Princess Diana Essay, Research Paper

Diana

Frances Spencer was born July 1, 1961 at Park House, the home her parents rented

on the the English royal family’s estate at Sandringham. As a child she

occasionally played with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, who were near her in

age. Diana had two older sisters, Sarah and Jane, and a younger brother,

Charles. When Diana was six, her mother left her father. The Spencers divorced

in 1969, and Diana’s father received custody of the children. In 1975 Diana’s

father became the eighth Earl Spencer, making Diana a Lady. Diana and her

siblings moved to Althorp, the Spencer family estate in Northampton. Diana

attended private boarding schools. Although she wasn’t an especially good

student, she was excelled at sports, and won trophies for her swimming. She

dreamed of being a ballerina, but grew too tall (as an adult she was

5′10"). After leaving school in 1978 she worked as a nanny, waitress, and

cleaning woman before becoming a teacher at the Young England kindergarten in

Pimlico, London. Her romance with the Prince of Wales began in 1980. He was

twelve years older than Diana, and had previously dated her sister Sarah. Almost

from the start, the press took a special interest in "Lady Di." They

staked out her apartment and followed her everwhere. Diana later said that she

found the constant attention unbearable. Diana and Charles were married July 29,

1981 at St Paul’s Cathedral. The wedding was broadcast in 74 countries and

watched by 750 million people worldwide. Diana was the first English woman to

marry an heir to England’s throne in over 300 years. At the ceremony the

Archbishop of Canterbury said,"Here is the stuff of which fairy tales are

made." But the fairy tale was an illusion, as Diana had already discovered.

Prince Charles was still in love with an old girlfriend, Camilla Parker-Bowles.

"There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded,"

Princess Diana remarked years later. Distraught, Diana developed bulimia and

attempted suicide. Despite her problems, she was a devoted mother to her two

sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. She worked tirelessly for charity, and

was beloved by the public for her warmth and humanity. In 1992 Princess Diana

decided to expose the truth about her relationship with Prince Charles to the

public. She secretly collaborated with author Andrew Morton on his book Diana,

Her True Story. The princess’s direct involvement in the writing of the book was

not revealed to the public until after her death. The separation of the Prince

and Princess of Wales was announced on December 9, 1992. The divorce became

official August 28, 1996. Princess Diana kept the title Princess of Wales and

continued to work for her favorite charities. She and Prince Charles had joint

custody of their sons. In 1997 Princess Diana fell in love with Emad "Dodi"

Fayed, the son of billionaire businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed. Their romance ended

abruptly on August 31, 1997 when both were killed in a car accident in Paris

while fleeing from paparazzi. Princess Diana’s sudden death led to an

unprecedented worldwide outpouring of grief and love. As her brother said at her

funeral, she was "the unique, the complex, the extraordinary and

irreplacable Diana, whose beauty, both internal and external, will never be

extinguished from our minds."