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Welsh Celebrities & Personalities

Diana, Princess of Wales (1961- 1997)

Diana, Princess of Wales, was tragically killed in a car accident in Paris in August 1997.

Former wife of Prince Charles. She was born Diana Frances Spencer on July 1, 1961, on the royal estate at Sandringham, Norfolk. Her father, Edward Spencer, Viscount Althorp, was heir to an earldom, and her mother was the daughter of the 4th Baron Fermoy. As a child, she used to play with Princes Edward and Andrew, younger sons of Queen Elizabeth II. She was educated at Riddlesworth Hall, Norfolk, and West Heath School in Kent. After attending finishing school in Switzerland, she shared a house with three women friends, and worked as a kindergarten teacher. Renewed contact with the British royal family led to the announcement, on February 24, 1981, of her engagement to Charles, Prince of Wales, the heir to the throne. On July 29, 1981, they were married in St Paul's Cathedral, London. She gave birth to two sons: Prince William (June 21, 1982), and Prince Henry (September 15, 1984).

Although she was popular with the media and the public it was obvious by the late 1980s that her marriage was under strain. In December 1992 a separation was announced, following which Diana continued to give active support to charities caring for homeless and deprived children, and AIDS victims, and more lately highlighting the plight of land mine victims.Following her appearance in a television interview in December 1995, she was urged by the Queen to proceed with a formal divorce from Charles: negotiations for this began early in 1996, and a decree nisi was granted in July.

Diana, Princess of Wales, was tragically killed in a car accident in Paris in August 1997.