Happy Birthday to the Late Princess Diana

Diana Frances Spencer was born July 1, 1961 with a dream some little girls have: to become a princess – and she fulfilled her dream.

The shy young woman took a series of low-paying jobs; she worked as a dance instructor for youth until a skiing accident caused her to miss three months of work. She then found employment as a playgroup pre-school assistant, did some cleaning work for her sister Sarah and several of her friends, and acted as a hostess at parties. Diana spent time working as a nanny for an American family living in London and worked as a nursery teacher’s assistant at the Young England School in Pimlico.

Lady Diana first met Charles, Prince of Wales, the Queen’s eldest son and heir apparent, when she was 16 in November 1977. He was then dating her older sister, Lady Sarah. They were guests at a country weekend during the summer of 1980 when she watched him play polo and he took a serious interest in Diana as a potential bride. The relationship progressed when he invited her aboard the royal yacht Britannia for a sailing weekend to Cowes.

This was followed by an invitation to Balmoral (the royal family’s Scottish residence) to meet his family one weekend in November 1980. Lady Diana was well received by the Queen, the Queen Mother and the Duke of Edinburgh. Prince Charles subsequently courted Diana in London. The Prince proposed on Feb. 6, 1981. and Lady Diana accepted.

Twenty-year-old Diana became Princess of Wales when she married the Prince of Wales on 29 July 29, 1981 at St Paul’s Cathedral, Their wedding was watched around the world as she walked into the Cathedral.

She had become a stunning princess and a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, the heir apparent to the British throne, and the mother of Prince William and Prince Harry. Diana’s activism and glamour made her an international icon and earned her an enduring popularity as well as an unprecedented public scrutiny, exacerbated by her tumultuous private life.

Today, we celebrate all the charity work  she did and issues she championed such as fighting against the use of landmines.

Princess Diana’s  extensive charity work also included campaigning for animal protection. She was the patroness of charities and organizations who worked with the homeless, youth, drug addicts, and the elderly. From 1989, she was president of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. She was patron of the Natural History Museum and president of the Royal Academy of Music.

Today, we celebrate her life and legacy.

Happy Birthday, Princess Diana.