Princess Diana, the “People’s Princess,” captivated the world with her grace and compassion, yet her life was a tapestry of tragedy woven with resilience. From a tumultuous childhood to a loveless marriage and relentless media scrutiny, Diana’s story, drawn from her 1995 BBC interview, her biography Diana: Her True Story (1992), and her sons’ reflections, reveals a woman who transformed pain into purpose. Her untimely death in 1997 at age 36 left a void, but her legacy endures through her humanitarian work and her sons, Princes William and Harry.

A Childhood Marked by Loss

Born Diana Spencer on July 1, 1961, at Sandringham, a royal estate, Diana was the youngest daughter of Viscount and Viscountess Althorp. Her aristocratic lineage tied her to the Windsors; her father served as equerry to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II, and her mother was a lady-in-waiting to the Queen Mother. Diana played with Princes Andrew and Edward, calling Queen Elizabeth “Aunt Lilibet.” Yet, her idyllic upbringing masked family strife. The 1960 death of her infant brother left her parents, John and Frances Spencer, grieving. Their marriage crumbled amid allegations of abuse and infidelity, culminating in a 1969 divorce. At seven, Diana was devastated when her mother lost custody, seeing her only on weekends. “I’d hear her crying every Saturday night,” she recalled in Diana: Her True Story. Raised by nannies and sent to boarding school, Diana struggled academically, failing her O-levels twice, but found solace in dance and social connections.

A Fractured Family and a New Beginning

In 1976, her father’s remarriage to Raine, Countess of Dartmouth, brought further upheaval. Diana and her siblings nicknamed Raine “Acid Raine,” resenting her presence. Tensions peaked when Diana nearly pushed Raine down the stairs after derogatory remarks about her mother. In 1978, John’s brain hemorrhage deepened family rifts, as Raine barred his children from visiting him. Seeking escape, Diana dropped out of school at 16, working as a nanny and cleaner in London. Her independence marked a happier chapter, but her sister Sarah’s brief romance with Prince Charles in 1977 set the stage for Diana’s royal destiny.

A Loveless Marriage

At 19, Diana reconnected with Charles, 32, during a weekend visit. His sudden attention—calling her to Buckingham Palace after a funeral—flattered but bewildered her. Despite her initial impression of him as “sad,” their whirlwind courtship led to a 1981 engagement. Red flags emerged: Charles’s cryptic “I love you, whatever love means” and his ongoing affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, revealed when Diana found a bracelet engraved with their nicknames. Her sisters urged her to accept it, and on July 29, 1981, 750 million watched her marry Charles at St. Paul’s Cathedral. The fairy-tale wedding, marred by Diana’s vow mix-up and Charles’s coldness, foreshadowed a marriage doomed by infidelity and isolation.

Diana’s honeymoon was lonely, with Charles absorbed in books. Her struggles with bulimia, triggered by stress, intensified. In 1982, pregnant with William, she threw herself down stairs after a fight with Charles, a desperate cry for help met with his indifference. William’s birth brought joy, but postpartum depression and Charles’s renewed affair with Camilla deepened her despair. Harry’s 1984 birth briefly united them, but Charles’s disappointment over another son strained their bond further.

A Princess Under Pressure

Diana’s royal life was a gilded cage. The media’s relentless pursuit—34 reporters camped outside her flat compared to Camilla’s four—forced her to evade paparazzi dangerously, foreshadowing her fatal 1997 crash. The palace offered no support, expecting her to handle scrutiny alone. Her 1981 meeting with Princess Grace of Monaco, who warned “it gets worse,” proved prophetic. Diana’s bulimia and self-harm, including cutting herself in front of Charles, went unaddressed, dismissed as attention-seeking. In 1986, she began an affair with cavalry officer James Hewitt, seeking solace, but the royal family’s froideur and media pressure persisted.

Finding Her Voice

By 1989, Diana confronted Camilla at a party, calmly acknowledging their affair and demanding respect—a turning point in asserting herself. Her 1992 collaboration with Andrew Morton on Diana: Her True Story exposed Charles’s infidelity and her mental health struggles, shocking the world. The “Squidgygate” and “Camillagate” tapes, revealing intimate conversations, fueled public sympathy. In 1995, her BBC interview with Martin Bashir, where she declared “there were three of us in this marriage,” led Queen Elizabeth to urge divorce. Finalized in 1996, Diana lost her HRH title but gained freedom.

A Humanitarian Legacy

Post-divorce, Diana embraced her role as the “Queen of People’s Hearts.” Her 1987 handshake with an AIDS patient challenged stigma, and her work with landmine victims and cancer charities inspired millions. Her 1997 romance with Dodi Fayed ended tragically in a Paris car crash, driven by a drunk Henri Paul and chased by paparazzi. Her death sparked global mourning, with over a million bouquets at Kensington Palace.

William and Harry have carried her torch, advocating for mental health and AIDS awareness. Harry’s 2020 exit from royal duties echoed Diana’s desire to shield her children from scrutiny. Her legacy of compassion endures, proving that even in tragedy, she transformed lives.