Recent Posts
Entertainment July 11, 2017
She's so much more than just that famous princess.
Princess Diana has been in the news a lot lately. This is because the 20th anniversary of her death is approaching next month.
Television networks such as ABC and HBO are creating documentaries and memorial films in honor of the event. In addition to this, a book about Prince Charles and his relationship with Diana titled “Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life” was recently published.
Due to all of this, ENTITY has decided to give you some facts about the “People’s Princess” and her incredible life.
Princess Diana died on August 31, 1997 at age 36. While traveling in Paris with her partner at the time, Dodi Fayed, she was trying to avoid paparazzi. Dodi’s father was driving and “He then lost control of the car, which was reportedly traveling at 65 mph (the speed limit inside the tunnel is 30 mph), and smashed into the 13th pillar of the tunnel,” according to POPSUGAR.
She left behind her two sons Prince William and Prince Harry. Her death was mourned by millions.
The funeral procession that took place following Princess Diana’s untimely death. via nydailynews.com
Diana’s death was extremely unexpected, and thus became quite controversial in England. Her funeral was supposed to be a private event for close friends and family, but Prince Charles went against these orders.
“Though the palace denied it, reports circled that Charles went behind the back of the monarchy and arranged a viewing at St. James’s Palace and a funeral at Westminster Abbey with then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair,” the Huffington Post reported. An estimated 2.5 billion people tuned in to her funeral on television.
On July 29, 1981 Prince Charles and Princess Diana got married. The wedding was marked as a national holiday in England and was viewed by 750 million people. She also made history with her dress as “Not only was her dress adorned with more than 10,000 tiny mother of pearl sequins and pearls, but it included a 25-foot-long train,” POPSUGAR explains.
Additionally, Diana broke tradition with her wedding vows. Traditional vows had a clause that brides would “obey their husbands.” However, Diana opted out of this clause being in her vows, and paved the way for Kate Middleton to do the same when she married Prince Charles.
Diana is nicknamed the “People’s Princess” and with good reason. She was extremely passionate about working with different charities and towards the end of her life donated much of her high-fashion clothing to raise money for charity.
She worked with a number of different humanitarian efforts such as AIDS/HIV efforts, making land mines safer, palliative care efforts and working with those who had family in prison. Her charity work is believed to have inspired her sons, who continue to work with different humanitarian efforts.
Diana was very open about her struggles as a student. She was homeschooled until the age of nine, and struggled when she went to school after that. “She failed all her O levels, twice, leaving school at 16,” reports The Guardian.
However, she went on to be a kindergarten teacher and had strong skills in ballet and swimming. Ultimately she became a Princess, so think of Diana when you’re crying over that bad test grade.
Princess Diana got the man of her dreams in a quite unconventional way. The prince was actually dating Diana’s sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, when the two first met. “Prince Charles had known Diana for several years, but he first took a serious interest in her as a potential bride during the summer of 1980 when they were guests at a country weekend, while she watched him play polo,” (after Sarah and Charles had broken up, of course) states British Royals.
When Diana died she left behind her two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. They have kept their mother’s legacy alive through continuing her humanitarian efforts (they work with the Diana Award Youth Charity, which is in her honor), and have kept an extremely close bond, like their mother wanted.
Additionally, Prince William has married Kate Middleton, a woman who is paving her own way as a princess, just like Diana did.
Ultimately, Princess Diana made a large impact upon both the UK and the world during her short time as a princess. She fostered an open environment, made sure that the people were heard and helped to create a great legacy for the British government.
