Diana, Princess of Wales

[Music] queens of the world [Music] diana princess of wales [Music] lady diana spencer was the daughter of an earl and was hand-picked at 19 to become the bride of heir to the throne charles prince of wales but he was already in love with another woman and the fairy tale marriage soon devolved into a messy divorce splashed across the tabloids though she would never be the queen diana's glamour likeability and compassionate charity work made her the queen of hearts in 1997 she died tragically in a car crash while being chased by paparazzi diana frances spencer was born on july 1st 1961. her mother francis roche was the daughter of the irish baron of fermoy and a granddaughter of american heiress francis ellen work diana's father john spencer vi count althorp was heir to the earl of spencer and a member of the prominent aristocratic spencer family back in 1519 john spencer was knighted by king henry viii the family maintained close ties to the royal family ever since diana's grandmothers cynthia spencer and ruth roche had both served as ladies in waiting to elizabeth beau's lion the queen mother her cousin winston churchill had been prime minister during the second world war and at the beginning of queen elizabeth ii's reign diana was the fourth child born to john and francis they'd had two daughters sarah and jane and a son john who died 10 hours after birth as they did not yet have a male heir the birth of another daughter was a great disappointment the baby remained unnamed for a week until diana was settled on in honor of lady diana spencer russell 1710-1735 whose grandmother sarah churchill duchess of marlborough mistress to queen anne nearly arranged her marriage to frederick prince of wales the lack of a male heir put a great strain on john and francis's marriage francis was sent to a london clinic to determine the cause of her problem an experience she found humiliating a son and heir charles was finally born when diana was nearly three diana and her siblings grew up at park house a royal family residence on the sandringham estate which was owned by the queen but least by her father when the royals visited sandringham diana was often the playmate of the younger princes andrew and edward to whom she was close in age as a child she said she would be married in westminster abbey but she daydreamed that andrew would be her groom when diana was seven her parents split up in a messy divorce the children moved with their mother to london but their father eventually won custody and refused to allow them to visit francis even on christmas he remarried and diana had a very bad relationship with her stepmother rayne whom she called a bully she later described her childhood as very unhappy and unstable from then on diana was determined to find a happy family the spencer sisters attended a girls boarding school diana did not succeed academically failing her o levels twice but her outstanding community spirit was awarded by the school she enjoyed playing piano swimming diving and ballet and tap dancing when diana was 14 her father inherited the spencer earldom he moved his children to the family seat although park as the daughter of an earl diana was thus entitled to the style of lady she left school at 16 and attended one term at a finishing school in switzerland then she moved to london where her mother bought her a flat which she shared with two school friends she took an advanced cooking course but rarely made meals for her flatmates she taught children's dance and worked as a nanny a preschool assistant and a hostess at parties diana first met charles prince of wales at a country shooting party in november 1977 when she was 16 and he 29 and dating her older sister sarah charles described her as jolly amusing and attractive bouncy and full of life they met again two years later when she watched him play polo and he took a serious interest in her he invited her aboard the royal yacht britannia for sailing weekend and then to balmoral castle to meet his family the shy 19 year old was immensely intimidated and asked a young footman how she ought to behave while meeting the queen and the royal family but she turned out to be a great success and received the family's approval charles proposed to diana on february 6 1981 and she selected her own engagement ring a 12-carat oval cylon sapphire surrounded by 14 diamonds the ring made by crown jeweler gerrard was based on a brooch prince albert gave queen victoria as a wedding present which she wore as her something blue the engagement was kept secret for three weeks until the public announcement the couple gave an interview during which the blushing bride smiled adoringly at her prince when asked if they were in love diana responded of course and charles answered whatever in love means but charles knew exactly what in love meant when it came to someone else back in 1971 the prince had met and become involved with camilla shand the pair fell in love and were ideally suited for one another but members of the royal family didn't think camilla was an appropriate wife for the future king charles's uncle lord mountbatten wanted him to marry his own granddaughter amanda notchbull while his grandmother the queen mom favored one of the spencer girls the granddaughters of her lady in waiting the family pressured charles and camilla to break up and she married her old boyfriend andrew parker-bowles in 1973 but shortly after her wedding she and charles reconnected and continued their romantic relationship charles and camilla were still very much involved as the 33 year old prince caved to family pressure to settle down and marry the naive young woman considered to be his ideal match once the engagement was announced diana's life changed instantly she gave up her job as a preschool teacher and moved into buckingham palace where she felt isolated and alone she was stalked by paparazzi by given no instruction from the royals or guidance from her fiance on how she should deal with her sudden fame days before the wedding diana found a package containing a bracelet engraved with g and f for gladys and fred camilla and charles as nicknames for one another this tipped her off that her fiance was more than just good friends with his old girlfriend but she felt she couldn't back out with the wedding plans already well underway charles has since denied rumors that he spent the night before his wedding with camilla but she was seen wearing the bracelet in question many times on july 29 1981 diana walked down the aisle in her romantic and extravagantly oversized emmanuel's ivory silk taffeta and lace gown she donned the antique spencer tiara during the ceremony diana accidentally reversed her groom's names calling him philip charles instead of charles phillip per the couple's request the traditional vow for diana to obey her husband was removed causing some controversy at the time the wedding was held at saint paul's cathedral because westminster abbey the traditional venue for royal matrimony couldn't fit enough chairs the event was watched by 750 million people worldwide surpassing the moon landing which had previously held the record for the most watched event diana found herself in the center of a fairy tale and the world was falling in love with her but as she walked up the aisle with her prince charming by her side she spotted camilla in the congregation after a sumptuous wedding breakfast a video about which i will link in the description the couple stepped onto the balcony of buckingham palace to wave to the massive crowd this pr stunt had been a tradition since the 1860s but charles and diana were the first royal couple to kiss for the cheering onlookers now married diana was officially the princess of wales and the third highest female in the british order of precedence after the queen and the queen mother the newlyweds departed for a 14-day honeymoon cruise around the mediterranean aboard the royal yacht britannia but the holiday wasn't the romantic interlude the bride had hoped for the couple had a 13-year age gap and very little in common charles was far more interested in reading and painting than in his new bride he brought a stack of books hoping they could both read and discuss them in the evenings but diana didn't enjoy reading feeling she was being ignored she destroyed charles's painting on watercolor supplies one night at dinner she noticed he was wearing cufflinks engraved with intertwined seas for charles and camilla the newlyweds had numerous arguments and diana spent hours crying alone in her room back home in the uk the couple moved in to an apartment at kensington palace and charles's recently purchased manner highgrove house diana's first pregnancy was announced in november a few weeks later she was feeling so low and inadequate that she threw herself down a flight of stairs she suffered bruising but the baby was not injured on june 21st 1982 she gave birth to the couple's first child prince william the public was delighted and the line of succession was secured at the time the law still favored male primogeniture so having their first child be a son was considered a great triumph after the delivery diana suffered from postpartum depression she was overwhelmed by her role in the public eye and her troubled marriage she decided to take baby william with her while she and charles commenced their first major tour to australia and new zealand while on the visit diana was a sensation everywhere the couple went crowds cheered for her and her face and fashion graced the front pages of newspapers prince charles used to being celebrated and admired did not take well to playing back up to his glamorous wife diana became pregnant for a second time she later recalled this pregnancy as the time she and charles got along the best prince harry was born on september 15 1984 but their brief marital happiness was not to last as diana starr eclipsed charles's resentments piled up charles would often undermine his wife and shake her confidence by making insulting comments about her dress and appearance right before public engagements but all the public saw was her beauty and style the queen was reserved when it came to gifting her daughter-in-law pieces from the royal family's jewelry collection but diana was creative converting brooches into chokers and bandu's and incorporating costume jewelry into her many glamorous looks her modern and fun fashion made her even more popular with the public in 1985 at a state dinner at the white house diana danced with hollywood star john travolta while wearing a midnight blue velvet dress while attending a charity gala at the royal opera she surprised charles by appearing on stage and dancing to billy joel's uptown girl the performance thrilled the audience who gave it a standing ovation and eight curtain calls but charles was mortified by his wife's lack of royal decorum and treated her isilly at the reception following the event diana's children were the center of her world she chose their names dismissed the palace appointed nanny and hired her own and spent as much time with them as she could she wanted to give them a more normal childhood than was usually afforded royal children charles had been raised primarily by nannies and often didn't see his mother for months at a time while she was on tours he had about the same level of involvement in his own son's upbringing but diana was there to change their diapers take them to and from school feed them read them bedtime stories and cuddle on the couch watching tv she firmly refused the royal family's advice when it came to raising her sons she insisted that they attend school with other children rather than being tutored at the palace as had been traditional william and harry also got a front row seat to their mother's emotional turmoil and instability william always the leader tried to comfort her and pushed tissues under the door while she spent hours crying in her room diana suffered a host of mental health illnesses with symptoms including self-harm and the eating disorder bulimia it has been speculated that she had borderline personality disorder five years into the marriage and the prince and princess of wales were as unhappy as ever the fairy tale was beginning to show cracks and the press were picking up on the coldness between them both charles and diana asked friends to speak to the press and blame the other for the problems in their marriage while attending a birthday party for camilla's sister diana confronted camilla about the affair diana became involved with her former writing instructor major james hewitt her butler smuggled james to and from highgrove in the back of his car later it was speculated that james hewitt might have fathered prince harry because of their similar looks and ginger hair but hewitt has denied this and the couple did not become involved until years after harry's birth in 1991 a book titled diana her true story hit the shelves during secret interviews with the author the princess detailed charles's infidelities and her own suicidal unhappiness the public image of the happy couple was finally shattered queen elizabeth and prince philip hosted a meeting with charles and diana during which they encouraged them to reconcile but to no avail phillip wrote to diana and expressed his disappointment in the failure of their marriage some have alleged that diana's relationship with her father-in-law was filled with tension but their letters to one another show respect and kindness in 1992 private telephone conversations were taped and leaked to the press in the squiggy gate tapes diana is heard talking to her friend james gilby who refers to her by the pet name squidgy many times she confided in him that her situation was like that of a character in the british soap opera eastenders and that she was afraid she might be pregnant she recalled a lunch with the royal family during which she nearly started blubbing i just felt so sad and empty i thought bloody hell after all i've done for this family i can't stand the confines of this marriage he makes my life real torture a few months later intimate taped conversations between charles and camilla were released to the public during which the prince told her he wished he could be reincarnated as a tampon so he could live inside her in december 1992 prime minister john major announced the amicable separation of the prince and princess of wales stating that they had no plans to divorce but the royal mud flinging continued diana suspected charles of having another mistress his personal assistant tiggy leg bork and even feared that the prince wanted to have her killed so that he could marry tiggy she later accused tiggy of aborting charles's baby and was legally forced to apologize the press claimed diana had a number of other lovers as well including her bodyguard barry mankey rugby player will carlington and investor theodore j forsman she made over 300 calls to married art dealer oliver from her kensington palace apartment and from a phone box just outside the palace in 1994 prince charles sought public understanding in a televised interview during which he claimed to have only rekindled his relationship with camilla in 1986 after his marriage had irrevocably broken down the following year diana gave an interview during which she exposed both her husband and her own extramarital affairs she said well there were three of us in this marriage so it was a bit crowded she also expressed doubt about charles's suitability for kingship the interview proved the tipping point in the troubled marriage a month later the queen sent a letter to charles and diana advising them to divorce in 1996 the couple agreed to terms and their divorce became official diana received a lump sum of 17 million pounds about 45 million dollars today as well as a lifetime allowance of 400 000 pounds per year the palace issued a letter's patent regarding the general rules of royal titles after divorce diana lost the style her royal highness and was instead styled diana princess of wales as the mother of the prince expected to one day assume the throne she continued to be a member of the royal family diana cried when she lost her hrh title but william reassured her don't worry mommy i will give it back to you one day when i am king had she lived diana would not have been titled queen mother when william came to the throne because that title is only eligible to women who were first a queen consort diana would now never be queen of the uk but she did become the queen of hearts she devoted herself even more to charity work and leveraged her celebrity to do good in the world throughout the 80s she fought the stigma of aids during the global pandemic by visiting holding hands and hugging aids patients she opened the uk's first hiv aids hospital unit and a home for young aids patients in washington dc she traveled to south africa and partnered with president nelson mandela to fight aids there she also partnered with the halo trust in the fight to ban landmines and she donated many of her famous outfits for auction to raise money for research on childhood cancers hiv and leprosy diana continued to live in the kensington palace apartment she had once shared with prince charles she spent as much time with her growing sons as she could insisting that they'd be exposed to the world outside the palace she took them to disney world and mcdonald's as well as aids clinics and homeless shelters she bought them normal teenage things like clothes and video games while visiting ill children at a hospital in london diana met british pakistani heart surgeon haznet khan in an elevator they had a secret relationship for two years her butler smuggled him in and out of kensington palace in the trunk of his car she traveled to lahore to visit his family diana wanted to take their relationship public but hosnet was intensely private and refused there are no existing photographs of the pair together their relationship ended in a shouting match in the summer of 1997 diana wanted to take william and harry on vacation to the hamptons on long island new york but palace security prevented the trip instead she traveled to the south of france with her new boyfriend dodie fayed the son of an egyptian billionaire the family got on well together and diana spent the holiday laughing and joking with them on their yacht she glimpsed the life she had always wanted for herself part of a happy harmonious family on the night of august 31st 1997 while traveling in a car in paris diana and dodie began being pursued by a photographer on a motorcycle their driver anri paul security manager for the hotel ritz paris tried to evade the paparazzi but he lost control of the car and crashed into the pont du lalma tunnel diana was rushed to a nearby hospital where she died a few hours later dodi fayed and henri paul were also killed bodyguard trevor reese jones survived the sudden death of the beloved 36 year old princess shocked the world and sparked a massive outpouring of grief fifteen-year-old william and twelve-year-old harry were on holiday at balmoral castle when their father broke the devastating news of their mother's death prince charles made a public statement of mourning for the loss of his ex-wife and the mother of his children queen elizabeth focused on comforting her grandsons and failed to make a public statement for a week leading to outcry and criticism that she was cold and out of touch diana's funeral was held at westminster abbey her sons charles prince philip her brother earl spencer and representatives from her many charities walked behind her coffin which was draped in a royal flag elton john performed candle in the wind rewritten as a tribute to england's rose diana was buried privately later that day in the presence of her family on an island within the grounds of arthur park the spencer family home she was dressed in a black long-sleeve dress designed by catherine walker and a set of rosary beads given to her by mother teresa were placed in her hands dodie fayed's father claimed for many years that his son and diana had been intentionally killed by mi6 and prince philip an official inquiry placed the blame on the intoxication and reckless driving of chauffeur henry paul but conspiracy theories linger diana princess of wales continues to be an incredibly beloved public figure and the inspiration for works of art and drama including the crown spencer and diana the musical just to name a few perhaps diana's most important legacy is her charity work royals women in particular have long supported philanthropic causes but diana took it to another level making charity her primary occupation william harry and their wives have carried on diana's legacy by dedicating much of their time to charity work and many other royals around the world have followed suit thanks to diana the public in many nations now expect royals to leverage their wealth and fame for good prince william and prince harry both speak of their mother often william proposed to catherine middleton with his mother's sapphire and diamond engagement ring saying it was a way of making sure my mother didn't miss out on today and the excitement after witnessing the suffering diana endured upon entering the royal family both princes have made great efforts to support their own wives and children in dealing with the pressures of royalty and fame in 2015 william named his daughter diana's first granddaughter charlotte elizabeth diana and in 2021 harry named his daughter lilibit diana if you enjoyed this video please like subscribe comment your thoughts and check out my other royal history videos if you really want to help please consider supporting me on patreon a link is in the description thank you for watching

Channel: History Tea Time with Lindsay Holiday

Views: 128,011

Keywords: history, documentary, royal family, royalty, bbc, the crown, british history, royal wedding, queens of the world, european royalty, womens history, women in history, badass women in history, princess diana interview, princess diana, diana princess of wales, lady diana spencer, diana spencer, spencer family, british royal family, prince william childhood, prince william, prince harry, prince charles, charles and diana, Queen elizabeth, Queen elizabeth ii, Diana william harry

Id: 8LF_fdLvdZo

Length: 27min 26sec (1646 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 09 2021