AN EARL’S DAUGHTER
DianaFrances Spencer was not royal by birth. She was born on 1 July 1961 at ParkHouse on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.She was the third daughter of the future viscount Althorp and Frances Ruth, whowas one of The Queen Mother’s ladies-in-waiting.
Diana had two eldersisters, Sarah and Jane, and a younger brother, Charles; there was also abrother called John, born in 1960, who survived only ten hours.
Diana spent herearly children’s years in Sandringham, whereshe had home education. Her first teacher was Gertrude Allen, who taughtDiana’s mother. Life at Park House was orderly, traditional and aristocratic.The Spencer children saw their parents only for an hour in the morning and attea time. When Diana was just six years old her parents separated and laterdivorced, the children remaining with their father.
Diana continued hereducation in Sulfide, in private school near the Kings Lynn, then inpreparatory Ridlsuort School. When Diana was 12 years old, she went to theprivileged school for the girls in West Heath, county Kent.
Her life changed alot in 1975 when Viscount Althorp becoming 8th Earl Spencer, andDiana becoming Lady Diana, and they moved to the stately home at Althorp inNorthamtonshire. The following year Earl Spencer married Raine, Countess ofDartmouth, whose mother was the romantic novelist, Barbara Cartland. Diana wentto a finishing school in Switzerland,where she studied domestic science, typing and correspondence, and found plentyof time to enjoy skiing.
LADY DIANA SPENCER
WhenDiana returned to Britainfrom Switzerland she livedin London,sharing apartment with old school friends. She moved naturally in the societythat was described by someone as ‘Sloane Rangers’, so called because much oftheir leisure time was spend in the fashionable shops and restaurants aroundSloane Square. Diana became a nanny to a number of children, and took athree-month cookery course, before joining the Young England Kindergarten as ahelper. She enjoyed the social whirl, attending parties in the evenings andgoing to the country every weekend. Diana would stay with friends, oroccasionally go back to Althorp where she would visit her sister Jane, and herhusband Sir Robert Fellows, at their house on the estate.
Most of Diana’scircle of friends came from similar backgrounds, and when her relationship withThe Prince of Wales began they automatically provided her protection. Once themedia suspected Lady Diana and Prince Charles’ new romance, press reporters andcameramen pursued her relentlessly. They besieged her flat at Coleherne Court andfollowed her everywhere. It was a very testing time for the young Diana.
Dianalearned to keep her head down, literally, becoming known as ‘Shy Di’. So thehighly intensive media attention which was to continue throughout her lifebegan. But ones the engagement was official, Diana moved into an apartment inClarence House, home of the late Queen Mother, where she would be under theprotection of the Royal Press Office.A FAIRY-TALE BRIDE
Thewedding of The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer took place at St Paul’s Cathedral on 29July 1981, barely a month after the Brides 20th birthday. It was aday of joy for everyone: the bride and groom, their families and the millionsof people watching on television all over the world. The occasion was acombination of pageantry, high emotion, formal ceremony and vociferousenthusiasm.
Diana waseveryone’s idea of a fairy-tail bride; her dress, designed by David andElizabeth Emanuel, was a triumph of ivory silk taffeta, hand embroidered withthousands of tiny mother-of-pearl sequins and pearls, and with a 25-foot traintrimmed with sparking old lace. Diana wore the Spencer family tiara, anddiamond earrings borrowed from her mother.
She left Clarence Housein the Glass Coach accompanied by her father, to the thunderous cheers of thecrowds lining The Mall. At St Paul’sthe groom was waiting, dressed in uniform of a royal Navy commander, with asplendid blue sash of the Order of the Garter. Seated behind him were the 2,650guests who had been invited to the wedding, including nearly all the crownedheads of Europe.
After the ceremonythe couple returned to Buckingham Palace in the 1902 StateLandau, while vast crowds pressed against the railings to catch a glimpse ofthe new Prince of Wales.
Theyleft the Palace in a balloon-bedecked carriage, starting their honeymoon atBroadlands, the Hampshire home of the late Lord Mountbatten, then flying to Gibraltar to join the Royal Yacht Britannia for a Mediterraneancruise, and finally joining the Royal Family at Balmoral.PRINCESS OF WALES
Fromthe moment they were married, The Prince and Princess of Wales became the focusof public attention to an extent never before experienced in Britain, even by the Royal Family. They became the most closely watched couple inthe world, and while Prince Charles was used to being in the spotlight, forDiana it was a new experience. She coped impressively, and soon became the mostphotographed woman in the world.
Her early days asPrincess of Wales were not always easy. She was coming to grips with being aworking member of the Royal Family, finding ways to impress her own style uponher new homes at Kensington Palace and Highgrove, andalso getting used to the idea that she was now public property, with verylittle private life.
For one so young,Diana displayed an extraordinary sense of duty, yet she insisted that her primerole in life was to be a good mother to her children. When she and PrinceCharles visited Australiain 1983 she refused to leave Prince William behind, saying she was not going tobe separated from her baby for such a long period and miss what she regarded asone of the most important parts of his life. It showed that The Princess had amind of her own and was not prepared to be merely a pretty accessory.A DEVOTED MOTHER
Diana’s naturalrole in life was motherhood. She had always had a special affinity withchildren of all ages and she never doubted for a moment that she was intendedto be a mother. Speaking about her children she once said, ‘They meaneverything to me’ and later added, ‘I always feed my children love andaffection — it’s so important’.
Althoughthe royal marriage ended in divorce there were many times when the couple enjoyedgreat happiness together. One such time was at 9.03 p.m. on 21 June 1982, whenDiana gave birth to her first son, Prince William, in the private Lindo Wing ofSt. Mary’s Hospital in London.Prince Charles broke with royal tradition by being present at the birth, and itwas also the first time that an heir-presumptive had been born in hospital.Both Diana and Prince Charles were overjoyed.
They wereaffectionate parents and Diana said she had found her true destiny. She wasnever happier than when she was playing with William, whom she called Wills.Two years later, on 15 September 1984, Harry was born.
Off duty Dianawould attempt to shrug off the rigid controls of royal protocol and relax withher sons. She was determined that, although they would never forget who theywere, they should have as normal an upbringing as possible. She took them tothe cinema, letting them choose the films they wanted to see, and introducedthem to the delights of fast food hamburger cafes, where she queued with otherparents to serve herself. She was a thoroughly modern mother who refused toallow her royal role to interfere with the ordinary, every day joys of bringingup her children.
Diana turned up atthe prices’ annual sports day, kicked off her shoes and ran barefoot in themothers’ race — which the won, to her sons’ great delight. When the time camefor Prince William to go away to school, Diana expressed a very clear referencefor Eton. It was near enough to London that she could seehim frequently, while allowing him to become an ordinary boarder. Both she andPrince Charles insisted that he should be treated the same way as the otherpupils.
Dianaimpressed upon her sons their connection with the principality whose name theyshared, telling them never to forget what they were: Prince William and PrinceHarry of Wales.She took William on his first official visit to Wales— on St David’s Day 1991 — and later took both boys to Cardiff to watch the Welsh rugby team inaction.
Sheinstilled in her sons her own sense of public awareness from an early age, andshowed them, at first hand, how the underprivileged are forced to live bytaking them with her to a Seamen’s Missioncentre for the homeless. It was a salutary experience for the young princes,but one which she felt was necessary in their ongoing training for their futurelives.
Dianawill be remembered in many different ways, but undoubtedly the most importantlegacy of her extraordinary life is her two sons, William and Harry.A SPECIAL TOUCH
As she freely admitted,Diana was not an intellectual. But despite her lack of academic achievement shepossessed a quick wit and an understanding that enabled her to survive thoseearly years and adapt to her new role, while her empathy with the public prevented her from beingdismissed as merely a ‘walking clothes-horse’.
Diana believed thatthe monarchy should be in touch with the people, and she won many hearts withher spontaneity and genuine warmth. She was a tactile person who loved to givea hug or a kiss, whether to a child in a Nigerian village or an old lady in aBritish geriatric ward. People from all walks of life and of all agesidentified with her, for her sense of style as well as for the compassion sheshowed to the sick and the suffering, and to those who had been the outcasts ofsociety.
Thepublic turned out in droves whenever and wherever she appeared, and she alwaysfound time to stop and talk, often delaying her official programme in order tochat with people who had waited hours to see her.
Itwas her common touch, combined with her grace and aristocracy, which made herso popular with the press. They adored her, and followed her wherever she went,knowing that she would always provide them with a winning picture or story.She never let them down. Some of them whom she grew to trust, and took into herconfidence, became personal friends who would mourn her in death as much asthey had respected her in life.PRINCESS OF STYLE
If ever a personcould rightly claim to be a one-woman fashion industry, that person mast havebeen Diana, Princess of Wales. Almost single-handed she rejuvenated the Britishfashion scene, practically from the moment she first stepped onto the royalstage.
Legions of women,from Japan to Jersey, faithfully copied her style down to the tiniestdetail. When she appeared in a ‘Robin Hood’ type of hat in the early 80s,identical copies were bought in their thousands, and when she, mischievously,wore a diamond necklace as a headband, jewelers throughout the world wereinundated the next day with enquiries for replicas.
Diananever saw herself as a fashion icon and she disliked the description, believingit detracted from more serious side. She said she never followed fashion, onlydressing ‘for the job in hand’. It is true that she was not a follower but atrend-setter, and if she was set up as an icon it was only because women soadmired her innate sense of style andher ability to choose what was right for her. She managed to combine a modernlook with the requirements of royal dignity and cool elegance. The demands ofher position necessitated a large wardrobe, and Diana was determined to showthe very best of British design and manufacture wherever she went on heroverseas tours, performing an extraordinary service for the fashion industryand bringing a new glamorous image to the Royal Family.
She was not dressedexclusively by British designers. Diana was often seen, in recent years, inoutfits by Christian Dior, John Galliano, Gianni Versace and Jacques Azagury,as well as those she wore from Bruce Oldfield and Catherine Walker.
Dianawas fascinated by showbusiness and the arts and missed no opportunity to mixwith stars of stage and screen. Ballet was her first love, and as Patron of theEnglish National Ballet she played an active role in the organization, oftenturning up to watch rehearsals and staying behind to talk with the dancers. Sheonce wistfully remarked that she would have loved to have been a ballet dancerbut ‘at 5ft joins I’m too tall’. So when she sprang a surprise Christmaspresent for Prince Charles in 1985 by dancing on stage with Wayne Sleep, shewas also achieving a life-time ambition. Some years later at a reception at theWhite House in Washingtonshe partnered John Travolta on the dance floor and afterwards both said it wasa ‘dream come true’.
It was Diana’sfirst change in hairstyle that seemed to transform her the most. Just after thebirth of Prince Harry her pageboy hair-cut was replaced by a new style that wasclassic, sophisticated and totally stunning. The Diana look had arrived; thephotographic image had been created.
InJune 1997, responding to a suggestion by Prince William, Diana assignedChristie’s to auction 79 of her dresses, raising £1,960,150 for charity.They ranged from short cocktail dresses to formal ball-gowns and included herfavourite: a Victor Edelstein creation in duchesse satin with matching bolerojacket, which sold for £54,436.A MODERN PRINCESS
With the collapseof her marriage in 1992 — separation, followed in 1996 by divorce — Diana setout to find a new life for herself as a single parent. She wanted to create anindependent role outside the Royal Family but, as the mother of a future King,she was never completely able to shed her responsibilities, or her imagine throughoutthe world as ‘Princess Di’.
Sheformed a number of unfortunate relationships which were quickly terminated andshe realized that unqualified love and loyalty would come only from her sons.Diana worked hard at keeping physically fit by visiting a gymnasium most days,and she sought the company of people whom she believed would not try to exploither.
Shemade many visits to the United States where her popularity never waned, andwhere she continued to be treated as royalty. Americans saw her as both aninnocent victim and a winner in the divorce battle, and acclaimed her as agreat survivor and the successful single mother.
Once the publicityof the marriage break-up had died down Diana began to working towards her goal,which was to be taken seriously in her own right. She had discussions withpolitical leaders, such as President Nelson Mandela of South Africa,and finally she achieved her aim, talking a role of the international stage asan unofficial but highly influential ambassadress.
Hercrusade for the world-wide banning of landmines touched the public consciencein a way that nothing else had done. She had picked on exactly the rightsubject at precisely the right moment.A QUEEN OF HEARTS
At one time thePrincess of Waleswas involved with over a hundred charities, which she liked to call her ‘Familyof Organizations’.
Atthe height of her working life, her patronages included such disparate bodiesas Barnardos, Birthright, and the British Deaf Association (for whom she leantsign language), the Leprosy Mission, the Malcolm Sargent Cancer Fund forChildren, The Princess of Wales Children’s Health Camp in Rotorua (NewZealand), Turning Point, Help the Aged, Centrepoint, AIDS Crisis Trust and theGreat Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children.
Whenthe accepted an invitation to become patron of a charity, she became a tirelessworker.
Turning Point wasperhaps one of the most unlikely groups for a member of the Royal Family tosupport. It was the largest national voluntary organization providing help formen and woman with drug and alcohol-related problems, and for people recoveringfrom mental illness. When Diana was asked to join them she agreed withouthesitation, on the condition that she was not to be merely another royalfigurehead, but an active participant in all their work. She raised the profileof Turning Point dramatically and as their Chief Executive, Les Rudd,explained, ‘We have an unpopular client group and without The Princess’spersonal involvement we would never have attracted the public’s sympathy tosuch an extent’.
Dianachose to become actively involved with Centrepoint, a charity whichconcentrates on providing accommodation for homeless young people who areconsidered to be at risk. She said ‘Nothing dives me greater pleasure than totry to help the most vulnerable people in society’.
In1993 Diana announced her retirement from public life and relinquished herposition with nearly all her charities. She retained and handful which shecontinued to support and work for until the day she died.
One of the mostcourageous and important of Diana’s public appearances was undoubtedly when shedecided to open the first specialist AIDS ward in Britain. AIDS was, at the time, theunmentionable disease and few people were prepared to be associated with itscare and treatment. The Princess sent shock waves throughout the world when sheshook hands with patients suffering from AIDS — and did so without wearinggloves. By that single action she demonstrated that people had no need to fearthat the disease might be transmitted simply by touch. From that moment hercommitment to the cause was total; she helped raise millions of pounds and,more importantly, she increased the public’s awareness and understanding at atime when fear and prejudice were commonplace.
WhenDiana visited a leprosy hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia and another in Nigeria, and comforted thosesuffering from this most disfiguring of diseases, she never once flinched ordrew away from close contract. She said, ‘I’m trying to show in a simple actionthat they are not reviled, nor we repulsed’.
It isdifficult to overestimate the impact that Diana made on the causes sheespoused. As a fundraiser she was unequalled; her presence at a functionensured that all the tickets would be sold in hours.
She workedindefatigably for the Royal Marsden Hospital Cancer Fund and insisted that partof the proceeds of the auction of her dresses in New York should go to the hospital. The restof the money went to another of her favourite charities, AIDS Crisis Trust.
Diana’sconcern for the dispossessed and the under-privileged knew no nationalboundaries. Together with her friends Imran and Jemima Khan she visited Pakistan to support their efforts in faminerelief; and after meeting Mother Teresa in New York,she traveled to Indiato see for herself the living conditions of some of the poorest people in theworld.
Butit was when she visited Angolaand Bosniathat people realized how sound her instinct was. She had begun her campaign forthe banning of landmines without any official backing, but soon governmentsaround the world were responding to her call. In Bosnia she met and comfortedmutilated victims and bereaved widows and orphans with a sensitiveprofessionalism that showed clearly how much she understood the anguish allaround her. It was to be her last crusade.
Whenshe was accused of interfering in political issues, Diana replied, ‘I’m ahumanitarian, I lead from the heart’.ENGLAND’S ROSE
Diana died in a carcrash with Dodi Fayed on 31 of August 1997, in Paris.Few events in Britain’shistory have produced a sense of national dismay and bewilderment thatfollowed. People traveled for all parts of the country to pay tribute to ThePrincess. Thousands of flowers were placed at the gates of Buckingham Palaceand Kensington Palace, and people queued for up totwelve hours to sign the books of condolence at St. James’s Palace.
The Queen appeared ontelevision and spoke movingly of her former daughter-in-law. ‘She was anexceptional and gifted human being. In good times and bad, she never lost hercapacity to smile and laugh, nor to inspire others with her warmth andkindness’.
The funeral,described by Buckingham Palace as ‘a uniqueservice for a unique person’, was an inspiring combination of traditionalritual and informality. The coffin containing Diana’s body was carried on aFirst World War gun-carriage drawn by six black horses and nine members of TheKing’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, and flanked by a bearer party of WelshGuardsmen. Thousands, many ofwhom had camped out overnight in order to get a good position, watchedsilently, and threw flowers into their path. As the cortege passed thought WellingtonArch and down Constitution Hill, The Queen and three generations of the RoyalFamily emerged from Buckingham Palace.
The Prince ofWales, Prince Philip, Prince William and Prince Harry, together with Diana’sbrother, Earl Spencer, joined the cortege and walked behind the coffin toWestminster Abbey. They were followed by a throng of representatives of many ofher charities.
The service wassimple and dignified, with Diana’s favourite hymns and poems read by hersisters. Diana’s brother gave a penetrating and passionate address. The2,000-strong congregation included politicians, showbusiness celebrities,personal friends and representatives from her charities.
For many the mostpoignant element of the ceremony was the Princes’ wreath on the coffin: a smallring of white roses bearing the word ‘Mummy’.
As the choir sang ahaunting anthem the coffin was carried away. At the door the procession stoppedand an absolute silence descended — a silence that was respected by millionsthroughout the world.
Diana’s body waslaid to rest at Althorp, on a peaceful and secluded island in the middle of alake.THE PEOPLE’S PRINCESS
The death of Diana,Princess of Wales unleashed an expression of public feeling on an unprecedentedscale. Nothing had prepared the people for the shock of losing such a vital,beautiful young women who had everything to live for. People of all ages hadbeen able to identify with this member of the Royal Family, as a glamorousleader of fashion, a dedicated mother and more recently as the undisputedchampion of the under-privileged, the handicapped and the elderly. She did morethan had ever been done before to focus attention on what were previouslyunmentionable subjects, and the practical and constructive way in which shedisplayed her compassion and sympathy was a fine demonstration of modernroyalty at work.
Diana was starquality, of that there was no doubt. She became the most pursued woman in theworld and gave the impression of enjoying her celebrity status, even though sheclaimed not to understand why so many people felt so affectionate towards her.Perhaps it was this very innocence that made her so attractive. Sheoccasionally gave the outward appearance of being tough, and she herself saidshe would ‘fight like a tiger’ for what she believed in. But another of thequalities that emerged was her vulnerability, and it was this made so manypeople spring to her defence. She never lacked friends to take her part andchampion her cause, and there was never a shortage of volunteers anxious toprotect and cherish her. Much of her international appeal came about becausethose who came into contract with her felt a natural instinct to look afterher, even when she protested that she did not need protecting.
Diana was always awoman who acted from the heart, and the world loved her for it. She possessed anatural aura of accessibility, and was never afraid to show her emotion.Ordinary men and woman felt they could approach her without any fear ofrebuttal; she positively encouraged people to talk to her and touch her.
Diana has beendescribed as one of the nation’s greatest assets and her appearance was one ofher most important attributes. Even when her behaviour was unpredictable, shewas forgiven because of her beauty and style.
Her most importantrole was raising her small family. Everything else was secondary to the welfareof her sons and no one was ever left in any doubt as to her priorities. Williamand Harry came first and in spite of the pressures she lived under — that wouldnot have change. She knew that the encouragement and help she could give him.She was prepared to subjugate her own ambitions to his happiness and security.
If Diana seemed torebel against a protocol and tradition that appeared to be stuffy andrestrictive, it struck a chord with young people, who felt she was striking ablow for them as well as for herself. And when she comforted the sick, themaimed and the abused, those around her knew that this was not an act, neitherwas she merely going though the routine of a well-rehearsed and programmedpublic appearance. Although her duties were necessarily choreographed down tothe last detail, her concern was obviously genuine and she managed tocommunicate her true feelings.
How will she beremembered and what were her most significant achievements? It would beinvidious to single out from her many good works just one and name it as themost important. On the international scene, if there is a successful conclusionto her landmines campaign, that would be a fitting memorial; or if there is abreakthrough in the treatment of AIDS or cancer. Perhaps her involvement inchild care and famine relief will result in greater public awareness.
Diana will beremembered as an inspirational woman who once said she wanted to be known as a‘Queen of Hearts’. Perhaps in death that is exactly what she has become.
ByMother Teresa
1910-1997
Love'sEyes
I see a bird in flight,
Or a baby's gentle smile.
The beauty that I see in them
Reminds me of your face.
Thecompassion and the caring
So softly chiseled there.
The love and understanding
Painted on by God's own hand.
Yourface is a priceless treasure,
With a perfection of its own.
I look into your face
To see Love's own eyes
gazing back at me.
1990 — By me
Literature: ‘Diana, Princessof Wales’by Brian Hoey