Diana, Princess of Wales

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Diana, Princess of Wales (June 17, 1997)
Diana, Princess of Wales' autograph
Princess Diana in Bristol (1987)

Diana, Princess of Wales (German: Fürstin von Wales , born Diana Frances Spencer , * July 1, 1961 in Sandringham , Norfolk , England ; † August 31, 1997 in Paris , France ) was the first wife of the British heir to the throne Prince Charles of 1981 to 1996 Crown Princess of the United Kingdom . From Diana's marriage to Charles are sons William and Harry . In German vernacularDiana is not only referred to as Princess Diana to this day , but often also as Lady Diana or Lady Di , although she has not used the title " Lady " since her wedding.

Diana achieved media icon status during her lifetime and became so popular around the world that she was at times considered the most famous and most photographed woman in the world. As she blossomed into a media star, her marriage to Prince Charles suffered a severe crisis. The marriage of the crown prince couple ultimately failed; the official split was announced in 1992. The scandals of the 1990s that resulted from Diana and Charles' conflict did significant damage to the British monarchy . With the divorce in 1996, Diana lost her rank as Royal Highness but remained a member of the Royal Family.

During the 1980's Diana supported numerous charities such as the British AIDS charity. After her divorce from Prince Charles, she became involved in the abolition of landmines and continued to serve the underprivileged.

On the night of August 31, 1997, the car in which Diana was sitting with her then partner Dodi Al-Fayed crashed into a pillar in the car tunnel under the Place de l'Alma in Paris at excessive speed. Diana died of internal injuries and the news of her death caused a wave of shock and sympathy around the world. The event had devastating consequences for the reputation of the royal family, as its members were subjected to massive criticism for their perceived heartless composure . Contrary to the rules of protocol , a public funeral ceremony was held for Diana on September 6, 1997, in view of the overwhelming grief of the population .

After her death, Diana received the nickname "Queen of Hearts", which had been used to describe Elizabeth Stuart , the wife of the "Winter King" Frederick V , in the 17th century.

biography

Childhood and youth (1961–1979)

Diana Frances Spencer was born on July 1, 1961 at Park House on the royal estate of Sandringham, Norfolk, England. She was the third and youngest daughter of Edward John Spencer , Viscount Althorp, since 1977 8th Earl Spencer (1924-1992), and his first wife Frances Roche (1936-2004), daughter of Maurice Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy . The couple's wedding was one of the major social events of 1954. The Spencers can trace their lineage back to 1469; at that time they were a family of wealthy sheep farmers in Warwickshire . In 1603 James I had given Robert Spencer a barony , to which years later the title of Earl of Sunderland was added. In 1700 the Spencers joined their family tree with that of the Churchill family when Anna Churchill, daughter of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough , married Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland . A descendant of this couple, alongside Diana Spencer, was British Prime Minister Winston Churchill .

The Spencers are also descended from various illegitimate descendants of the Anglo-Scottish Stuart kings Charles II and James II . Charles II's sons who are among Diana's ancestors include Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton , Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond , and James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth . Diana descended from James II through his illegitimate daughter Henrietta FitzJames, whose mother was Jacob's mistress Arabella Churchill . Also, Diana was related to eight different US Presidents, including George Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt . John Spencer served as chamberlain to George VI. and Elizabeth II, while Diana's grandmothers Lady Cynthia Spencer and Lady Ruth Fermoy were ladies-in-waiting to Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon .

John and Frances Spencer already had two older daughters, Sarah Elizabeth Lavinia (born 1955) and Jane Cynthia (born 1957) at the time of Diana's birth, but were still eagerly awaiting an heir. In January 1960, Frances Spencer gave birth to a son named John, who died ten hours after birth. When Frances Spencer became pregnant again and suffered a miscarriage, she kept it a secret from her husband. Diana's birth was celebrated with little enthusiasm in the family, and it took her parents a week to name their youngest daughter. Frances Spencer's birth was announced in The Times with the words 'Viscountess Althorp gave birth to a daughter on Saturday'. Diana, who was baptized on August 30, 1961, had five godparents, including John Floyd, the chairman of Christie's , and Lady Mary Colman, a niece of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.

The months following Diana's birth were among the worst of the Spencer's marriage. John Spencer insisted his wife undergo fertility treatments. The doctors should find out why she always gave birth only to girls. In 1964 the long-awaited heir Charles , later 9th Earl Spencer, was born. Still, this marriage had lost its appeal for Frances Spencer. In 1967, she began an affair with married wallpaper tycoon Peter Shand Kydd. After separating from his wife, John Spencer prevailed in court to have Norfolk recognized as the permanent residence of his two youngest children, Diana and Charles. Eventually, Frances Spencer left without her children; these were told she would return soon. Diana's biographer Tina Brown, an American gossip columnist , considers this subterfuge to be "the first of the great, emotionally crucial lies that eroded Diana's belief in the real world."

In December 1968, Frances Spencer filed for divorce. She cited "marital violence" as a reason, a claim that is still controversial today and aroused John Spencer's displeasure. Tina Brown suspects that Diana's fear that her parents' arguments would escalate into physical violence was a secret childhood fear. The adult Diana later recalled how she would covertly listen to her parents' arguments. In April 1969, John Spencer was granted a preliminary divorce decree and a month later Frances Spencer married the now divorced Peter Shand Kydd. John Spencer was awarded custody of his children after Ruth Fermoy testified about Frances Spencer's infidelity. Fermoy's testimony severely deteriorated the mother-daughter relationship.

Althorp House

Diana spent her early years in Park House , where she was born, where she was later tutored by a governess . When her grandfather Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer died on 9 June 1975, her father John Spencer inherited the earldom and the family moved to Althorp in Northamptonshire , where the family seat of Althorp House is located. With the death of their grandfather, Diana and her sisters were given the courtesy title "Lady". John Spencer met Raine Legge, wife of the 9th Earl of Dartmouth , during this period. His children were now used to having their father all to themselves and rejected any of his new girlfriends outright. Her father's decision for Raine Legge, on the other hand, was completely beyond her comprehension, and she loathed her from the first moment. Tina Brown suggests that John Spencer, fearing his youngest daughter's reaction to marrying Raine Legge, married his sweetheart on July 14, 1976 without notifying Diana or her siblings in advance. Diana and her sisters read about the wedding in the newspapers. They were not present at the wedding ceremony or the ball at Althorp that followed. John Spencer's behavior hurt Diana deeply and permanently. She rebelled against her stepmother from the start.

Diana entered Riddlesworth Hall boarding school at the age of nine , she was considered an average student, while her siblings excelled at school. According to Tina Brown, Diana was defensive about her intellectual potential and often made fun of it. On the other hand, she excelled in sports - she won trophies in swimming and diving competitions - and was very popular among her classmates. From 1973 Diana attended West Heath Boarding School in Sevenoaks , Kent . Although the boarding school's academic goals and ambitions were modest, Diana's lack of intellectual curiosity was evident even there. However, attention was drawn to her pronounced emotional intelligence . She continued to win swimming competitions and was enthusiastic about ballet, but later had to give this up because of her height. Instead, Diana turned to tap dancing and won two trophies in this discipline . In December 1977, Diana left West Heath after failing to pass any of her final exams, her O-levels , even on her second attempt. In 1978 Diana attended the Institut Alpin Videmanette , a girls ' boarding school in Rougemont , Switzerland , which she left after three months.

From 1978 Diana pursued various professional activities. She worked as a babysitter and kindergarten help. In early 1979 she found a job as a dance teacher, and in the summer she moved into a London apartment with some friends. From the autumn of 1979 until her marriage to Prince Charles, Diana worked as a governess at Young England Nursery School in Pimlico , London .

Relationship with Prince Charles (1977–1980)

Diana met Prince Charles in November 1977 at a hunting party at the Spencer family estate. She was considered a fit future queen by the royal court, having made a pleasant impression at her sister Jane Spencer's marriage to Robert Fellowes , Deputy Private Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II , in April 1978. At the celebration of Prince Charles' 30th birthday in November 1978, Diana once again made a name for herself with her pleasant demeanor. As one of the leading aristocratic families in England, the Spencer brought with them the best qualifications for a marriage with the royal family. In addition, the bride of the Prince of Wales had to have received a Protestant upbringing and be a virgin; both applied to Diana. Both the British royal family and members of Diana's family increasingly made Diana appear in the Prince of Wales's field of vision. Tina Brown considers it "one of the unexplored ironies of Diana's story that the more Prince Charles fell in love with Camilla Shand , the more urgent the court needed to come up with a woman to replace her." Prince Charles and Camilla Shand, later married Parker Bowles, had met in the early summer of 1971, and Charles had declared his love for her in December 1972, albeit without proposing. Then, in July 1973, Camilla Shand married Major Andrew Parker Bowles .

At this point, the British tabloids were playing the same game: a young woman went to great lengths to portray the next Queen of England until someone discovered a scandal in her biography that disqualified her. Diana's older sister, Sarah Spencer, was romantically involved with Prince Charles, but when she gave an interview to two gossip reporters in February 1978, in which she recounted, among other things, her drinking at boarding school, her expulsion from school and her anorexia , all plans were she could become the wife of the heir to the throne.

Diana and Charles' relationship began in July 1980 when the heir to the throne invited Diana to a polo match in Sussex . In August he invited her to Cowes , in September to Balmoral Castle . On September 8, 1980, the British tabloid The Sun became the first newspaper to use the nickname "Lady Di". When the tabloids began reporting the heir apparent's relationship with Diana Spencer, many readers thought the relationship would not last long. However, on September 17, 1980, a photograph of Diana appeared in the Evening Standard and left an unforgettable impression. Diana was photographed holding a child in the grounds of Young England Nursery School just as the sun came out from behind a cloud. This made Diana's cotton skirt appear translucent, revealing the full length of her legs. Tina Brown describes this moment as "one of those magical moments that make pictures iconic". Diana was extremely embarrassed by the publication of this picture, while the British public was mesmerized by the shot and took an interest in Diana. The photograph did not have any negative impact on Diana's relationship with Prince Charles. As usual, the press tried to uncover compromising events in Diana's past, but failed.

On February 6, 1981, Charles Diana proposed at Windsor Castle . Diana later told Andrew Morton , "It was as if he had called me to duty - that I should go out and work with the people." Tina Brown, on the other hand, thinks it "absolutely impossible" that Diana was thinking of duty at that moment. Diana's brother Charles Spencer confirmed his sister looked happier than ever and obviously found spiritual fulfillment. Diana's mother , Frances Shand Kydd , was the only one close to Diana who expressed serious concern. A close friend of Frances Shand Kydd revealed the latter did everything she could to dissuade Diana from marrying Charles, as she saw parallels between her daughter's relationship and her first marriage to John Spencer. In addition, Frances Shand Kydd opposed the engagement because she believed her mother, Ruth Fermoy, had influenced the matter. This denied these rumors.

On February 24, 1981, Buckingham Palace announced the couple's official engagement. When Charles and Diana were interviewed by the BBC that day, when asked if he was in love, Prince Charles replied: "Whatever being in love means. I'll leave that to you to interpret.” This caveat would haunt him from then on, but his remark was not printed in any of the newspapers covering the show. "Apparently nobody wanted to disturb the magic," says Tina Brown. Diana chose her £28,000 engagement ring set with fourteen diamonds and a sapphire centre. Due to the public attention she was now receiving, Diana became obsessed with her appearance. A bulimic episode began, causing her to lose over six kilograms between March and July 1981. The disease later became chronic.

Wedding to Prince Charles (1981)

The wedding took place on 29 July 1981 at London's St Paul's Cathedral , rather than Westminster Abbey , which is normally reserved for royal weddings , as the latter offers less space for guests. The marriage ceremony followed the rites of the Church of England except for the vow of "obedience". 3500 people were present in the cathedral. The event was televised to record audiences of more than 750 million viewers worldwide. If you include the listeners who listened to the wedding on the radio, you come to an audience of over a billion people. As Diana drove from Clarence House to St Paul's Cathedral, two million onlookers lined the streets with 4,000 police officers on duty. During the ceremony, Diana said her groom's first names out of order, leading Charles to joke, "She just married my father!" Diana's wedding dress , valued at £9,000, was designed by British fashion designer David Emanuel . The day of the wedding has been declared a national holiday in Great Britain. In an interview in 1992, Diana claimed it was the most terrifying day of her life.

By marrying Diana bore her husband's title as a courtesy title Her Royal Highness Princess Charles Philip Arthur George, Princess of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall and Rothesay etc. The translation of the English word Princess as 'Princess' is incorrect in this case. Here the princess is meant, since the British heir to the throne is dubbed Prince of Wales = "Prince of Wales". As Diana herself noted, she was never "Princess Diana" because a British princess can only be one who was born as such or who has been specially granted this title by the respective monarch.

Diana was the first Englishwoman to tie the knot with an heir to the British throne since Lady Anne Hyde married James II in 1659 . Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon , future wife of King George VI. , also known as Queen Mum, was not English but Scottish (although she was born in London to an English mother). In addition, Albert, later King George VI, was not heir to the throne at the time of the marriage.

Development into media star and first conflicts (1982–1984)

Diana was followed relentlessly by reporters in the years that followed. On June 21, 1982, their son William was born. The media hype surrounding the impending birth had made Diana feel like the whole of England was in labor with her. She subsequently fell ill with postpartum depression . The more attention Diana got from the world public, the more Charles' interest in her waned. Frances Shand Kydd also had mixed feelings about the media fuss about her daughter, and their marriage suffered under the weight of Diana's star hype. On September 14, 1982, Princess Grace of Monaco died as a result of a car accident and Diana, the only member of the British royal family to attend the funeral, was admired for the dignified demeanor she maintained despite several mishaps. However, her performance, which was praised by the press, was not appreciated within the royal family. During a six-week tour of Australia and New Zealand in March 1983, Diana's image as a global and widely acclaimed celebrity was definitively manifested, much to the displeasure of Prince Charles. The media reported almost exclusively on his wife. In addition, the trip served a serious political purpose: to re-establish the value of the British monarchy among increasingly republican-minded Australians. Diana's presence, however, brought about a radical change in mood. She became a favorite of the press because, as Tina Brown explains, "she was alien to all arrogance." Frances Shand Kydd said, "She wasn't overly confident, but she knew she had a special gift for approaching people, and she used that gift well." her splendid performances in Australia were again not recognized by the court.

On September 15, 1984, Prince Harry was born. At that time, Diana's marriage to Prince Charles was already in a serious crisis, but initially nothing was known about it. Two of Diana's biographers, Anthony Holden and James Whitaker, attribute the failure of the marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles' re-establishment in Charles's life. Like Holden and Whitaker, Brown believes that Charles turned his back on Camilla Parker Bowles full-time in 1983, which Diana noticed.

Mid 1980s

Diana with John Travolta in the Entrance Hall of the White House in Washington, DC, November 9, 1985
Charles and Diana at the wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson in 1986

In November 1985 Diana and Charles paid a visit to the American presidential couple Ronald and Nancy Reagan on the occasion of a state banquet. On November 9, Diana danced with American film actor John Travolta in the Entrance Hall of the White House to the tunes of Saturday Night Fever . Although the dance only lasted about ten minutes, it was a pivotal moment in Diana's rise to fame. At the same time, John Travolta's career received a decisive boost after a low point. During the dinner that followed, Diana dined alongside Russian ballet choreographer Mikhail Baryshnikov .

To this day, rumor has it that Diana had an affair with her bodyguard , Barry Mannakee , in 1985-1986 . Mannakee, in charge of her protection from 1985, accompanied her on trips to Italy, Australia and America during this period, and Diana enjoyed his calming influence on public appearances. Tina Brown is convinced that this relationship was Diana's first extramarital relationship; Diana's close friend Dr. James Colthurst and a senior Scotland Yard official confirmed that. James Hewitt states in his book Love and War that Diana told him that she and Mannakee were a couple . Bodyguards Ken Wharfe and Colin Tebbutt deny this rumor. They believe this was invented by jealous employees. After Diana and Mannakee were caught in a catchy situation by Prince Charles' bodyguards on July 22, 1986, Mannakee was removed from royal service. He died in a motorcycle accident on May 22, 1987. Diana was always convinced that he had been murdered.

On 23 July 1986, Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson . Diana was enthusiastic about Ferguson's induction into the royal family as she saw an ally in the newlywed Duchess of York and distant cousin. Later, however, the two competed as rivals for the favor of the press. While Ferguson envied her sister-in-law's sophisticated demeanor, Diana was jealous of Ferguson's good connections with the royal family. Diana had vain hopes of receiving Queen Elizabeth II's approval, but the two women had little in common. Another problem was Diana's jealousy of Camilla Parker Bowles. No member of the royal family would approve of Charles's relationship with her, but Elizabeth II, according to Tina Brown, belonged to a generation that resolutely ignored spousal infidelity. However, Diana did not succeed and her bulimia worsened . In the summer of 1986, she confessed to her sister, Jane Fellowes, that she had cut her chest and thighs after an argument with Charles.

Late 1980s

Diana's marriage to Prince Charles broke up in the late 1980s. Diana continued to suffer from bulimia and depression. There had been speculation in public for years about her state of health.

Early 1990s

Diana's 30th birthday in July 1991 sparked much speculation about their marriage. Diana had let it be known that she would be spending her birthday alone. That morning, she learned that two opinion polls had voted her the most popular member of the royal family. It was not lost on Prince Charles that his wife was proving to be far more adept at dealing with the media than he was. However, her short-term triumphs were not enough for Diana. She was convinced that if she continued to remain silent about the state of her marriage, the public would blame her for the failure of her marriage. In the summer of 1991, Diana decided to write a book about her marriage to Prince Charles; however, it should give the impression that this is an assessment by a third party. She knew that by publishing such a book she would be breaking a royal taboo. Diana teamed up with journalist Andrew Morton for this purpose; the two first met in 1986. Diana soon learned that Morton was a close acquaintance of her confidante James Colthurst and also her press advocate. However, the interviews with Diana that were necessary for the book were not conducted by Morton, but by Colthurst. When Morton's publisher Michael O'Mara demanded evidence to support Diana's claim that her husband was having an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, Diana stole some of Camilla's love letters from Charles' briefcase and gave them to the publishers.

In late March 1992, Lord John Spencer , Diana's father, died of a heart attack. Diana was now so hostile towards Charles that he didn't dare to break the news to her personally, but hired a bodyguard to do it. Two days after Spencer's death, his widow was expelled from Althorp by her stepson Charles Spencer.

On 7 June 1992 the first excerpt from Andrew Morton's book Diana: Her True Story appeared in the Sunday Times and it was obvious to all concerned that Diana herself was the author of those lines; testimonies about her suicide attempts , her feelings of abandonment and her bulimia came from some of her closest friends, whose names had been made public. Morton's book came at a time when Diana had managed to establish her international reputation as the representative of the United Kingdom. Those around her had ensured that admiration for her charitable work outweighed the applause bestowed on her wardrobe. In fact, on various trips abroad to Hungary, the Balkans and India, Diana had managed to make a name for herself with humanitarian gestures. Shortly after Morton's book was published, she regretted that it had come out. She envisioned the fate of her sister-in-law, Sarah Ferguson, who had officially separated from her husband in March 1992. Diana watched Ferguson's decline in society with growing alarm; she suspected that Morton's book could have similar consequences for her.

Diana's revelations in Morton's book gave enormous impetus to opponents of the monarchy. While the tell-all book scandal was hotly debated in the tabloids, the serious press berated those who worked with Diana on the cause. Some columnists claimed it was all fabrication, while others viewed the publication of Morton's book as a massive invasion of royal privacy. On June 8, 1992, Diana and Charles met privately at Kensington Palace and Charles agreed to a separation. However, Queen Elizabeth II was not ready to accept this decision. On the part of the people, Diana received much sympathy and sympathy. Her confession to her bulimia was seen as a brave step. According to research, the number of reported bulimia cases has increased sharply since then.

Tabloid journalists took Diana: Her True Story as a license to stalk the royal family more shamelessly than ever. This change in the press became noticeable from the summer of 1992. On August 20, 1992, the Daily Mirror published pictures of Sarah Ferguson, who was photographed near Saint-Tropez being fondled bare-breasted by an American financial adviser. Tina Brown has been told that Ferguson now believes Diana revealed her whereabouts in France to the press. Despite their growing estrangement, Ferguson still saw an ally in Diana. Brown believes Ferguson's assumptions are plausible. On November 11 and 13, 1992, the Daily Mirror published a two-part article entitled "Camilla in private" quoting from tape recordings. After a major fire at Windsor Castle on November 20th destroyed nine state apartments and a hundred other rooms and the Secretary of State for Monuments announced that the cost of restoring the castle would be borne by the Treasury, the Daily Telegraph on December 19th asked whether the British monarchy still has a future.

In her speech on the occasion of her 40th crown jubilee on November 24, Queen Elizabeth II described the year 1992 as an annus horribilis . On December 9, 1992, Prime Minister John Major announced the official separation of Diana and Charles in the House of Commons, saying the couple had no intention of divorcing and would continue to be fully involved in the upbringing of their sons. He also added that the royal couple's split had no constitutional implications, a statement met with disbelief by some members of the House of Commons. The thought that Diana, now no longer hiding her dislike for Charles, might one day be crowned Queen was unbearable to her. In January 1993, Diana decided to forgo police protection unless she was traveling with her sons.

After the separation, Diana was mainly concerned with marketing her celebrity as successfully as possible and getting involved worldwide. Diana's desire to do charitable work was awakened when she visited Mother Teresa 's Hospice in Kolkata in February 1992 . She found this visit to be "a deep spiritual experience." Her international popularity was further cemented by the fact that in Morton's book she revealed her private life to the public and thus had many people emotionally attached to her. In April 1993, she gave a speech at Kensington Town Hall at the first Eating Disorders Conference in England, in which she shared her personal experience of bulimia. Diana also managed to raise awareness of the topic of postpartum depression in expert circles. The Conservative British government of John Major appreciated the impact of Diana's public appearances, but her enormously increased standing with the British public again deeply worried her husband and in-laws. They had expected that after the breakup, Diana would transform back into the shy, insecure person she once was.

After the humiliations he suffered at the hands of Morton's book, Charles felt a desire to restore his honor. He agreed to an interview with the BBC's Jonathan Dimbleby . Charles' discussions with Dimbleby began in the summer of 1992, shortly after Morton's book was published. The Crown Prince gained confidence in Dimbleby and allowed him an insight into his diaries. The interview with Dimbleby aired on June 29, 1994, and at one point the journalist questioned whether Charles had been faithful to his wife since their marriage. Charles replied, "Yes, of course. Until, despite our mutual efforts, our marriage was irretrievably broken.” This publicly disclosed Charles' infidelity and his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles; 14 million viewers watched the interview. The vast majority of the British public cared less about his infidelity than about the fact that he had admitted his affair.

Final years of life (1995–1997)

Diana (1995)

In the fall of 1995, Diana fell in love with the Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan. She traveled to Pakistan as often as possible to familiarize herself with Khan's cultural background. Finally, Diana asked her butler , Paul Burrell , to ask a priest if a secret marriage ceremony with Khan was possible. However, when Khan learned of Diana's plans, he was horrified.

Revelations about her phone calls to Oliver Hoare, Hewitt's book, and her affair with Will Carling had clouded the image of the woman wronged by the court. Diana knew that a new extramarital relationship would be too risky for her. On 5 November 1995, in her sitting room at Kensington Palace, Diana gave an interview to BBC journalist Martin Bashir (see An Interview with HRH the Princess of Wales ). In doing so, she wanted to change the image that the public had of her back in her favor and ensure that the public saw her as a troubled woman who, despite many hostilities, had always kept her composure and had never wanted a divorce. On the evening of the broadcast of the "Panorama" interview, the streets of London were empty as 23 million Britons sat in front of the screens and awaited the program Diana had announced for November 14, 1995, her husband's 47th birthday. In fact, the show aired on November 20, 1995. Diana herself did not look at her, but spent the evening of the broadcast at a benefit gala for cancer patients. She said the following things in the TV interview:

I understand that change is frightening for people, especially if there's nothing to go to. It's best to stay where you are. I understand that. But I do think that there are a few things that could change, that would alleviate this doubt, and sometimes complicated relationship between monarchy and public. I think they could walk hand in hand, as opposed to being so distant. – “I understand that change creates fear in people, especially when you don't know where it's going. It seems best then to leave things as they are. I understand that. But I certainly believe there are a few things that could change that could reduce the doubt and ease the sometimes complicated relationship between the monarchy and the public. I think both sides could march hand in hand instead of standing at a distance from each other.”
I'd like to be a queen of people's hearts, in people's hearts, but I don't see myself being Queen of this country. – "I would like to be the queen of hearts, a queen in the hearts of the people, but I don't see myself as the queen of this country."
Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded. - "There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a little crowded."

When asked by Bashir whether she had been unfaithful to her husband, Diana replied, referring to James Hewitt:

Yes, I adored him. Yes, I was in love with him. But I was very let down. "Yes, I adored him. Yes, I was in love with him. But I've been terribly let down."

Regarding her husband's suitability to be king, she said:

And being Prince of Wales produces more freedom now, and being King would be a little bit more suffocating. And because I know the character I would think that the top job, as I call it, would bring enormous limitations to him, and I don't know whether he could adapt to that. – “Being Prince of Wales now offers even more freedom, and being King would be a little more restrictive. And knowing his character, I think the top job, as I call it, would put him in his place and I doubt he could get used to it."

Diana knew in advance what topics to bring up in the interview and had practiced her answers for weeks. Doing her makeup herself, she lined her eyes with dark eyeliner, which is not her habit, and made up a pale complexion. Diana managed to arouse a lot of sympathy from the population and the interview was watched by over 200 million television viewers worldwide. On Wednesday after the interview aired, a Daily Mirror poll showed 92% approval of her performance. The British royal family, on the other hand, was shocked by the program.

Although the crown prince couple's divorce was now only a matter of time, it wasn't the "Panorama" interview that finally prompted Queen Elizabeth II to ask Charles and Diana for a divorce. At the annual Christmas party for staff at St James's Palace, Diana publicly insulted Alexandra Legge-Bourke, a personal assistant to Charles. Diana suspected Legge-Bourke of having an affair with Charles, for which there is no evidence. After Diana Legge-Bourke publicly alleged on December 14, 1995 that she had aborted a child whose father would have been Prince Charles, Elizabeth II decided to end her son's marriage. This decision was unanimously accepted by the government. For all the ministers in the Tory Cabinet , the idea that Diana could yet become queen was grotesque. On December 20, 1995, Diana received a handwritten letter from her mother-in-law stating that the latter had discussed the matter with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Prime Minister. Both had come to the conclusion that a divorce was the best solution. Diana was close to a breakdown. Her lawyer Anthony Julius advised her not to immediately agree to a divorce and to allow enough time to pass. Julius and Diana calculated that £17 million was necessary to maintain Diana's status and safety. On 15 February 1996, Elizabeth II ruled that Diana could continue to look after her sons to the same extent as before, keep her office at St James's Palace and reside at Kensington Palace . Although Diana was able to continue to use the title "Princess of Wales", she was stripped of the title Her Royal Highness ("Her Royal Highness"). However, the palace announced that it was henceforth correct to address the princess as Highness and that Diana, as the mother of a future king, should have her own title in due course. If she were to remarry, she would have permanently lost her claim to the title of Princess of Wales. The royal family also announced that despite the divorce, Diana remained a member of the royal family and continued to hold the status of a British princess . The divorce prevented Diana from ever becoming Queen ( Queen Consort ).

The loss of this predicate was problematic for Diana in that her options would be reduced with the withdrawal of the royal initials. At a joint meeting with Prince Charles, she agreed to the divorce on the condition that the demands of her lawyers would be met. On July 13, 1996, the negotiated divorce agreement was signed, with which she lost her title but gained financial independence. In addition to the sum she and her lawyer had calculated, she was to be paid £400,000 a year for her office from now on. On August 28, 1996, the Prince and Princess of Wales divorced.

On 7 April 1996, the Mail on Sunday revealed that BBC journalist Bashir had used forged documents to gain access to Princess Diana in order to persuade her to give the 20 November 1995 'Panorama' interview. In 2020, Diana's brother , Charles Spencer , said Bashir obtained the interview using, among other things, fake bank statements. These were intended to give the impression that people had been paid to reveal information about the British Crown Princess. The BBC commissioned an investigative report from former senior judge Lord Dyson . This was released on May 20, 2021 and confirmed that Bashir had fooled Charles Spencer and Diana.

Bashir left the BBC "for health reasons".

Lady Di receiving the International Leonardo Prize (1995)

After the divorce, Diana reduced her staff at Kensington Palace and Paul Burrell took a more prominent role in her personal life. She also reduced her involvement in charity. Of the original hundred or so organizations she worked for, six now remain, including the Royal Marsden Hospital , the Leprosy Mission and the National AIDS Foundation. For this she received the Russian International Leonardo Prize . Diana broke with Sarah Ferguson when she published her memoir and at one point spoke negatively about her former sister-in-law. Ferguson begged her forgiveness; Diana refused to reconcile with her. Instead, her stepmother Raine Spencer, with whom she reconciled in 1993, became a new ally. The years spent with Charles cast Raine Spencer in a new light. In the first year after the divorce, Diana's relationship with Charles normalized. In addition, Diana's personal life stabilized.

Diana returned to charitable causes in order to be recognized by Hasnat Khan. Mike Whitlam was then Director General of the British Red Cross, which was part of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines , a global network of organizations campaigning to ban the use of landmines and help victims. He aroused Diana's interest in the effects of landmines, and on January 14, 1997, Diana arrived in the Angolan capital , Luanda . In the devastated and heavily mined province of Huambo , she visited patients in a hospital that had neither electricity nor adequate beds, and on January 15, wearing protective clothing, entered a partially cleared minefield in front of media representatives. While Diana's visit earned her much press acclaim, Britain's Tory government expressed anger. Diana's involvement went against the Tory line of opposition to banning landmines. On the other hand, Diana received support from Tony Blair's Labor Party. Shortly after Diana's death, 122 governments in Ottawa signed a treaty banning the use of land mines against humans . The Norwegian Nobel Committee honored this initiative with a Nobel Peace Prize . Foreign Secretary Robin Cook paid posthumous tribute to Diana in 1998 (during the second reading of the Landmines Bill in the British House of Commons) "for her important contribution to the subject".

Diana's son William had the idea that his mother could auction her ball gowns for a good cause in New York. Diana liked the idea as a symbolic gesture at the beginning of her new chapter in life. She was the first member of royal circles to put such a project into practice. Diana spent a month sorting out her old robes. Among other things, the dark blue Victor gem dress that she wore to the dance with John Travolta was auctioned off by an anonymous bidder for $222,500 (see Travolta dress ). Diana only parted with this dress because she knew it would fetch a lot of money at auction.

Accidental Death (1997)

Princess Diana (left) with her last partner , Dodi Al-Fayed , memorial shrine in London's Harrods

At 9:35 p.m. on August 30, 1997, Diana and her new boyfriend Dodi Al-Fayed set out from Dodi's Paris apartment towards Chez Benoît , a restaurant near the Center Pompidou . Dodi was irritated by the paparazzi present and after ten minutes of driving ordered his chauffeur to drive back to the Hôtel Ritz in Paris . There he wanted to have dinner with Diana. The couple entered the hotel at 9:53 p.m. François Tendil, the security officer that night, was so concerned about the photographers that he contacted Henri Paul , the hotel's chief security officer, when he was actually off-duty. During Dodi and Diana's dinner, two bodyguards waited in the hotel's Bar Vendôme, where they were joined by Henri Paul. The latter drank two glasses of Ricard , which the bodyguards did not recognize as alcohol. At 00:06 on August 31, 1997, Diana and Dodi exited the hotel's Presidential Suite and headed to the first floor staff elevator, and fourteen minutes later Henri Paul, Diana, Dodi and bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones drove off in a Mercedes S 280 . Paul was supposed to take Diana and Dodi to his apartment on Rue Arsène Houssaye.

At 00:25 local time, the car crashed in the Alma underpass near the Alma Bridge in Paris. The Mercedes-Benz crashed into a tunnel pillar at high speed. Diana's partner Dodi Al-Fayed and driver Henri Paul died at the scene of the accident. A photo of which it was claimed for a while that the flashlight blinded the driver and thus contributed to the accident was demonstrably taken on the departure from the Hotel Ritz. The paparazzi following the Mercedes only arrived in the tunnel after the accident. None of the occupants were wearing seat belts. Al-Fayed's bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones survived the accident with serious facial injuries. Diana (who only underwent surgery two hours after the accident) died a few hours after the accident as a result of severe internal injuries at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital . She was officially pronounced dead around 4 a.m. Several court cases have now classified the accident as an accident.

It turned out that Henri Paul had taken the antidepressant Prozac and a drug to treat alcoholism ( Tiapridal ) before the trip and that his alcohol concentration was 1.8, more than three times the legal alcohol limit . Shortly after Diana's death, her body was embalmed by the undertaker Jean Monceau without the consent required by French law because, for safety reasons, she was not laid out in an ordinary, refrigerated mortuary and threatened to decompose quickly.

funeral service

Lady Diana was buried on the island (right), with the memorial in the background.

The funeral service at Westminster Abbey took place on September 6th. A close friend of the deceased, British pop musician Elton John sang a re-lyriced version of what became known as Candle in the Wind at the celebration of Goodbye, England's Rose . British soprano Lynne Dawson sang Libera me from Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem , Lady Sarah McCorquodale recited Mary Lee Hall 's poem Turn Again to Life . Diana's younger brother Earl Spencer gave a speech in which he cited, among other things, the fateful irony that Diana, named after the goddess of the hunt, had become a hunted woman herself, criticizing both the media and the English royal family.

When Queen Elizabeth II left Buckingham Palace, the royal standard was replaced by the Union Jack and flown at half-staff. About three million people saw the funeral procession through London . Around 2.5 billion people worldwide (approx. 43% of the world population at the time) are said to have watched the funeral service on television, making it the most-watched media event to date . Diana's body was buried with close family at the Spencer family estate in Althorp . In her hands she held a picture of her two sons and a rosary, a gift from Mother Teresa , who died the day before the funeral service .

aftermath

Azulejo street sign in Cascais , Portugal

The causes of the accident are still the subject of speculation and conspiracy theories in the popular press, mainly because of their popularity. Among others, ZDF contributed its version of events on February 20, 2007. A well-known conspiracy theory is the testimony of former MI6 officer Richard Tomlinson, which he gave as an affidavit to the French coroner Hervé Stephan on August 30, 1998. Accordingly, the driver Henri Paul was blinded by a "light cannon" or by a strobe flash gun . The flash of light was confirmed by eyewitnesses in the British ITV documentary Diana: The Secrets Behind the Crash . Tomlinson pointed out that he had seen the same assassination plan signed by MI6 officers on the then Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević , which proved MI6 to be a perpetrator. In particular, the suggestion made therein to carry out the attack in a tunnel, because this would increase the danger to life, was for Tomlinson the decisive indication that MI6 had been the perpetrator of the assassination.

The investigation into Diana's death was reopened by British authorities in February 2004 (see Operation Paget ) after doubts about the findings of French authorities' inquiries and rumors surfaced that government agencies had been involved in an assassination plot. A French journalist reported that the police tried to intimidate him if he continued to investigate. However, a complete reconstruction of the accident is no longer possible because not all parts of the accident car exist anymore. First, the wreck had to be cut open in the tunnel to recover Diana and Trevor Rees-Jones. According to the French authorities, a fire in the Ministry of Justice warehouse then destroyed parts of the wreck.

Three months after Diana's death, Andrew Morton and Michael O'Mara published a book entitled Diana: Her True Story In Her Own Words . It contained the full transcript of the taped interviews Colthurst conducted with Diana between 1991 and 1992. Based on the taped interviews, the German producer Christian Seidel presented his film The Biographer in London in 2002 (German version: Diana - My Story and How the Truth Came to Light ). The film was directed by Philip Saville . It stars Paul McGann , Brian Cox , Hugh Bonneville and Faye Dunaway . Seidel refused to cast an actress for the role of Diana because, as he said, it would be "cheap and insulting to the life of the princess to have someone who looks different play the role of the most famous and beloved woman in the world." and is different". The producer therefore bought up documentary film material about the princess from around the world and acquired the rights to the original audio cassettes for the film, which the princess collaborated with her biographer Andrew Morton for the collaboration of her scandalous 1992 biography Diana Her True Story . The film's theatrical distribution contract fell through in the wake of the New Economy crash . Nevertheless, the socially critical strip was shown on television in numerous countries around the world, except in England.

Princess Diana Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park, London

On April 21, 2004, CBS aired censored footage of Diana dying, breaking a taboo. In 2006, the Italian magazine Chi published for the first time an uncensored, albeit grainy photo of the dying Diana. It is black and white and shows Diana in profile being supplied with oxygen by the attending emergency doctor. In 2011, these images were uncensored in Unlawful Killing and shown in the highest possible resolution. Both the show and the film sparked outrage in the UK .

On July 6, 2004, Queen Elizabeth II dedicated a memorial fountain in London's Hyde Park in honor of Diana . The fountain was designed by American landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson. The oval stone ring made of granite, in which the water flows in two directions at different speeds, is intended as a symbol of Diana's turbulent life.

On 1 July 2007, Diana's Sons held a memorial concert for Diana at London's Wembley Stadium , attended by around 60,000 people . On this day Diana would have celebrated her 46th birthday. Elton John, Duran Duran , Take That , Natasha Bedingfield and Nelly Furtado , among others, performed . The concert was broadcast live in 140 countries. A memorial service was held in London on the tenth anniversary of his death, also organized by her sons William and Harry.

Princess Diana Monument in Vienna

In 2008, a commission of inquiry ruled that Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed were "unlawfully killed " . A gross breach of duty by Henri Paul was also established. Prosecution of the paparazzi involved was ruled out following this judgment as it is not possible to bring a foreigner before a British court for a crime committed abroad. Diana's sons accepted the verdict unreservedly and thanked the judge and jury involved for their work. Mohammed Al-Fayed, on the other hand, continued to speak of murder immediately after the verdict and reserved the right to take further legal action. His legal advisers, however, wrote in writing after the verdict that they would accept the results. It was also acknowledged that there had been no attempt to cover up a pregnancy as it could not be proven by tests and that the French emergency services were not part of a conspiracy to harm Diana. The conspiracy theory repeatedly put forward by Mohammed Al-Fayed thus proved untenable.

In 2013, the Austrian journalist Ewald Wurzinger had a memorial built for Diana in Vienna. It is the first Diana monument in German-speaking countries.

Wurzinger was appointed godfather to the princess's last christened child. In an interview, he described the adopted sponsorship as Diana's most beautiful legacy.

In 2019, the city of Paris officially gave the name “ Place Diana ” to the public square above the accident tunnel at the Alma Bridge .

On July 1, 2021, her sons unveiled a statue commissioned four years earlier to honor their late mother in Kensington Palace's Sunken Garden.

In the song Expect the Unexpected by crossover band Dog Eat Dog , found on the 1999 album Amped , the musical group mentions the accidental death of Princess Diana.

title and coat of arms

  • The Honorable Diana Spencer (July 1, 1961 – June 9, 1975)
  • The Lady Diana Spencer (June 9, 1975 – July 29, 1981)
  • Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales (29 July 1981 – 28 August 1996)
  • Diana, Princess of Wales (28 August 1996 – 31 August 1997)

During her marriage to Prince Charles, Diana's full title was Her Royal Highness The Princess Charles Philip Arthur George, Princess of Wales and Countess of Chester, Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay, Countess of Carrick, Baroness of Renfrew, Lady of the Isles, Princess ofScotland.

Although Diana was not given an official title after her divorce and was stripped of the suffix HRH , the Court has stated that it is correct to address Diana as "Your Highness" from now on.

ancestors

Pedigree Diana, Princess of Wales
great-great-grandparents

Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer (1798–1857)
⚭ 1854
Adelaide Seymour (1825–1877)
Edward Baring, 1st Baron Revelstoke (1828–1897)

⚭ 1861
Louisa Bulteel (1839–1892)

James Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Abercorn (1838–1913)
⚭ 1869
Lady Maria Curzon Howe (1848–1929)
Charles Bingham, 4th Earl of Lucan (1830–1914)

⚭ 1859
Lady Cecilia Gordon-Lennox (1835–1910)
Edmond Roche, 1st Baron Fermoy (1815–1874)

⚭ 1848
Elizabeth Boothby (1821–1897)


Franklin H Work (1819–1911)

⚭ 1857
Ellen Wood (1831–1877)
Alexander Ogston Gil (1833–1908)

⚭ 1862
Barbara Smith Marr (1843–1898)
David Littlejohn (1841-1924)

⚭ 1872
Jane Crombie (1843–1917)

great grandparents

Charles Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer (1857–1922)
⚭ 1887
The Honorable Margaret Baring (1868–1906)

James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn (1869–1953)
⚭ 1894
Lady Rosalind Bingham (1869–1958)

James Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy (1852–1920)
⚭ 1880
Frances Work (1857–1947)

William Smith Gil (1865–1957)
⚭ 1898
Ruth Littlejohn (1879–1964)

grandparents

Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer (1892–1975)
⚭ 1919
Lady Cynthia Hamilton (1897–1972)

Maurice Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy (1885–1955)
⚭ 1931
Ruth Gill (1908–1993)
parents

John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer (1924–1992)
⚭ 1954
The Honorable Frances Roche (1936–2004)

Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997)

film adaptations

Biographical Films

  • 1982: Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story, directed by James Goldstone, with Caroline Bliss as Diana
  • 1982: The Romance of Charles and Diana, directed by Peter Levin, with Catherine Oxenberg as Diana
  • 1992: Between Bed and Throne – The Windsor Women, directed by Steven Hilliard Stern, starring Nicola Formby as Diana
  • 1992: Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After, directed by John Power, with Catherine Oxenberg as Diana
  • 1993 Diana: The True Story, directed by Kevin Connor , starring Serena Scott Thomas as Diana
  • 1996: Diana, directed by David Greene, starring Julie Cox as Diana
  • 1997/1998 Diana and the Monarchy ( Diana et la Monarchie ), ZDF and Arte , written and directed by Christoph Wienert
  • 1998 Diana: Queen of Hearts, directed by Gabrielle Beaumont , starring Amy Seccombe as Diana
  • 2002: Diana - My Story and How the Truth Came Out, film, directed by Christian Seidel
  • 2005: Palais Royal!, film alluding to the life of Diana
  • 2005: Charles and Camilla , Directed by David Blair, starring Michelle Duncan as Diana
  • 2007: Diana's death, myth and truth, a collaboration between ZDF and BBC
  • 2007: The Murder of Princess Diana
  • 2007: Diana: The Last 24 Hours , starring Genevieve O'Reilly as Diana
  • 2011: Unlawful Killing , controversial documentary that screened at the 2011 Cannes International Film Festival
  • 2013: Diana , directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel and starring Naomi Watts as Diana
  • 2021: Spencer by Pablo Larraín with Kristen Stewart as Diana

Film adaptations in which Diana is referred to

literature

Books about Diana (selection)

Books with sections on Diana (selection)

  • Kitty Kelly: The Royals – The Glory and Misery of an English Family . Schröder 1997, licensed edition Bertelsmann o.J., book no. 039305
  • Guido Knopp : Majesty! – The last great monarchies . C. Bertelsmann Verlag , Munich 2006, ISBN 3-570-00836-3 .
  • Alice Schwarzer : Princess Diana (1961–1997), kindergarten teacher in: Alice Schwarzer portrays role models and idols. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne 2003, ISBN 978-3-462-03341-0 , pp. 132-139. (First published in Die Zeit , September 5, 1997)
  • Eva Elisabeth, Robert Menasse : The Last Fairy Tale Princess. Modern Myths, Real Fairy Tales . With illustrations by Gerhard Haderer . Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1997, ISBN 3-518-40950-6 .
  • P. Rössler: And Diana went to the rainbow. The reporting of the German gossip press. In: Miriam Meckel 1999: Media Myth? The staging of celebrities and fate using the example of Diana Spencer. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag 1999, ISBN 3-531-13291-1 , pages 99–139.
  • Ludwig Schubert, Rolf Seelmann-Eggebert: Europe's royal children . vs 1999.
  • Judy Wade: Britain - The History of the British Monarchy , in: Princely and Royal Houses in Europe , Naumann & Göbel 1995, ISBN 3-625-10691-4 .

web links

Commons : Diana, Princess of Wales  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

itemizations

  1. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 11.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Transcript of November 1995 Panorama interview on BBC website
  3. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 367.
  4. ↑ Knopp (2009), pp. 330/331.
  5. ^ a b c Knopp (2006), p. 332.
  6. ↑ Knopp (2006), p. 333.
  7. ↑ a b Brown (2007), p. 65.
  8. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 57.
  9. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 178.
  10. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 64.
  11. ↑ The Times , July 3, 1961.
  12. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 43.
  13. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 66.
  14. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 67.
  15. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 69.
  16. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 70.
  17. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 71.
  18. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 72.
  19. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 73.
  20. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 81.
  21. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 93/94.
  22. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 84/85.
  23. ↑ a b Brown (2007), p. 100.
  24. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 90-93.
  25. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 105.
  26. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 177.
  27. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 147.
  28. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 178/179.
  29. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 163.
  30. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 166.
  31. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 167.
  32. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 158.
  33. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 144/145.
  34. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 196.
  35. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 197.
  36. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 224/225.
  37. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 216.
  38. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 229.
  39. ↑ BBC on this Day – 1981: Charles and Diana Marry
  40. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 311.
  41. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 314.
  42. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 300.
  43. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 320.
  44. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 322-324.
  45. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 326-327.
  46. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 332.
  47. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 356–357.
  48. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 363.
  49. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 336.
  50. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 361.
  51. ↑ James Hewitt: Love and War.
  52. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 372-379.
  53. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 382-383.
  54. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 386.
  55. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 390-394.
  56. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 465–467.
  57. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 475.
  58. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 475–478.
  59. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 482.
  60. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 487/488.
  61. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 469–472.
  62. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 490-498.
  63. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 502–504.
  64. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 506/507.
  65. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 507/508.
  66. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 509–513.
  67. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 515–517.
  68. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 521–523.
  69. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 551–557.
  70. ↑ a b Brown (2007), pp. 617–621.
  71. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 571–576.
  72. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 577.
  73. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 585.
  74. ↑ BBC presents handwritten note from Diana . In: spiegel.de, November 14, 2020 (accessed on November 15, 2020).
  75. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 589–591.
  76. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 587–593.
  77. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 596–599.
  78. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 603.
  79. ↑ bbc.com May 21, 2021: timeline
  80. ↑ Lying and deceit and cover-up at the highest level
  81. ↑ BBC scandal interview: Diana was lied to . In: FAZ.NET . ISSN  0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed 21 May 2021]).
  82. ↑ bbc.com: CHANGES TO BBC POLICIES AND PRACTICES (pdf, 3 pages)
  83. ↑ DER SPIEGEL: He conducted the legendary Diana interview: Journalist Martin Bashir leaves the BBC. Retrieved May 21, 2021 .
  84. ↑ The bitter aftertaste of Princess Diana's 50th birthday. ( Memento of December 30, 2016 at the Internet Archive ) In: The Voice of Russia of June 1, 2011.
  85. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 609–613.
  86. ↑ The HALO Trust: 20 Years after Diana's visit, landmines are still killing children. Retrieved January 14, 2022 (English).
  87. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 622–624.
  88. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 643.
  89. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 615/616.
  90. ↑ Brown (2007), pp. 33-35.
  91. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 39.
  92. ↑ Peter-Philipp Schmitt: Princess Diana died ten years ago: pictures of the night of death are still under lock and key. In: FAZ.NET Special. 31 August 2007, retrieved 11 November 2011 .
  93. ↑ Peter-Philipp Schmitt: Photographer Langevin about Diana photos: "The pictures were taken at the Ritz". In: FAZ.NET Special. October 4, 2007, archived from the original on January 17, 2013 ; retrieved November 11, 2011 .
  94. ↑ Operation Paget Report, chapter six, page 421: "Operation Paget's view is that none of the seat belts were being worn at the time of the impact, including that of Trevor Rees-Jones. From the nature of marks found on his seat belt, it is considered unlikely that he was even in the process of attempting to put it on at all at the time of the crash."
  95. ↑ Rees-Jones: I think I've been told that I wasn't wearing a seatbelt. I assume that's been misreported, that the airbag must have saved me on the initial impact, but then my face and chest hit the dashboard when the car was pushed around. In: Trevor Rees-Jones Tells 'The Bodyguard's Story'.
  96. ↑ Ernst Kern : Seeing - thinking - acting of a surgeon in the 20th century. ecomed, Landsberg am Lech 2000. ISBN 3-609-20149-5 , p. 109.
  97. ↑ Claudia Bröll: Final report: Diana's death a "tragic accident". In: faz.net. December 14, 2006, retrieved November 11, 2011 .
  98. ↑ Ursula Langmann (Paris); Manfred Weber-Lamberdière: Abroad: Chaos and Concealment. in Focus-Online of September 15, 1997.
  99. ↑ Quote from French thanato practitioner , retrieved 2 July 2014
  100. ↑ Tobias Moorstedt: TV event Kate and William: The billion dollar prophecy in southern German from April 28, 2011.
  101. ^ Cf. Estimate BEFORE the broadcast: Frank Junghänel: Farewell to Diana also on German TV: 2.5 billion viewers worldwide from September 5, 1997.
  102. ↑ Andreas Hartmann: Germanicus and Lady Di. On the public processing of two deaths. In: Waltraud Schreiber (ed.): The comparison. A method for promoting historical skills. Selected examples. ars una publishing company, Neuried 2005, pp. 61-126.
  103. ↑ Questions about the death of Lady Diana. Mr Tomlinson's declaration to the French Magistrate. ( Memento of May 3, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) inside-news.ch , June 4, 1999.
  104. ↑ Diana: The Secrets Behind the Crash. Documentary, 58 min. 1998, Production: ITV, Fulcrum Productions
  105. ↑ MI6 officer to be questioned by Diana detectives. In: The Sunday Times , 30 May 2004.
  106. ↑ New assassination rumors in the Diana case. ( Memento of June 14, 2006 in the Internet Archive ), netzeitung , June 4, 2006
  107. ↑ Princess Diana's accidental death: British police begin investigation. In: Süddeutsche.de , January 7, 2004.
  108. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 479.
  109. ↑ Princess Diana unlawfully killed. on BBC News, April 7, 2008, accessed May 2, 2016.
  110. ↑ Nicholas Witchell: Fayed conspiracy claim collapses. BBC News 7 April 2008, accessed 2 May 2016.
  111. ↑ Lady Di monument unveiled at Cobenzl Palace in Vienna. on derstandard.at
  112. ↑ https://www.kleinezeitung.at/steiermark/landleute/5271083/Das-schoenste-Erbe_Steirer-uebernahme-Patenschaft-von-Lady-Dis
  113. ↑ Princess Diana: Posthumous honor planned. Retrieved April 7, 2020 (German).
  114. ↑ Statue of Princess Diana unveiled. Retrieved July 1, 2021 (German).
  115. ↑ Brown (2007), p. 604.
  116. ↑ Report in the Guardian
  117. ↑ Cannes film shows photos of dying Diana
personal data
SURNAME Diana, Princess of Wales
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Spencer, Diana Frances (birth name); Diana, Princess of Wales; Lady Di; Lady Diana; Princess Diana
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British noblewoman, first wife of Prince Charles, British Crown Princess
BIRTH DATE July 1, 1961
PLACE OF BIRTH Sandringham , Norfolk , England
DATE OF DEATH Aug. 31, 1997
PLACE OF DEATH Paris