Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}51°30′16.73″N 00°10′17.43″W / 51.5046472°N 0.1715083°W / 51.5046472; -0.1715083, Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground, Money down the drain? Please select which sections you would like to print: While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Decades after Princess Diana's death, we're still obsessed with the beloved Princess of Wales. 14 (2): 156–172. 14 (2): 115–128. When was Diana, Princess of Wales born? The marital breakdown became increasingly apparent amid mutual recriminations, tell-all biographies, and admissions of infidelity on both sides, and the couple formally separated in 1992. Of all the conspiracy theories of the last few decades, the ones that surround the death of former royal Diana are some of the most colorful. B orn Diana Frances Spencer on 1 July 1961, her father, Edward John Viscount Althorp, was the only … The recording of that version of the song became the most successful pop single in history to date, selling more than 30 million copies. Princess Diana received a generous divorce settlement, the right to continue using her title of "Princess of Wales," and retained her apartments at Kensington Palace. “I don’t go by the rule book…I lead from the heart, not the head.” – Diana, Princess of Wales. Gustafson said: "Above all I hope that it provides a fitting memorial for the princess and does credit to the amazing person that she was. After prolonged negotiations that left Diana with a substantial financial settlement but without the title Her Royal Highness, the couple’s divorce became final on August 28, 1996. Despite after-the-fact rumours, Diana was not pregnant at the time of her death. French police services preparing to take away the wreckage of the car crash in Paris that caused the deaths of Diana, princess of Wales, Dodi Fayed, and the car's driver, Henri Paul, 1997. Thus, in December 2004, another alteration project was started. Although she used that celebrity to great effect in promoting her charitable work, the media (in particular the paparazzi) were often intrusive. Sully, Nicole (2010). [8] Kathryn Gustafson, an American landscape artist said she had wanted the fountain, which was built to the south of the Serpentine, to be accessible and to reflect Diana's "inclusive" personality. [1], The fountain is located in the southwest corner of Hyde Park, just south of the Serpentine lake and east of the Serpentine Gallery. Behind the scenes, however, marital difficulties between the princess and prince were growing. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. It was designed to express Diana's spirit and love of children. Learn more about her life in this article. 1. She also was involved in efforts to ban land mines. doi:10.1080/13264820903049232. “Princess Di” rapidly evolved into an icon of grace, elegance, and glamour. The image of Prince William, then age 15, and Prince Harry, then age 12, walking solemnly with their father behind Diana’s casket in her funeral cortege became iconic. Charles, prince of Wales, and Diana, princess of Wales, returning to Buckingham Palace after their wedding, July 29, 1981. [5] The fountain was designed by Gustafson Porter,[6][7] and cost £3.6 million. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. She renewed her contacts with the royal family, and her friendship with Charles grew in 1980. “I think the biggest disease the world suffers from in this day and age is the disease of people feeling unloved” – Diana, Princess of Wales. Architectural Theory Review. 10. At Diana’s funeral Sir Elton John performed a version of his classic song “Candle in the Wind” (originally written about actress Marilyn Monroe) with lyrics that had been revised by his songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin, to reflect on the life and death of Diana, including. A video marking the 20th anniversary of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), founded in 1992, including footage of Diana, princess of Wales, and her work with land-mine victims. It was while attempting to evade pursuing journalists that Diana was killed, along with her companion, Dodi Fayed, and their driver, Henri Paul, in an automobile accident in a tunnel under the streets of Paris in 1997. Diana, Princess of Wales, was one of the most eminent royal bloods of the 20th century. The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain is a memorial in London dedicated to Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in a car crash in 1997. 39. no 6. John Travolta dancing with Diana, princess of Wales, at the White House, Washington, D.C., 1985. Their first child, Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales, was born on June 21, 1982, and their second, Prince Henry (“Harry”) Charles Albert David, on September 15, 1984. In 2006 a Scotland Yard inquiry into the incident also concluded that the driver was at fault. Together with a two page handwritten letter by the Princess's mother Frances Shand Kydd dated August 8th (1990). After attending the finishing school of Chateau d’Oex at Montreux, Switzerland, Diana returned to England and became a kindergarten assistant at the fashionable Young England school in Pimlico. "Nothing More Than Feelings". To ensure that William and Harry had “an understanding of people’s emotions, their insecurities, people’s distress, and their hopes and dreams,” Diana brought her sons with her to hospitals, homeless shelters, and orphanages. Though the photographers were initially blamed for causing the accident, a French judge in 1999 cleared them of any wrongdoing, instead faulting Paul, who was found to have had a blood alcohol level over the legal limit at the time of the crash and to have taken prescription drugs incompatible with alcohol. She was the third child and youngest daughter of Edward John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, heir to the 7th Earl Spencer, and his first wife, Frances Ruth Burke Roche (daughter of the 4th Baron Fermoy). "Memorials incognito: The candle, the drain and the cabbage patch for Diana, Princess of Wales". Her parents’ troubled marriage ended in divorce when Diana was a child, and she, along with her brother and two sisters, remained with her father. Coming from an aristocratic patrician family, nobility and kingly spirit came naturally to her. After 1998, it was theorised that there was an orchestrated criminal conspiracy surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Diana, princess of Wales, was the former consort (1981–96) of Charles, prince of Wales; the mother of the heir second in line to the British throne, Prince William, duke of Cambridge (born 1982); and one of the foremost celebrities of her day. Diana presented her side in Andrew Morton’s controversial book Diana: Her True Story (1992) and in an unusually candid television interview in 1995. In April 2008, however, a British inquest jury ruled both the driver and the paparazzi guilty of unlawful killing through grossly negligent driving, though it found no evidence of a conspiracy to kill Diana or Fayed, an accusation long made by Fayed’s father. The couple divorced in 1996, with rumours of infidelity on both sides. The royal family, apparently caught off guard by the extraordinary outpouring of grief and by criticism of their emotional reticence, broke with tradition in arranging the internationally televised royal funeral. On February 24, 1981, their engagement was announced, and her beauty and shy demeanour—which earned her the nickname “Shy Di”—made her an instant sensation with the media and the public. Exuding natural charm and charisma, she used her celebrity status to aid numerous charitable causes, and her changing hairstyles and wardrobe made her a fashion trendsetter. Diana was born at Park House, the home that her parents rented on Queen Elizabeth II’s estate at Sandringham and where Diana’s childhood playmates were the queen’s younger sons, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. Here, interesting facts about Princess Diana you never knew. [11] It reopened in August 2004, surrounded by a new fence, and people were prevented from walking or running in the water by six wardens. She became Lady Diana Spencer when her father succeeded to the earldom in 1975. It was designed to express Diana's spirit and love of children. [12][13] Now, however, entering the water is once again permitted. 10 Truly Strange Facts Surrounding Princess Diana’s Death. Lady Diana Spencer married Prince Charles in July 1981 and is the mother of Princes William and Harry. Diana was born at Park House, the home that her parents rented on Queen Elizabeth II’s estate at Sandringham and where Diana’s childhood playmates were the queen’s younger sons, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. Diana was seen as a contemporary and accessible princess, so the goal of the memorial fountain was to allow people to access the structure and the water for quiet wading and contemplation. Diana, princess of Wales, with victims of land mines at a medical facility on the outskirts of Luanda, Angola. Diana’s life, and her death, polarized national feeling about the existing system of monarchy (and, in a sense, about British identity), which appeared antiquated and unfeeling in a populist age of media celebrity in which Diana herself was a central figure. Long one of the most-photographed women in the world, Diana’s unprecedented popularity both in Britain and abroad continued after her divorce. [2] The pieces were made in Northern Ireland and transferred to England by sea. – Diana, Princess of Wales. Official investigations in both Britain and France found that Diana died in a manner consistent with media reports following the fatal car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997. Its cornerstone was laid in September 2003 and it was officially opened on 6 July 2004 by Queen Elizabeth II. Diana's data: When Diana's engagement to Charles was announced her birth … Biography: Sally Bedell Smith, "Diana in Search of Herself," published August 1999 DIANA'S DATA Nicholas Campion, 'Diana Princess of Wales', Astrological Journal, Vol. How Diana's fountain turned into a washout, "Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain", "Fountain reflects Diana's 'joy and grief, "Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain", Diana: A Tribute to the People's Princess, Upton Park—with Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters and Ray Wilson, 61st Battery Royal Field Artillery (Woolwich), Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Diana,_Princess_of_Wales_Memorial_Fountain&oldid=1000269570, Buildings and structures completed in 2004, Buildings and structures in Hyde Park, London, Tourist attractions in the City of Westminster, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 14 January 2021, at 11:55. One side of the stream bed descends fairly smoothly to the downhill end of the oval with gentle ripples; the other side consists of a variety of steps, rills, curves, and other shapes so that the water plays in interesting ways as it flows to the tranquil pool at the bottom. The couple married in St. Paul’s Cathedral on July 29, 1981, in a globally televised ceremony watched by an audience numbering in the hundreds of millions. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Diana-princess-of-Wales, National Portrait Gallery - Diana, Princess of Wales, The Home of the Royal Family - Biography of Diana, Princess of Wales, Diana, princess of Wales - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Diana, princess of Wales - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales, Prince Henry (“Harry”) Charles Albert David, Charles, prince of Wales, and Diana, princess of Wales, Witness the efforts for an international campaign to ban landmines and the signing of the Ottawa Treaty, Diana, princess of Wales: land-mine victims, Elton John performing at the funeral of Diana, princess of Wales. Diana, Princess of Wales, The Letters Collection 1990-1997 The Princess of Wales, signed letter dated August 7th 1990 on two sheets of her personal cream and burgundy Kensington Palace notepaper, three sides filled. However, the "people's princess" had to relinquish the title of "Her Royal Highness" and any future claims to the British throne. Architectural Research Quarterly. However, shortly after its opening and after three hospitalisations caused by people slipping in the water,[10] the fountain was closed. Her death, in a car accident in 1997, was followed by unprecedented expressions of public mourning. Diana, princess of Wales, former consort (1981-96) of Charles, prince of Wales; mother of the heir second in line to the British throne, Prince William, duke of Cambridge (born 1982); and one of the foremost celebrities of her day. Diana’s unprecedented popularity both in Britain and abroad continued after her divorce from Charles, prince of Wales. [4], Working on the project began in 2001. doi:10.1017/S1359135510000734. In 1987 Diana was photographed at Middlesex Hospital shaking hands with an HIV-positive man, representing a big step forward in changing attitudes toward AIDS. To acquaint them with the world outside royal privilege, she took them to fast food restaurants and on public transportation. Omissions? [3] The opening ceremony brought the Windsors and the Spencers together for the first time in 7 years. Her death produced unprecedented expressions of public mourning, testifying to her enormous hold on the British national psyche. Diana was the third child and youngest daughter of parents who belonged to the British nobility. Elton John singing at the funeral of Diana, princess of Wales. Her compassion, personal warmth, humility, and accessibility earned her the sobriquet “the People’s Princess.”. Diana struggled with severe postnatal depression, low self-esteem, eating disorders, and the mounting strain of being constantly pursued by both the official media royal-watchers and the tabloid press, particularly the paparazzi. 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