I'd like to meet:
Biography
Diana, Princess of Wales, formerly Lady Diana Frances Spencer, was born on 1 July 1961 at Park House near Sandringham, Norfolk. She was the youngest daughter of the then Viscount and Viscountess Althorp, now the late (8th) Earl Spencer and the Hon. Lady Diana was educated first at a preparatory school, Riddlesworth Hall at Diss, Norfolk, and then in 1974 went as a boarder to West Heath, near Sevenoaks, Kent. At school she showed a particular talent for music (as an accomplished pianist), dancing and domestic science, and gained the school's award for the girl giving maximum help to the school and her schoolfellows. She left West Heath in 1977 and went to finishing school at the Institut Alpin Videmanette in Rougemont, Switzerland, which she left after the Easter term of 1978. The following year she moved to a flat in Coleherne Court, London. For a while she looked after the child of an American couple, and she worked as a kindergarten teacher at the Young England School in Pimlico.
Her romance with the Prince of Wales began in 1980 and they got 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 the throne in over 300 years. But Diana soon discovered that Prince Charles was still in love with an old girlfriend, Camilla Parker-Bowles. 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. 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 began a love affair 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.
Although the Princess was renowned for her style and was closely associated with the fashion world, patronising and raising the profile of younger British designers, she was best known for her charitable work. During her marriage, the Princess was president or patron of over 100 charities. The Princess did much to publicise work on behalf of homeless and also disabled people, children and people with HIV/Aids. The Princess remained as patron of Centrepoint (homeless charity), English National Ballet, Leprosy Mission and National Aids Trust, and as President of the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street and of the Royal Marsden Hospital. In the year before her death, the Princess was an active campaigner for a ban on the manufacture and use of land mines.
In January 1997, she visited Angola as part of her campaign. in June, the Princess spoke at the landmines conference at the Royal Geographical Society in London, and this was followed by a visit to Washington DC in the United States on 17/18 June to promote the American Red Cross landmines campaign (separately, she also met Mother Teresa in The Bronx).
imikimi
Music:
timeline
July 1, 1961
Diana Frances Spencer, youngest daughter of Edward John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, and Frances, Viscountess Althorp, is born on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England. Her father would later become the 8th Earl Spencer and inherit Althorp, the family's ancestral seat.
-----------------------------------------------------------
1961-1977
Diana's privileged childhood is marred by her parent's marital troubles. Her mother finally ran away with the heir to a wallpaper fortune. After a family tug of war, her father won custody of the kids, and later remarried. Diana and her siblings hated her step-mother, Raine.
-----------------------------------------------------------
1977
Diana leaves Sevenoaks School, Kent, at age 16. Never a brainiac, she failed all of her "O-Levels," the standard British school certification tests. Except for a short stay at a Swiss finishing school, that is the end of Diana's formal education. This year, she also meets Prince Charles, then dating her older sister. She thought he was "pretty amazing," she told an interviewer years later.
-----------------------------------------------------------
1978-1980
Diana settles into a flat in London with three roommates. In the terminology of the era, she is a "Sloane Ranger," a well-born and attractive young woman enjoying life in a fashionable area of London. She works sporadically as a cocktail waitress, a house cleaner and a kindergarten aide.
-----------------------------------------------------------
1980
Diana and Prince Charles begin dating. The media quickly sniff out the budding romance, and the pretty young aristocrat becomes a favorite target of photographers. Six months after their first date, Prince Charles proposes.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Feb. 24, 1981
Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer. The giant wheels of royal industry start turning: elaborate wedding plans are made, commemorative mugs and tea towels chug off assembly lines; Royal Mail stamps are issued.
-----------------------------------------------------------
July 29, 1981
With a television audience of almost a billion, Diana Spencer marries Charles, Prince of Wales and heir to the throne of Great Britain, at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. "Diana Mania" is in full swing. The beautiful young princess has captivated the world.
-----------------------------------------------------------
June 21, 1982
Birth of Prince William.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Sept. 15, 1984
Birth of Prince Harry.
-----------------------------------------------------------
1984-1985
There were early rumors of marital discord, but the gossip floodgates now open wide. Dueling London tabloids publish increasingly bizarre and racy stories of squabbling and infidelity, backed up with quotes from anonymous friends and foes on both sides. Diana reportedly seethes with jealous of Camilla Parker Bowles, the one-time girlfriend she suspects Charles still loves.
-----------------------------------------------------------
1986
At some point, Diana finds solace from her marital woes with Capt. James Hewitt, and possibly with others. Hewitt will become Britain's most infamous "love rat," selling his story in a turgid novelesque memoir called "Princess In Love."
-----------------------------------------------------------
1987
Diana throws herself into dozens of charitable causes, but her heart is clearly captured most by children in need and the victims of AIDS/HIV. She is one of the first people to be photographed touching an HIV/AIDS patient, during a time when its sufferers are shunned. Her fans think she's an angel; foes say she's a publicity hog.
-----------------------------------------------------------
1989
The plot thickens with the release of the infamous "Squidgygate" tape. This intercepted phone call features Diana complaining bitterly about her in-laws to a sympathetic James Gilbey, who calls her "Squidgy."
-----------------------------------------------------------
1992
Royal Watcher Andrew Morton publishes an explosive book, "Diana: Her True Story," filled with revelations of the princess' marital misery, bouts with bulimia and even a suicide attempt. It is clear that the princess and her friends cooperated enthusiastically with the book. Harrison)
-----------------------------------------------------------
Dec. 9, 1992
The official separation of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales is announced by Prime Minister John Major.
-----------------------------------------------------------
1993
Prince Charles suffers his own intercepted cell phone debacle when a tape surfaces of him talking dirty with on-again girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles.
-----------------------------------------------------------
1995
Diana sits down for a startlingly frank interview televised on the BBC, hashing out the whole history of her troubles with the Royal Family. Charles later goes public to tell his side of the story.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Aug. 28, 1996
The divorce is finalized. Queen Elizabeth II issues new rules on royal titles that, in effect, strip Diana of the title "Her Royal Highness." She remains Diana, Princess of Wales. Diana also keeps her apartment in Kensington Palace, and redecorates it from top to bottom.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Early 1997
Princess Diana's extensive travels as a Red Cross volunteer culminate in a trip to Angola, where she visits survivors of land mine incidents and tours mine clearance sites. Diana's private life is less transparent, but not for lack of trying by the media. At some point, she begins seeing Dodi al-Fayed, the high-living son of the owner of Harrods department store.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Aug. 31, 1997
A horrific high-speed car crash in a Paris tunnel kills Diana, Dodi al-Fayed and their driver, Henri Paul.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Sept. 6, 1997
An estimated 2.5 billion people watch the televised funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. She is buried on an island in an ornamental lake on the grounds of Althorp Park, her family's home in the English countryside.
-----------------------------------------------------------
After Diana
The tragic facts of Diana's death seemed plain enough at the time, but 10 years later investigators continue to pore over the circumstances of the Paris crash.
Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles, now the Duchess of Cornwall, on April 9, 2005. It is not yet clear whether she will be Queen if and when he becomes King of England.
Younger son Prince Harry is a second lieutenant in the British Army's Household Cavalry. Seen as the family bad boy, he's frequently caught partying in London clubs.
Diana's son William is now 25. A graduate of the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, he also is serving in the Household Cavalry. His love life is the focus of huge attention. There is intense speculation that his engagement to Kate Middleton, his long-time girlfriend, will soon be announced
