Princess Diana of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, the eldest son and heir apparent of Queen Elizabeth II. She was well known for her fund-raising work for international charities and as an eminent celebrity of the late 20th century. Her wedding to the Prince of Wales on 29 July 1981 was held at St Paul's Cathedral and seen by a global television audience of over 750 million. While married she bore the titles Princess of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay, Countess of Chester and Baroness of Renfrew. The marriage produced two sons, the princes William and Harry, who became second and third in line to the British throne. She became a public figure with the announcement of her engagement. 

From 1989, she was the president of the Great Ormond Street Hospital for children, in addition to dozens of other charities. 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 considerable following her death in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997.
Diana Frances Spencer was born at Park House, Sandringham in Norfolk, England on 1 July 1961. She was the youngest daughter of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (later the 8th Earl Spencer) and his first wife Frances Spencer, Viscountess Althorp. She was the fourth child born to her parents, with older sisters Sarah and Jane, although an infant brother had died a year before she was born. The family would a few years later welcome younger brother, Charles, who would become heir to the Spencer titles and estates. The Spencers had been close to the British Royal Family for centuries, rising in royal favour during the 1600s. Diana's maternal grandmother, Ruth, Lady Fermoy, was a long-time friend and a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Her father had served as an equerry to King George VI and to Queen Elizabeth II. Diana grew up in Park House, practically next door to the Queen. The Spencer children were therefore no strangers to the princes. Closer in age to Diana than Prince Charles, Prince Andrew was her childhood playmate.

Diana’s family, the Spencers, had been close to the British Royal Family for decades. Her maternal grandmother, Ruth, Lady Fermoy, was a longtime friend of, and a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.