Lady "Princess" Diana: August 31, Anniversary of Her Death

Diana, Princess of Wales, who captured the heart strings of people of many nations, especially to those in the United Kingdom.

Born, Diana Frances Spencer on July 1, 1961, she died tragically in an auto accident on August 31, 1997, the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, eldest child of Queen Elizabeth II.

Diana was born into an aristocratic English family with royal ancestry, the fourth child of John Spencer and Frances Roche, daughter of the 4^th Baron Fermoy. When her father inherited the title of Earl Spencer in 1975, Diana became Lady Diana Spencer.

Her wedding to the Prince of Wales on July 29, 1981 was held at St. Paul's Cathedral and viewed by global television of over 750 million people. She and Charles had two sons, William and Harry, in the line of succession to the British throne.

Diana was well known for her fund-raising work for international charities and became an international celebrity. She was also a key figure and supporter for International Campaign to Ban Landmines. Most of her celebrities concerned children and demonstrating her affection to them publicly and affectionately with her own boys. From 1989 to her death, she was the president of Great Ormond Street Hospital for children.

Diana became and remained until her death an object of worldwide media, beginning with her marriage, which ended in divorce on August 28, 1996. The divorce was attributed to the affairs of both Diana (Major James Hewitt) and Charles (Camilla Parker Bowles); although marital problems were attributed to the affairs of Prince Charles and coldness toward his wife before the Diana-Hewitt relationship. While Diana blamed Camilla Parker Bowles for their marital problems, she had discovered he had other affairs. Diana stated:

My husband made me feel inadequate in every possible way that each time I came up for air he pushed me down again ...

After the divorce, Diana dated a heart surgeon, Hasnat Khan, lasting two years. After breaking up with Khan, Diana began to date Dodi Fayed, son of Mohamed Al-Fayed, up to her death.

On August 31, 1997, Diana was fatally injured in a car crash in a road tunnel in Paris, which also caused the deaths of her companion Dodi Fayed and the driver, Henri Paul, acting security manager of the Hotel Ritz Paris. The accident was caused by a combination of the driver being intoxicated and pursuing paparazzi. However, an inquest began in London in 2004, continuing until 2008, due to allegations that the crash was planned, even accusing MI6 and the Duke of Edinburgh. On April 7, 2008, the jury returned a verdict of 'unlawful killing' and the day after, Al-Fayed announced he would end his 10-year investigation to prove his son and Diana were murdered, stating it was for the sake of Diana's children.

Many tributes to Diana during and after her funeral included memorials. The Diana Memorial Fund was granted intellectual property rights over her image. Elton John, British composer/singer, played his musical tribute at Diana's funeral: Goodby English Rose.

Royal biographer, Sarah Bradford stated:

The only cure for her (Diana's) suffering would have been the love of the Prince of Wales, which she so passionately desired, something which would always be denied her. His was the final rejection; the way in which he consistently denigrated her reduced her to despair.

In 2002, Diana was ranked 3^rd on the BBC poll of 100 Greatest Britons, outranking Queen Elizabeth II.

Diana was popularly called Princess Diana, which is not correct in tradition, where she should have been addressed as Lady Diana. The media often called her the People's Princess because of her connection to the public and her extensive contributions to charities that helped common folk.

The following YouTube video is a tribute to Princess Diana as the anniversary of her death approaches …