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| Princess Diana on a royal visit for the official opening of the community centre on Whitehall Road, Bristol in May 1987. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Born: July 1, 1961
Sandringham, England
Died: August 31, 1997
Paris, France
Lady Diana Frances Spencer married Prince Charles (1948–) in 1981 and became Princess of Wales. Retaining her title and her popularity after the royal couple divorced in 1996, Diana continued her charitable work. She died in a tragic car accident in 1997.
Quiet and reserved
Diana Frances Spencer was born on July 1, 1961, in Norfolk, England, the third of the Lord and Lady Althorp's four children. She grew up next door to the royal family's Sandringham estate. One of Diana's playmates was Prince Andrew, Charles's brother. Diana's mother, the Honorable Frances Shand-Kydd, was the daughter of a wealthy Anglo-Irish baron. Diana's father, the Viscount Althorp, who became an earl in 1975, was a direct descendant of King Charles II (1630–1685).Diana, a quiet and reserved child, had a happy home life until she was eight years old, when her parents went through a bitter divorce. Her father won custody of the children. Diana's academic career was unremarkable. She was tutored at home until age nine, when she was sent to Riddlesworth Hall in Norfolk. At the age of twelve, Diana began attending the exclusive West Heath School in Sevenoaks, Kent, England. After failing to pass two exams she left West Heath at the age of sixteen. Her father then sent her to a Swiss school, but she quickly became homesick and returned to Norfolk. She hired herself out as a part-time cleaning woman for a while before finding work as a kindergarten teacher's assistant.
