The tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales occurred on Sunday, 31
August 1997 following a car accident in Paris, France. The vehicle in which the Princess
was travelling was involved in a high-speed accident in the Place de l'Alma underpass in
central Paris shortly before midnight on Saturday, 30 August. The Princess was taken to
the La Pitie Salpetriere Hospital, where she underwent two hours of emergency surgery
before being declared dead at 0300 BST. The Princess's companion, Mr Dodi Fayed, and the
driver of the vehicle died in the accident, whilst a bodyguard was seriously injured The
Princess's body was subsequently repatriated to Great Britain in the evening of Sunday, 31
August by a BAe 146 aircraft of the Royal Squadron. Shortly after midnight, it was moved
to the Chapel Royal in St James's Palace, where it lay privately until the funeral on
Saturday, 6 September, in Westminster Abbey. The Princess's family and friends visited the
Chapel to pay their respects. Following the funeral, the coffin then was taken by oad to
the family estate at Althorp for a private interment.
Childhood and teenage years
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
Viscountess Althorp, now the late Earl Spencer and the Hon Mrs Shand-Kydd. Together with
her two elder sisters Jane and Sarah, and her younger brother Charles, the Princess was
brought up at her father's house on The Queen's Estate at Sandringham and also at Althorp,
the family home in the English Midlands. (The latter is a stately house which dates from
1508.) She was educated first at Riddlesworth Hall Preparatory School in Norfolk before
going, in 1974, as a boarding pupil to West Heath School near Sevenoaks in Kent. The
Princess's education wascompleted in 1978 at the Institut Alpin Videmanette, a finishing
school in Rougemont, Switzerland. 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 announced that Lady Diana was to marry The Prince of
Wales. They were married at St Paul's Cathedral on 29 July 1981 in a ceremony which drew a
global television and radio audience estimated at around 1,000 million people, with a
further 600,000 lining the route from Buckingham Palace to the Cathedral. She was the
first Englishwoman to marry an heir to the throne for 300 years. The Princess of Wales had
two sons. Prince William Arthur Philip Louis was born on 21 June 1982 and Prince Prince
Henry 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. They were divorced on 28 August 1996. The Princess continued to be
regarded as a member of the Royal family, and lived at Kensington Palace.
Public role
After marriage the Princess of Wales quickly became involved in the official duties of the
Royal family. Her first tour was a three-day visit around Wales. In 1983 she accompanied
The Prince of Wales on a tour of Australia and New Zealand. In a break with royal
tradition, they took the infant Prince William with them. Prince William, with Prince
Harry, again joined The Prince and Princess at the end of their tour to Italy in 1985.
Other official visits overseas undertaken with The Prince included Australia, Brazil,
India, South Korea, Canada, Nigeria, Cameroon, Indonesia, Spain, Portugal and Japan.
The Princess made her first official visit overseas on her own in September 1982 when she
represented The Queen at the State funeral of Princess Grace of Monaco. She subsequently
visited many countries including Norway, Germany, the United States, Pakistan,
Switzerland, Hungary, Egypt, Belgium, France, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nepal, Angola and
Bosnia. She was, however, best known for her charitable work - notably publicising work on
behalf of people with HIV/Aids. In the year before her death, the Princess was an active
campaigner for a ban on the manufacture and use of land mines, visiting Angola and Bosnia
as part of her campaign. In June 1997, the Princess addressed the Royal Geographical
Society conference on this issue. Her love of children was also readily apparent in her
charitable work.
Although she resigned as Patron or President of some 100 charities with which she was
associated before her divorce, she continued to be Patron of Centrepoint, the English
National Ballet, the Leprosy Mission and the National Aids Trust, and was President of the
Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, and of the Royal Marsden Hospital.
"Diana Princess of Wales", © Crown copyright 1997.
Other Links of interest
Memorial - Diana Princess of Wales
