Diana, Princess of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales was a member of the British royal family whose marriage, humanitarian work and public image made her an international figure. Her separation from Charles, Prince of Wales, media scrutiny and campaigning on issues including landmines and HIV/AIDS transformed expectations of modern royal celebrity before her death in Paris in 1997.

After her separation and 1996 divorce, Diana continued public work independently of the royal household and concentrated on causes including homelessness, HIV/AIDS and the campaign against anti-personnel landmines. Her willingness to use intense media attention in support of humanitarian causes changed the public role expected of a senior royal figure. Her death in a Paris car crash in August 1997 produced extraordinary public mourning and renewed debate over both press intrusion and the monarchy.

Charles Spencer’s Althorp also brings the story into the modern period, including Spencer’s own childhood at Althorp and the transformation of the estate after the death and burial there of his sister, Diana, Princess of Wales. Hourly History’s Princess Diana traces the life of Diana Spencer from her marriage to Charles, Prince of Wales, to her emergence as one of the most recognisable public figures of the late twentieth century.