Tag Archives: HRH Princess of Wales

20 Years Ago Today….

31 Thursday Aug 2017

Posted by in Featured Royal, This Day in Royal History

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Here is a little bio on Diana, Princess of Wales whom we lost 20 years ago today.

Diana, Princess of Wales (Diana Frances; née Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family as the first wife of HRH The Prince of Wales, who is the eldest child and heir apparent of HM Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Diana was born into the Spencer family, a family of British nobility with royal ancestry (through illegitimate lines from Charles II and James II-VII of England, Scotland and Ireland. Diana was the fourth child and third daughter of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, and Frances Roche. She grew up in Park House, situated on the Sandringham estate, (first purchased for the Royal Family by Edward VII). She was educated in England and Switzerland. In 1975—after her father inherited the title of Earl Spencer—she became known as Lady Diana Spencer. She came to prominence in February 1981 when her engagement to The Prince of Wales was announced to the world.

Their wedding to the Prince of Wales took place at St Paul’s Cathedral on 29 July 1981 and reached a global television audience of over 750 million people. During her marriage, Diana’s official title was HRH Princess of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay, and Countess of Chester. The marriage produced two sons, the princes William (HRH The Duke of Cambridge) and HRH Prince Henry of Wales who were then respectively second and third in the line of succession to the British throne. As Princess of Wales, Diana undertook royal duties on behalf of the Queen and represented her at functions overseas. She was celebrated for her charity work and for her support of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. She was involved with dozens of charities including London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital for children, of which she was president from 1989.

Diana remained the object of worldwide media scrutiny during and after her marriage, which ended in divorce on 28 August 1996. Media attention and public mourning were extensive after her death in a car crash in a Paris tunnel on 31 August 1997 and subsequent televised funeral.