Princess Diana

Diana Frances Spencer was born on 1 July 1961 at Park House, Sandringham, Norfolk. The daughter of Edward John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, and Frances Roche, she grew up in an aristocratic family with close ties to the British royal family.

Diana first met Prince Charles in 1977, and their courtship captured the imagination of the world. Their wedding on 29 July 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral was watched by an estimated 750 million people worldwide. The fairytale ceremony seemed to herald a new era for the monarchy, and Diana quickly became the most photographed woman on Earth.

As Princess of Wales, Diana used her global platform to champion causes that others overlooked. She became patron or president of over one hundred charities, focusing particularly on HIV/AIDS awareness, leprosy, homelessness, and the campaign against landmines. In 1987, she famously shook hands with an AIDS patient without gloves, challenging the stigma and fear surrounding the disease.

Diana's visit to Angola in 1997, where she walked through a minefield with the Halo Trust, brought unprecedented global attention to the devastation caused by landmines. Photographs of her in protective gear became iconic and helped galvanise international support for the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel landmines.

In her personal life, Diana faced immense public scrutiny and private pain. Her marriage to Prince Charles ended in divorce in 1996, but she remained a devoted mother to Prince William and Prince Harry, insisting that they experience life beyond palace walls. Diana died in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997, at the age of thirty-six. Her death prompted an unprecedented outpouring of public grief. She was laid to rest on an island at Althorp. Her legacy lives on through her sons, who continue her humanitarian work.