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Interesting facts about Princess Diana

Hello everyone!

I am sharing some interesting facts bout Princess Diana, on what would have been her 59th birthday.



1. Diana was the fourth of five children. She has two sisters, Sarah (now known as Lady Sarah McCorquodale) and Jane (now known as Lady Jane Fellowes) and a brother, Charles (now known as the Earl Spencer). Their brother, John Spencer, died just hours after his birth in January 1960. Diana and her siblings were very close during their childhood.



2. Diana's maternal grandmother, Ruth Roche, Baroness Fermoy, served as a lady-in-waiting to the Queen Mother. This means that she was a personal assistant and a companion.

3. Diana and her mother were both born in Park House on the Sandringham Estate owned by the Royal Family, who spend all their holidays there.

4. She studied ballet and wanted to become a professional dancer but grew too tall to continue.



5. After her father inherited the title of Earl Spencer in 1975, Diana became Lady Diana Spencer and was given the nickname Lady Di. She was called that even after she married Prince Charles.

6. Diana was not good at school, She was home-schooled until she was nine and then attended boarding school. She failed her O-Level exams (Year 10 school certificate in Australia) twice and dropped out of school when she was 16.



7. Before marrying Prince Charles, she worked at many jobs, including a nanny and a teacher. She was paid only $5 an hour to play with children, do laundry and clean. She also worked as a part-time kindergarten teacher.



8. Prince Charles dated Diana's sister Sarah first, in the late '70s. That is  how Diana met him.

9. Charles and Diana were actually distant relatives. They were 16th cousins, descendants of Tudor King Henry VII.



10. Her wedding dress drain was 25 feet long, breaking the previous record of 20 feet for a royal wedding.


11. It was a royal tradition for heirs to the throne to be born at home but Princess Diana was the first to give birth in a hospital. Both Prince William and Prince Harry were born at the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington.



12. Princess Diana's parenting style was unconventional for a royal. She wanted Princes William and Harry to live as normally as possible so she made sure they experienced things like going to the cinema and amusement parks and lining up to buy food at McDonald's.


13. She was famous for writing thank you notes to anyone who gave her a gift. It was reported that she wrote notes to the thousands of people who brought gifts to Prince William when he was born. Some of her handwritten letters have been auctioned off from 2,000 to 20,000 depending on the content and uniqueness of the letter. 

14. Swedish pop group ABBA was her favourite band. 

15. After Charles and Diana's divorce caused a media craze, she started recording her thoughts on tape to tell her side of the story. She stated documenting them in May 1991 and had a friend deliver the tapes to British journalist Andrew Morton, who had been reporting on the Royals for many years. In 1992, he wrote a book based on the tapes, Diana - In Her Own Words, which became a bestseller. 



16. Princess Diana's engagement ring, a 12-carat oval sapphire surrounded by 14 solitaire diamonds, was chosen from a catalogue. This was unusual as most royals had their jewels custom designed specifically for them. The ring now belongs to Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge. Prince William proposed to Kate with it in 2010 as symbol of his mothers presence. 


17. Just a few months before Diana passed away, she held an auction of 79 of her most iconic dresses to raise money for AIDS and cancer charities.

18. Diana is buried on Althorpe Estate in Northampton, which has belonged to the Spencer family for over 500 years. A small island has been dedicated to her memory, with a temple on Oval Lake, where well-wishers can pay their respects.


I believe if Princess Diana was alive today, she would be so proud of everything her sons William and Harry have achieved and the great men they have become. She would love Kate and Meghan and absolutely adore her grandchildren Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and Archie. 



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