FREE ESSAY ON PRINCESS DIANA

PRINCESS DIANA

Diana Frances Spencer was born July 1, 1961 at Park House, the home her parents rented on
the the English royal family's estate at Sandringham. As a child she occasionally played
with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, who were near her in age. Diana had two older
sisters, Sarah and Jane, and a younger brother, Charles. 
When Diana was six, her mother left her father. The Spencers divorced in 1969, and
Diana's father received custody of the children. In 1975 Diana's father became the eighth
Earl Spencer, making Diana a Lady. Diana and her siblings moved to Althorp, the Spencer
family estate in Northampton. 
Diana attended private boarding schools. Although she wasn't an especially good student,
she was excelled at sports, and won trophies for her swimming. She dreamed of being a
ballerina, but grew too tall (as an adult she was 5'10). After leaving school in 1978 she
worked as a nanny, waitress, and cleaning woman before becoming a teacher at the Young
England kindergarten in Pimlico, London. 
Her romance with the Prince of Wales began in 1980. He was twelve years older than Diana,
and had previously dated her sister Sarah. Almost from the start, the press took a
special interest in Lady Di. They staked out her apartment and followed her everwhere.
Diana later said that she found the constant attention unbearable. 
Diana and Charles were married July 29, 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral. The wedding was
broadcast in 74 countries and watched by 750 million people worldwide. Diana was the
first English woman to marry an heir to England's throne in over 300 years. 
At the ceremony the Archbishop of Canterbury said,Here is the stuff of which fairy tales
are made. But the fairy tale was an illusion, as Diana had already discovered. Prince
Charles was still in love with an old girlfriend, Camilla Parker-Bowles. There were three
of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded, Princess Diana remarked years later.
Distraught, Diana developed bulimia and attempted suicide. Despite her problems, she was
a devoted mother to her two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. She worked tirelessly
for charity, and was beloved by the public for her warmth and humanity.
In 1992 Princess Diana decided to expose the truth about her relationship with Prince
Charles to the public. She secretly collaborated with author Andrew Morton on his book
Diana, Her True Story. The princess's direct involvement in the writing of the book was
not revealed to the public until after her death. 
The separation of the Prince and Princess of Wales was announced on December 9, 1992. The
divorce became official August 28, 1996. Princess Diana kept the title Princess of Wales
and continued to work for her favorite charities. She and Prince Charles had joint
custody of their sons. 
In 1997 Princess Diana fell in love with Emad Dodi Fayed, the son of billionaire
businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed. Their romance ended abruptly on August 31, 1997 when both
were killed in a car accident in Paris while fleeing from paparazzi. Princess Diana's
sudden death led to an unprecedented worldwide outpouring of grief and love. As her
brother said at her funeral, she was the unique, the complex, the extraordinary and
irreplacable Diana, whose beauty, both internal and external, will never be extinguished
from our minds.