Diana was the instrument of the modernization of the ancient lifestyle of the royals. She was considered as the most famous royal family member and probably the most influential, bringing the throne closer to the public. She was a phenomenon, the world's greatest celebrity; her magic seemed immeasurable that even her body had been put to the ground 11 years ago, her image continued mesmerizing the public. When she was still alive, she was like a dancing star that magnified everywhere. She had a vast love affair to the public. Her death, mourned by people across the globe, served as the most important turning point of the lives of the British royal family.
Diana had a difficult childhood. Though, she was born to a privilege, upper class family and raised comfortably in a grand estate with several servants and nannies, her vivid childhood memories were mostly confined in the rift and troubled marriage of her parents. Then she found out that one of the roots of her parents' separation and eventually divorce, was the fact that Viscountess Spencer (her mother, later on, after her divorce to Diana's father, assumed her status as a Baron's daughter and was known through out her life as The Honorable Mrs. Frances Shand Kydd) had failed to produce a long awaited son after the birth of her two daughters Sarah and Jane. Her son, John (Diana's older brother) had lived only for 10 hours. Viscount Spencer desperately needed a son to pass her title and to continue the Earldom of Althorp, which, the Spencers acquired through their ancestor, John Spencer, King George IV's favorite courtier and the favorite grandson of the Duchess of Marlborough whose immense wealth put the Spencer family in Britain's upper class system. It was only in 1963, 2 years after the birth of Diana, that the couple finally had a son, the future Charles, the 9th Earl of Althorp.
Diana felt she brought a tragedy to her family by being not a boy at birth, she felt the rejection terribly that, at some point, held responsible on the wreckage of her parent's marriage, the feeling of unwanted ness stick in her system that she longed for somebody to love and protect her. When she was still a teenager, she was terribly shy and afraid to express her opinion. Based on her school records, she was not a participative type of student, she dreaded examinations and school plays, but she loved sports and charity school campaigns and would often seen extending help to schoolmates who needed care and attention.
In general, Diana, was no more than ordinary person who happens to be privileged, her life story was not far from the next folk in a nearby village who suffered rejection and humiliation, the sad plight of a loveless marriage and lonely life. But what made her so unforgettable? Why people across the globe still haunted by her image after all these years? Let's take a look back on how she mesmerized the world with her unique magic and kindness.
This is her story.
She had been born The Honorable Diana Frances Spencer on July 1, 1961 at Parkhouse in Sandringham, the 25, 000 acre estate of Queen Elizabeth II in Norfolk, England. The sprawling estate, which had been the favorite private royal residence of 3 British Kings: Edward VII, George V and his son King George VI (coincidentally, these 3 Kings had all died inSandringham estate too), is a set of court of the British royal family during Christmas season and their favorite fox hunting destination. The grand 10 bedroom apartment-Parkhouse, was granted by King George V rent-free to Diana's maternal grandfather, Lord Maurice Burke Roche, the 4th Baron Fermoy, as a gift of appreciation for his friendship to the King's sons Prince David (later ascended as Edward VIII) and Prince Bertie (later reigned as George VI), Diana's paternal grandfather, Lord Albert Spencer, the 7th Earl of Althorp, was also a tennis buddy of Prince Bertie. In 1954, when the then Viscount Althorp, the dashing wealthy nobleman who was once considered as a potential suitor to the future Queen Elizabeth II, married Lord Fermoy's pretty daughter, Frances, Parkhouse became their primary residence. In 1967, however, the couple separated due to irreconcilable differences and divorced 2 years later.
Diana's father Johnny Spencer, who was still a Viscount (a British Noble title ranking below an Earl or a Count) when she was born, served as a Courtier to two monarchs, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II. The Viscount's parents, Lord Albert Spencer, the 7th Earl of Althorp and Lady Cynthia Hamilton (daughter of the 4th Duke of Abercorn), both came from a remarkable noble family in Britain and had served the British Court as a Royal Equerry and Woman of the Bedchamber respectively. Albert Spencer was a direct descendant of the Duke of Grafton, King Charles II's illegitimate son through his mistress Barbara Palmers, while Lady Cynthia Hamilton was a direct descendant of the Duke of Richmond, King Charles II's son from another mistress Louise Lennox. In 1975, the 7th Earl of Althorp died from Pneumonia, Johnny Spencer officially became the 8th Earl of Althorp and moved with his children to the Spencer seat at Althorp, a 15,000 acre grand estate in Northamptonshire, England. Diana and her 2 older sisters earned a courtesy title of a “Lady” while her younger brother, Charles, became Viscount Althorp. Diana's mother remarried in 1969 to a commoner businessman Peter Shand Kydd, while her father remarried in 1976 to the former Lady Dartmouth, Raine, daughter of romance novelist Barbara Cartland.
