Lady Diana Frances Spencer was born on July 1, 1961, in Norfolk, England, the third of the Lord and Lady Althorp''s four children. She was just 20 when she married
Prince Charles, heir to the
throne of Britain, on the 29th of July 1981. Diana was the first British citizen to marry the heir to the throne of Britain since 1659 when Prince James – later
King James II - married Lady Anne Hyde. In addition, Diana was an Anglican, presenting no legal obstacles to
marriage with the Prince who, if to become king, would head the Church of England. Her past was spotless which was a matter of great importance to the royal family. Her beauty and youthful charisma quickly earned Diana the nickname of "the people''s princess." She and Charles had two sons, William and Harry. However, the marriage was troubled almost from the start, and its breakdown was daily fodder for tabloids during the 1990s. Rumors about the stability of Charles and Diana''s marriage surfaced repeatedly over the years. Many say the marriage was destined for trouble because the fairy tale wedding raised expectations that most couples would find impossible to meet. Diana and Charles were eventually divorced in 1996 and Charles agreed to pay a financial settlement of almost $23 million, plus $600,000 a year for the maintenance of Diana''s private office. Diana, meanwhile, lost her title and right to the throne, but kept the moniker
princess of Wales and continued to live in Kensington Palace. She devoted her life after the divorce to her two
sons and to worldwide charities. She also became romantically involved with Dodi Al Fayed, son of multi-millionaire Mohamed Al Fayed. The couple was killed in a 1997 a high-speed car crash while being followed by paparazzi in Paris. A French investigation showed that their driver, Henri Paul, was intoxicated.
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