed­ward*, who came to swim in the heated pool at Park House.

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* Andrew (full name Andrew Albert Christian Edward) (1960-) Prince of UK, Duke of York, second son of Queen Eliza­beth II;

Edward (full name Edward Antony Richard Louis) (1964-) — Prince of UK, third son of Queen Elizabeth II.

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           When Diana was six years old her parents separated and later divorced, the children remaining with their father.

           Their life changed dramatically in 1975 when Diana’s father as 8^th Earl Spencer, Diana becoming Lady Diana, and they moved to the stately home at Althorp in Northamptonshire. Diana went to a finish­ing school in Switzerland, where she studied domestic science, typing and corre­spondence, and found plenty of time to enjoy skiing.

                 When Diana returned to Britain from Swit­zerland she lived in London, sharing an apart­ment with old school friends. She moved in the society that was described by some as “Sloane Rangers”, so called because much of their leisure time was spent in the fashiona­ble shops and restaurants around Sloane Square. Diana became a nanny to a number of children, and took a three-month cookery course, before joining the Young England Kindergarten as a helper. She enjoyed the social whirl, attending parties in the eve­nings and going so the country every week­end. Diana would stay with friends, or occa­sionally go Althrop when she would visit her sister Sane, and her husband Sir Robert fellows, at their house on the estate.

                  Most of Diana’s circle of friends came from similar backgrounds, and when her relation­ship with the Prince of Wales began auto­matically provided her with a shield of protection. Once the media suspected Lady Di­ana and Prince Charles new romance, press reported and cameramen pursued her relent­lessly. They besieged her London flat and followed her everywhere. It was a very test­ing time for young Diana.

                  Diana learned to keep her head down, liter­ally, becoming Known as “Shy Di”. So be­gan the highly intensive media attention which was to continue throughout her life. But once the engagement was official, Di­ana moved into an apartment in Clarence House, home of the Queen Mother*, where she would be under the protection of the Royal Press office.

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* Queen Mother, Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (1900-) — wife of King George VI of England. She was born Lady Eliza­beth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon. Mother of Queen Eliz­abeth II.

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                 The wedding of the Prince Wales and Lady Diana Spencer took Place at St Paul’s Ca­thedral on 29 July 1981, barely a month after the bride’s 20th birthday. It was a day of joy for everyone: the bride and groom, their families and the millions of people watching on television all over the world. The occasion was a combination of pageantry, high emotion, formal ceremo­ny and vociferous enthusiasm.

                Diana was everyone’s idea of a fairy-tale bride. She left Clarence House in the Glass Coach accompanied by her father, to the thunderous cheers of the crowds lining the Mall. At St Paul’s the groom was waiting dressed in the uniform of a Royal Navy com­mander with a splendid blue cash of the Order of the Garter*.

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* Order of the Garter— senior British order of knighthood, founded by Edward III in about 1347. Its distinctive badge is a garter of dark-blue velvet, with the motto of the order — Homi soil qui mal уpensa(shame be to him who thinks evil of it) — in gold letters.

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             Seated behind him were the 2,650 guests who had been invited to the wedding, including nearly all the crowned heads of Europe.

             After the ceremony the couple returned to Buckingham Palace, while vast crowds pressed against the railings to catch glimpse of the new Princess of Wales.

              From the moment they were married, the Prince and Princess of Wales became the focus of public attention to an extent never before experienced in Britain, even by the Royal Family. They most closely watched couple in the world, and while Prince Charles was used to being into spotlight, for Diana it was a new experience. She coped impres­sively, and soon became the most photo­graphed woman in the world.

             Here early days as Princess of Wales were not always easy. Diana displayed an ex­traordinary sense of duty, yet she insisted that her prime role in life was to be a good mother to her children. When she and Prince Charles visited Australia in 1983 she refused to leave Prince William behind, saying she was not going to be separated from her baby for such a long period and miss what she regarded as one of the most important parts of her life. It showed that the Princess had a mind of her own and was not prepared to be merely a pretty ac­cessory. Diana’s natural role in life was motherhood. She had always had a special affirmity with children of all ages and she never doubted for a moment that she was intended to be a mother. Speaking about her children she once said, “They mean everything to me” and later added, “I al­ways feed my children love and affection. It’s so important.” She was an affection­ate mother. She said she had found her true destiny. Her first son was born on 21 June 1982. Harry was born on 15 September 1984. She will be remembered in many dif­ferent ways, but undoubtedly its most im­portant legacy of her extraordinary life is her two sons, William and Harry.

              As she freely admitted, Diana was not an in­tellectual. But despite her lack of academic achievement she possessed a quick wit and an understanding that enabled her to survive those early years and adapt to her new role. Diana won many hearts with her spontaneity and genuine warmth. people from all walks of life and of all ages identified with her, for her sense of style as well as for compassion she showed to the sick and its suffering.

                 It was her common touch, combined with her grace and aristocracy, that made her so pop­ular with the press. They adored her, and followed her wherever she went, knowing that she would always provide them with a winning picture or story. She never let them down. Some of them who she grew to trust, and took into her confidence, became per­sonal friends who would mourn her in death as much as they had revered her in life.

               With the collapse of her marriage in 1992 — reparation, followed in 1996 by di­vorce — Diana got out to find a new life for herself as a single parent. She wanted to create an independent role outside the Roy­al Family but, as the mother of a future King, she was never completely able to shed her responsibilities, or her image through­out the world as “Princess Di”. Diana worked hard at keeping physically fit by visiting a gymnasium most days, and she sought the company of people whom she believed would not try to exploit her.

             She made many visits to the USA where her popularity never waked, and where she con­tinued to be treated as royalty. Americans saw her as both an innocent victim and a winner in the divorce battle, and acclaimed her as a great survivor and a successful single mother.

                Once the publicity of the marriage break­up had died down Diana began working to­wards her goal, which was to be taken seri­ously in her own right. She had discussion with political leaders, such as President Nelson Mandela* of South Africa, and fi­nally she achieved her aim, taking a role on the international stage as an unofficial but highly influential ambassador.

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* Mandela, Nelson (Rolihlahle) (1918 -) — South African pol­itician and lawyer, president 1994-1999.

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              At one time Diana was involved with over a hundred Charities, which she liked to call her “Family of Organizations”. As the height of her working life, her patronages includ­ed such disparate bodies as Barnardos, Birthright, the British Deaf Association (for whom she learnt sigh language), the Lepro­sy Mission, the Malcolm Sargent Cancer Fund for Children, the Princess of Wales Children’s health Camp in Rotoruc (New Zealand) and many more.

              When she accepted an invitation to become patron a charity, she became a tireless worked and a fearless fighter on its behalf. Diana chose to become actively involved with Centrepoint, a charity which concentrates on providing accommodation for homeless young people who are considered to be a risk. She said “Nothing gives me great pleasure than to try to help the most vulnerable people in society”.

               In 1993, Diana announced her retirement from public life and relinquished her posi­tion with nearly all her Charities. She re­tained a handful which she continued to support and work for until the day she died.

            One of the most courageous and important of Diana’s public appearances was undoubted when she decided to open the first specialist AIDS ward in Britain. AIDS was. at that time, the unmentionable disease and few people were prepared to be associated with its care and treatment. The Princess sent shock waves throughout the world when she shook hands with patients suffering from AIDS — and did so without wearing gloves by that single action she demonstrated that people had no need to fear that the disease might be trans­mitted simply by touch. From that moment her commitment to the cause was total; she helped raise millions of pounds and, more importantly, she increased the public’s aware­ness and understanding at a time when feat and prejudice were common place. When Di­ana visited a leprosy hospital in Jakarta, In­donesia, and another in Nigeria, and compost­ed those suffering from this most disfigur­ing of diseases she never once flinched or drew away from close contact. She said “I’m trying to show in a simple action that they are not reviled, nor we repulsed”.

                Diana’s concern for the dispossessed and the underprivileged knew no national bounda­ries. Together with her friends she visited Pakistan to support their efforts in famine relief; and after meeting Mother Teresa* in New York, she travelled to India to see for herself the living conditions of some of the poorest people in the world.

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* Teresa, Mother, born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhin (1910-1997) — Roman Catholic nun.

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                But it was when she visited Angola and Bos­nia that people realized how sound her in­stinct was. She had began her campaign for the banning of land mines without any of­ficial backing but soon governments around the world were responding to her call. When she was accused of interfering in political issues, Diana replied, “I’m a humanitarian, I lead from the heart”.

            Diana died in a car crash on 31 August 1997 in Paris. Few events in Britain’s history have produced the sense of national dismay and bewilderment that followed. People travelled from all parts of the country to pay tribute to the Princess. Thousands of bouquets of flowers were placed at the gates of Bucking­ham Palace and Kensington Palace, and peo­ple queued for up to twelve hours to sigh the books of condolence at St James’s Palace.

             The Queen appeared on television and spoke movingly of her former daughter-in-law. “She was an exceptional and gifted human being. In good times and bad, she never lost her capacity to smile and laugh, nor to in­spire other with her warmth and kindness.” Diana’s body was laid to rest at Althorp, on a peaceful and secluded island in the mid­dle of a lake. Diana will be remembered as an inspirational woman who once said she wanted to be known as a “Queen of Hearts”. Perhaps in death that is exactly what she has become.