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To see some of the best pictures of Princess Diana click here
Diana, Princess of Wales, formerly Lady Diana Frances Spencer, was born on 1 July 1961 at Park House near Sandringham, Norfolk. She was the youngest daughter of the then Viscount and Viscountess Althorp, now the late (8th) Earl Spencer and the Hon. Mrs. Shand-Kydd, daughter of the 4th Baron Fermoy. Earl Spencer was Equerry to George VI from 1950 to 1952, and to The Queen from 1952 to 1954. Lady Diana's parents, who had married in 1954, separated in 1967 and the marriage was dissolved in 1969. Earl Spencer later married Raine, Countess of Dartmouth in 1976.
Together with her two elder sisters Sarah (born 1955), Jane (born 1957) and her younger brother Charles (born 1964), Lady Diana continued to live with her father at Park House, Sandringham, until the death of her grandfather, the 7th Earl Spencer. In 1975, the family moved to the Spencer family seat at Althorp (a stately house dating from 1508) in Northamptonshire, in the English Midlands.
Lady Diana was educated first at a preparatory school, Riddlesworth Hall at Diss, Norfolk, and then in 1974 went as a boarder to West Heath, near Sevenoaks, Kent. At school she showed a particular talent for music (as an accomplished pianist), dancing and domestic science, and gained the school's award for the girl giving maximum help to the school and her schoolfellows. She left West Heath in 1977 and went to finishing school at the Institut Alpin Videmanette in Rougemont, Switzerland, which she left after the Easter term of 1978. The following year she moved to a flat in Coleherne Court, London. For a while she looked after the child of an American couple, and she worked as a kindergarten teacher at the Young England School in Pimlico.Marriage and Family
On 24 February 1981 it was officially announce the Lady Diana was to marry The Prince of Wales. As neighbors at Sandringam until 1975, their families had known each other for many years, and Lady Diana and The Prince had met again when he was invited to a weekend at Althorp in November 1977.
They were married at St Paul's Cathedral in London on 29 July 1981, in a ceremony which drew a global television and radio audience estimated at around 1,000 million people, and hundreds of thousands of people lining the route from Buckingham Palace to the Cathedral. The wedding reception was at Buckingham Palace.The marriage was solemnized by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Runcie, together with the Dean of St Paul's; clergy from other denominations read prayers. Music included the hymns 'Christ is made the sure foundation,' 'I vow to thee my country,' the anthem 'I was glad' (by Sir Hubert Perry), a specially composed anthem 'Let the people praise thee' by Professor Mathias, and Handel's 'Let the bright sepharim' performed by Dame Kiri to Kanawa. The lesson was read by the Speaker of the House of Commons, Mr. George Thomas (the late Lord of Tonypandy).
The Princess was the first Englishwoman to marry an heir to the throne for 300 years (when Lady Anne Hyde married the future James II from whom the Princess was descended). The bride wore a silk taffeta dress with a 25 foot train designed by the Emmanuels, her veil was held in place by the Spencer family diamond tiara, and she carried a bouquet of gardenias, lilies-of-the-valley, white freesia, golden roses, white orchids and stephanotis. She was attended by bridesmaids including Princess Margaret's daughter Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones (now Lady Sarah Chatto); Prince Andrew (now The Duke of York) and Prince Edward were The Prince of Wales's supporters (a Royal custom instead of a best man).
The Prince and Princess of Wales spent part of their honeymoon at the Mountbatten family home at Broadlands, Hampshire, before flying to Gibraltar to join the Royal Yacht MHY Britannia for a 12-day cruise through the Mediterranean to Egypt. They finished their honeymoon with a stay at Balmoral.
The Prince and Princess made their principal home at Highgrove House near Tetbury, Gloustershire, and shared an apartment in Kensington Palace.
The Princess has seventeen godchildren.
The Princess of Wales had two sons. Prince William Arthur Phillip Louis was born on 21 Jun 1982 and Prince Henry (Harry) Charles Albert David on 15 September 1984, both at St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington, in London.In December 1992 it was announced that The Prince and Princess of Wales had agreed to separate. The Princess based her household and her office at Kensington Palace, while The Prince was based at St. James's Place and continued to live at Highgrove.
In November 1995, the Princess gave a television interview during which she spoke of her unhappiness in her personal life and the pressures of her public role. The Prince and Princess were divorced on 28 August 1996.
The Prince and Princess continued to share equal responsibility for the upbringing of their children. The Princess, as the mother of Prince William (second in line to the throne), continued to be regarded as a member of the Royal family. The Queen, The Prince and The Princess of Wales agreed that the Princess was to be known after the divorce as Diana, Princess of Wales, without the style of 'Her Royal Highness' (as the Princess was given the style 'HRH' on marriage she would therefore be expected to give it up on divorce).
The Princess continued to live at Kensington Palace, with her office based there.