Jennifer "Jennie" Bond (born 19 August 1950) is an English journalist and television presenter. She worked for fourteen years as the BBC's royal correspondent.^[1] She has most recently hosted Cash in the Attic and narrated the five series programme, Great British Menu.

Early career[link]

Born in Hitchin)^[1], Bond was educated at St. Francis' College, a girls' independent school in Letchworth, Hertfordshire and at the University of Warwick, from where she graduated with a degree in French and European Literature.^[1] Her career began in print, working for various local newspapers in London in journalism and sub-editing roles. Her first job in journalism was as a reporter for the Richmond Herald and then the Uxbridge Evening Mail.^[1]

In 1977, aged 27, Bond moved to BBC radio, producing and editing. She was also a producer on Woman's Hour, Tuesday Call, International Assignment and for various television documentaries.Jennie Bond biodata</ref>

Royal correspondent[link]

In 1985 Bond became a radio news reporter and in 1988 she commenced reporting on television. She began her role as royal correspondent, which was to bring her to public attention, in 1989. During the 1990s she combined her reporting role with several presenting ones - regularly fronting BBC Breakfast News, the BBC One O'Clock News and the BBC Six O'Clock News, including presenting the Six O'Clock News on the day of the death of her close friend and fellow news reader Jill Dando.^[1]

Bond held the position as royal correspondent until the summer of 2003. During that time she reported on many dramatic and notable events to do with the British Royal Family, including the 1992 Windsor Castle fire, two royal weddings, the break-up of The Duke of York's marriage to Sarah Ferguson, the divorce of The Prince and Princess of Wales, the deaths of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and The Princess Margaret and has reported on The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh's celebrations of her Golden Jubilee .^[1] She has also travelled extensively with the Royal Family. She was in Australia, in January 1994, when an attempt was made to shoot the Prince of Wales.^[2]

She travelled with Diana, Princess of Wales on her trip to Angola, with the Queen on her first official visits to Russia in 1994 and when she met Nelson Mandela in South Africa a year later.^[1] However, her hardest and most challenging assignments were when she had to report on the death and funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997.^[1]

Bond's reporting style suggested that she was very close personally to members of the Royal Family. She commented that she had become close to Diana and that her death came as a great shock.^[3] She actually instigated her first meeting with Diana. She sent a note, suggesting that if she was to report on Diana properly then she should at least know what her character was actually like, not basing her thoughts on stories that had appeared in newspapers. She commented on that meeting at Kensington Palace, stating: "Princess Diana was charming, articulate, fresh, interesting, but manipulative. She knew I was a journalist. This was no girlie-girlie meeting." ^[4]

She wrote a book in 2001 called Reporting Royalty, which tells how she covered the Royal Family in the 1990s. Impressionists such as Ronni Ancona on Alistair McGowan's Big Impression took to spoofing Bond's royal reports by posing as Bond and pretending to be the Queen herself, crown and all; in one sketch it was announced that Bond was to imminently accede to the throne.^{[citation needed]}

Life after the BBC[link]

Following her departure from the BBC in 2003, Bond's career took a different turn. In 2003, she made an appearance in an episode of the comedy series Little Britain. In February 2004 she proved popular with the public, when she finished as runner-up in the third series of the reality TV show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. This episode, broadcast on 9 February, received viewing figures of 14.99 million, making it the most watched programme on ITV and BBC One that week. ^[5]

Bond appeared on "I'm a celebrity" to raise money for the Devon Air Ambulance Trust and raised £260,989.85 which the charity used to buy a state-of-the-art navigation system and to extend its helicopter flying time throughout the summer.^[6] During her time on the reality television show, she was required to do various 'bushtucker' trials, which involved her eating various creatures such as a stick insect and a witchety grub, as well as being placed in a dark, water-filled coffin with rats for ten minutes.^[7] She also fell out with fellow contestant Lord Brocket during the programme.^[8]

She subsequently presented American TV cable and satellite network E!'s coverage of the BAFTA film awards, Live from the Red Carpet. She also presented her own three part documentary called Jennie Bond's Royals on Five and in 2005, she presented the BBC's daytime coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show, alongside Charlie Dimmock. In the same year, Bond appeared in Have I Been Here Before?. More recently she appeared in Posh Swap on Five, where she was transformed into a Brummie woman. She had to convince two of her best friends she really was the Brummie lass. Bond was also the host for the first series of Great British Menu, in which different chefs have to compete by cooking meals; the winner of the first series had the chance to cook for the Queen on her 80th birthday. Bond has presented the BBC's Cash in the Attic. In 2006, she was a celebrity guest on Stars in Their Eyes where she sang as Debbie Harry. She presented the second series of Great British Menu during April and May 2007.^{[citation needed]}

On 28 July 2007, Bond appeared in a special celebrity version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? with Michael Buerk to raise money for NCH, the children's charity, (now called 'Action for Children'). In a combined effort, they raised £64,000. On 22 August 2007, she presented an episode of Driving Me Crazy which saw her investigating whether the authorities are giving motorists excessive penalties through speeding fines and parking tickets.^{[citation needed]}

She has starred as the celebrity 'hider' in a 2008 episode of the CBBC show Hider in the House. In the show, she managed to complete all her challenges without being 'discovered'. She (also in 2008), hosted a show called Lost Royals. Bond took part in ITV's entertainment show Born To Shine in aid of Save The Children.^{[citation needed]}

Bibliography[link]

• Reporting Royalty: Behind the scenes with the BBC's Royal Correspondent (2001)
• The Little Princess (2002)
• Elizabeth: Fifty Glorious Years (2003)
• Elizabeth (2006)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jennie Bond at the Internet Movie Database
• Jennie Bond on Posh Swap
• Knight Ayton Management: Jennie Bond

Alistair McGowan (born 24 November 1964) is a British impressionist, stand-up comic, actor, singer and writer best known to British audiences for The Big Impression (formerly Alistair McGowan's Big Impression), which was, for four years, one of BBC1's top-rating comedy programmes - winning numerous awards, including a BAFTA in 2003.^[1] He has also worked extensively in theatre and appeared in the West End in Art, Cabaret, The Mikado and Little Shop of Horrors (for which he received an Laurence Olivier Award nomination).^[2] As a television actor, he played the lead role in BBC1's Mayo. He wrote the play Timing (nominated as Best New Comedy at the whatsonstage.com awards^[3]) and the book A Matter of Life and Death or How to Wean Your Man off Football with former comedy partner Ronni Ancona. He also provided voices for Spitting Image.

He made his début broadcast as a tennis commentator for BBC Sport at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships.

Personal life and education[link]

McGowan was born in Evesham to Marion and George McGowan. Although aware his father was born in Calcutta, India, Alistair and his sister Kay were unaware of the fact that their father had a Anglo-Indian & distant Irish background until McGowan explored his ancestry on BBC One's Who Do You Think You Are? in the 26 October 2007 episode^[4] four years after his father's death.

Alistair attended the Simon de Montfort Middle School in Evesham and took lead roles in school productions. He went on to attend Evesham High School.^[5] He graduated from the University of Leeds with a BA English degree in 1986.^[6] He then went to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, graduating in 1989.^{[citation needed]}

McGowan is a supporter of Leeds United, even claiming that he decided to study at Leeds partly because of its proximity to Elland Road,^[7] and his obsession with football forms the basis of his 2009 book A Matter of Life and Death.^[8]

Career[link]

McGowan found work as a stand-up comedian, and did some of the voices for the ITV television series Spitting Image. His sporting impressions were showcased on the BBC 2 football magazine programme Sick as a Parrot. He also appeared as the recycling man in the BBC show Think about Science.

Later he took over from Stephen Tompkinson playing Spock in the Tim Firth comedy drama, Preston Front. In his early career, McGowan had minor roles in shows such as Children's Ward, and in the pilot episode of Jonathan Creek. He also starred in the first series of Dead Ringers.

McGowan also appeared in the Scottish football sketch show Only an Excuse? from 1996 to 1998. He also hosted and starred in a sporting impressions show on Radio 5 live called The Game's up in the late 1990s. Since 2 June 2012, McGowan has hosted ITV comedy show You Cannot Be Serious

The Big Impression[link]

He is best known for his work with Jan Ravens and Ronni Ancona on The Big Impression, formerly Alistair McGowan's Big Impression. McGowan has a repertoire of well over one hundred impersonations many of which have been covered on Alistair McGowan's Big Impression.

The most popular and regular include David Beckham, Sven-Göran Eriksson, Gary Lineker, Nicky Campbell, Richard Madeley, Tony Blair, Prince Charles, Robert Kilroy-Silk, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Angus Deayton, Terry Wogan and the fictional characters Ross Geller (from Friends) and Dot Cotton (from EastEnders).

McGowan and Ronni Ancona are probably best known for their portrayal of Posh and Becks with McGowan exaggerating David Beckham's perceived lack of intelligence^{[citation needed]} and Ancona exaggerating the role of "Posh Spice" (Victoria Beckham) with pouting lips. As the Beckhams' style of dress regularly changed - in particular David's changing haircuts - McGowan adapted his costumes and style accordingly. In later years he developed his portrayal of Beckham into a brainiac infuriated by Posh's lack of intelligence.

Return to acting and radio work (2005)[link]

He made a return to dramatic acting in 2005, appearing in the BBC's adaptation of Charles Dickens's novel Bleak House. In 2006 he starred in the detective series Mayo. He also presented an episode of Have I Got News For You on 20 October 2006. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company for the Christmas 2006 season playing Mr Page in Merry Wives: the Musical (a version of The Merry Wives of Windsor) opposite Judi Dench, Simon Callow and Haydn Gwynne.

Despite his acting commitments, he has still continued a successful career of celebrity impersonator on the BBC Radio and also did re-voicing of video footages of 'The Sports Review of the Year' and Match of the Day which has turned him into a sideline sporting celebrity.^[9] Two releases of 'Alistair McGowan's Football Backchat' were best sellers in both comedy and sports video charts.

In 2007, McGowan starred as the dentist (and other, smaller characters) in the West End transfer of the Menier Chocolate Factory's revival of Little Shop of Horrors, and filmed My Life in Ruins, an American comedy film set in the ruins of ancient Greece.

In 2008, McGowan made his directing debut at Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Noël Coward's classic comedy Semi-Monde.^[10]

In January and February 2008, McGowan starred as the eponymous protagonist of The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan, in a revival by Carl Rosa Opera Company. On 21 April 2008 he took over the role of Emcee in Cabaret (musical) at the Lyric Theatre, London. In July of that year he appeared in a revival of They're Playing Our Song at the Menier Chocolate Factory.

In March 2009, McGowan starred as The Duke in the stage version of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure.^[11]

Alistair appeared as a host on one episode of the fifth series of Live At The Apollo, which aired on 1 January 2010.

McGowan appeared in Skins in February 2011. He played Nick's coach in the fifth episode of the new series.

On 12 March 2011 he played the part of the Pirate King in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance, at the Barbican Hall, London.^[12] and, later in the year, took over from Rupert Everett the part of Henry Higgins in Pygmalion at the Garrick Theatre, opposite Kara Tointon as Eliza Doolittle.

In April 2011 he takes to the stage at the Djanogly Theatre, Lakeside Arts Centre at the University of Nottingham in David Mamet's controversial drama Oleanna.

In 2011 he co-starred in the CBBC series Leonardo as Piero di Cosimo de' Medici.

On 9 June 2011 he was unveiled as the newest addition to the BBC Wimbledon commentary team.

Environmental work[link]

McGowan serves as an ambassador to WWF-UK, part of the global World Wide Fund for Nature, and campaigns on a number of environmental issues. In 2004 he launched 'the BIG recycle' national campaign urging public to reduce rubbish by recycling it.

On 2 August 2006, he appeared on BBC Radio 2 on Steve Wright's show to appeal to listeners to be more energy aware. More recently, he appeared on the James Whale Show on Talksport on 20 June 2007 on this issue.

McGowan is a patron of the urban tree-planting charity Trees for Cities.

On 13 January 2009, it was announced that McGowan in partnership with three other Greenpeace activists, including actress Emma Thompson, had bought land near Sipson, a village under threat from the proposed third runway for Heathrow Airport.^[13] It is hoped that the area of ground, half the size of a football pitch, will prevent the government from carrying through its plan to expand Heathrow. The field, bought for an undisclosed sum from a local land owner, will be split into small squares and sold across the globe. When interviewed Mr McGowan said: "BAA were so confident of getting the Government's go ahead, but we have cunningly bought the land they need to build their runway."^[14]

In 2009, he attended the Bromley Environmental Awards and was the celebrity guest at Bromley Civic Centre where the awards were presented to various schools in the borough.

In June 2011, it was announced that McGowan had become a Patron of the Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery, where over 30 members of his extended family are interred.^[15]

Other work[link]

• ElvenQuest, radio 2009, as Lord Darkness

References[link]

External links[link]

• Alistair McGowan News, Biography and CV - Official Web site
• Alistair McGowan at the Internet Movie Database
• Alistair McGowan credits - BBC Comedy Guide
• Alistair McGowan's Big Impression - BBC Comedy Guide

Diana
Princess of Wales; Duchess of Rothesay (more)
The Princess of Wales at The Leonardo Prize, 1995
Spouse	Charles, Prince of Wales (m. 1981, div. 1996)[1]
Issue
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge Prince Harry of Wales
Full name
Diana Frances[N 1]
House	House of Windsor
Father	John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer
Mother	Frances Shand Kydd
Born	(1961-07-01)1 July 1961 Park House, Sandringham, Norfolk
Died	31 August 1997(1997-08-31) (aged 36) Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, in Paris, France
Burial	6 September 1997 Althorp, Northamptonshire
Religion	Anglican (Church of England)

Diana, Princess of Wales (Diana Frances;^{[N 1]} née Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and member of the British Royal Family^[2]. She was also well known for her fund-raising work for international charities, and an eminent celebrity of the late 20th century. Her wedding to Charles, heir to the British throne and those of the 16 Commonwealth realms, was held at St Paul's Cathedral and seen by a global television audience of over 750 million. While married she bore the courtesy titles Princess of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay, Countess of Chester and Baroness of Renfrew. The marriage produced two sons, the princes William and Harry,^[3] currently second and third in line to the throne, respectively.

Diana was born into an aristocratic English family with royal ancestry and became a public figure with the announcement of her engagement to Prince Charles. Diana also received recognition for her charity work and for her support of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. From 1989, she was the president of the Great Ormond Street Hospital for children, in addition to dozens of other charities. She remained the object of worldwide media scrutiny during and after her marriage, which ended in divorce on 28 August 1996. Media attention and public mourning were considerable after her death in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997.

Early life[link]

TRH The Prince and Princess of Wales after the wedding of The Duke and Duchess of York

Diana was born in the late afternoon on July 1, 1961, in Sandringham, Norfolk.^[4][5] She was the fourth of five children of the Viscount and Viscountess Althorp (née Frances Roche, later Shand Kydd).^[4] The Spencer family was hoping for a male heir to carry on the Spencer title (their third child, a boy, died soon after birth).^[5][6] The Spencer family is one of Great Britain's oldest and most important families, closely allied with the royal family for several generations.^[7] As the family was expecting a boy, no name was chosen for a week, until they settled on Diana Frances, after a Spencer ancestress and her mother.^[5] Diana has three siblings: Sarah, Jane, and Charles;^[4][6] and was baptised at Sandringham church; her younger brother, Charles, was baptised at Westminster Abbey with Elizabeth II as principal godparent.^[8] Diana also had an infant brother, John, who died a year before she was born.^[6] According to Andrew Morton's biography of Diana, the infant John Spencer was so deformed and sick he only survived 10 hours after his birth.^[5] The desire for an heir added strain to the Spencers' marriage, and Lady Althorp was reportedly sent to Harley Street clinics in London to determine the cause of the "problem".^[5] The experience was described as "humiliating" by Charles Spencer, the current earl: "It was a dreadful time for my parents and probably the root of their divorce because I don't think they ever got over it."^[8] Diana grew up in Park House, which was situated near to the Sandringham estate.^[6] Diana was only seven years old when her parents were separated.^[9] Her estranged mother, Frances, had an affair with Peter Shand Kydd.^[6] In Morton's book, he describes Diana's remembrance of Lord Althorp loading suitcases in the car and Frances crunching across the gravel forecourt and driving away through the gates of Park House.^[5] Diana lived with Frances in London during her parents' separation, but during the Christmas holidays by the end of the year, Lord Althorp refused to let Frances to return with Diana to London. Shortly afterwards, Lord Althorp eventually won custody of Diana with support from his mother-in-law, Ruth Roche, Baroness Fermoy.^[4] Diana was first educated at Riddlesworth Hall near Diss, Norfolk, and later attended boarding school at The New School at West Heath,^[4] in Sevenoaks, Kent. In 1973, Lord Althorp began a relationship with Raine, Countess of Dartmouth, the only daughter of Alexander McCorquodale and Barbara Cartland.^[10] Diana received the title of Lady after her father inherited the title of Earl Spencer on 9 June 1975. Lord Spencer and Lady Dartmouth were married at Caxton Hall, London on 14 July 1976. As Countess Spencer, Raine was unpopular with Diana.^[6] Diana was often noted for her shyness while growing up, but she did take an interest in both music and dancing. She also had a great interest in children. After attending finishing school at the Institut Alpin Videmanette in Switzerland, she moved to London. She began working with children, eventually becoming a nursery teacher at the Young England School.^[4] Diana had apparently played with Princes Andrew and Edward as a child while her family rented Park House, a property owned by Elizabeth II and situated on the Sandringham Estate.^[4][11]

Education[link]

Coleherne Court, London (left)

In 1968, Diana was sent to Riddlesworth Hall, an all-girls boarding school.^[12] While she was young, she attended a local public school. She did not shine academically, and was moved to West Heath Girls' School (later reorganised as The New School at West Heath) in Sevenoaks, Kent, where she was regarded as a poor student, having attempted and failed all of her O-levels twice.^[12] However, she showed a particular talent for music as an accomplished pianist.^[13] Her outstanding community spirit was recognised with an award from West Heath. In 1977, she left West Heath and briefly attended Institut Alpin Videmanette, a finishing school in Rougemont, Switzerland. At about that time, she first met her future husband, who was then in a relationship with her older sister, Sarah. Diana also excelled in swimming and diving, and longed to be a professional ballerina with the Royal Ballet. She studied ballet for a time, but then grew too tall for the profession.

Diana moved to London in 1978, living in her mother's flat, as her mother then spent most of the year in Scotland. Soon afterwards, an apartment was purchased for £50,000 as an 18th birthday present, at Coleherne Court in Earls Court. She lived there until 1981 with three flatmates. In London, she took an advanced cooking course at her mother's suggestion, although she never became an adroit cook, and 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-preschool) assistant, did some cleaning work for her sister Sarah and several of her friends, and worked as a hostess at parties. Diana also spent time working as a nanny for an American family living in London.^[14]

Marriage to the Prince of Wales[link]

The Prince and Princess of Wales with Sandro Pertini

The Prince of Wales (Prince Charles) had previously been linked to Lady Diana's elder sister Lady Sarah, and in his early thirties he was under increasing pressure to marry.

The Prince of Wales had known Lady Diana for several years, but he first took a serious interest in her as a potential bride during the summer of 1980, when they were guests at a country weekend, where she watched him play polo. The relationship developed as he invited her for a sailing weekend to Cowes aboard the royal yacht Britannia, followed by an invitation to Balmoral (the Royal Family's Scottish residence) to meet his family. Lady Diana was well received by Elizabeth II, by The Duke of Edinburgh, and by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. The couple subsequently courted in London. The prince proposed on 6 February 1981, and Lady Diana accepted, but their engagement was kept secret for the next few weeks.^[15]

Engagement and wedding[link]

Their engagement became official on 24 February 1981, after Lady Diana selected a large £30,000 ring (£94,800 in today's terms) consisting of 14 diamonds surrounding a sapphire, similar to her mother's engagement ring.^[16] The ring was made by the then Crown jewellers Garrard but, unusual for a member of the Royal Family, the ring was not unique and was, at the time, featured in Garrard's jewellery collection. The ring later became, in 2010, the engagement ring of Catherine Middleton (now The Duchess of Cambridge, wife of Diana's elder son Prince William).^[17]

Twenty-year-old Diana became The Princess of Wales when she married The Prince of Wales on 29 July 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral, which offered more seating than Westminster Abbey, generally used for royal nuptials. It was widely billed as a "fairytale wedding", watched by a global television audience of 750 million while 600,000 people lined the streets to catch a glimpse of Diana en route to the ceremony.^[16][18] At the altar Diana accidentally reversed the order of Charles's first two names, saying "Philip Charles" Arthur George instead.^[19] She did not say that she would "obey" him; that traditional vow was left out at the couple's request, which caused some comment at the time.^[20] Diana wore a dress valued at £9000 with a 25-foot (8-metre) train.^[21]

Children[link]

On 5 November 1981, the Princess' first pregnancy was officially announced, and she frankly discussed her pregnancy with members of the press corps.^[22] After Diana fell down a staircase at Sandringham in January 1982, 12 weeks into her first pregnancy, the royal gynaecologist Sir George Pinker was summoned from London. He found that although she had suffered severe bruising, the foetus was uninjured.^[23] In the private Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London on 21 June 1982, under the care of Pinker,^[23] the Princess gave natural birth to her and the Prince's first son and heir, William Arthur Philip Louis.^[24] Amidst some media criticism, she decided to take William, still a baby, on her first major tours of Australia and New Zealand, but the decision was popularly applauded. By her own admission, the Princess of Wales had not initially intended to take William until it was suggested by Malcolm Fraser, the Australian prime minister.^[25]

A second son, Henry Charles Albert David, was born two years after William, on 15 September 1984.^[26] The Princess asserted she and the Prince were closest during her pregnancy with "Harry" (as the younger prince has always been known). She was aware their second child was a boy, but did not share the knowledge with anyone else, including the Prince of Wales.^[27]

Even her harshest critics agree that the Princess of Wales was a devoted, imaginative and demonstrative mother.^[28] She rarely deferred to the Prince or to the Royal Family, and was often intransigent when it came to the children. She chose their first given names, dismissed a royal family nanny and engaged one of her own choosing, selected their schools and clothing, planned their outings and took them to school herself as often as her schedule permitted. She also negotiated her public duties around their timetables.^[28]

Charity work and patronage[link]

Although in 1983 she confided in the then-Premier of Newfoundland, Brian Peckford, "I am finding it very difficult to cope with the pressures of being Princess of Wales, but I am learning to cope,"^[29] from the mid-1980s, the Princess of Wales became increasingly associated with numerous charities. As Princess of Wales she was expected to regularly make public appearances to hospitals, schools and other facilities, in the 20th century model of royal patronage. The Princess developed an intense interest in serious illnesses and health-related matters outside the purview of traditional royal involvement, including AIDS and leprosy. In addition, she was the patroness of charities and organisations working with the homeless, youth, drug addicts and the elderly. From 1989, she was President of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. The day after her divorce, she announced her resignation from over 100 charities to spend more time with the remaining six.^[30] Also following her divorce she remained patron of Centrepoint (homeless charity), English National Ballet, Leprosy Mission and National Aids Trust. ^[31]

During her final year Diana lent highly visible support to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, a campaign which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997, only a few months after her death.^[32]

Problems and separation[link]

From left to right, TRH The Prince and Princess of Wales, the United States First Lady Nancy Reagan, and United States President Ronald Reagan in November 1985.

Dual Cypher of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales

President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan have tea with Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, 9 November 1985.

During the early 1990s, the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales fell apart, an event at first suppressed, then sensationalised, by the world media. Both the Prince and Princess allegedly spoke to the press through friends, each blaming the other for the marriage's demise.

The chronology of the break-up^[33] identifies reported difficulties between the Prince and Princess as early as 1985. The Princess of Wales began an affair with Major James Hewitt, and the Prince of Wales returned to his former girlfriend, Camilla Shand (now The Duchess of Cornwall, who had become Mrs. Andrew Parker-Bowles). These affairs were exposed in May 1992 with the publication of Diana: Her True Story, by Andrew Morton. The book, which also laid bare the Princess' allegedly suicidal unhappiness, caused a media storm. This publication was followed during 1992 and 1993 by leaked tapes of telephone conversations which negatively reflected on both the royal antagonists. Transcripts of taped intimate conversations between the Princess and James Gilbey were published by the Sun newspaper in Britain in August 1992. The article's title, "Squidgygate", referenced Gilbey's affectionate nickname for Diana. The next to surface, in November 1992, were the leaked "Camillagate" tapes, intimate exchanges between the Prince of Wales and Camilla, published in Today and the Mirror newspapers.

In the meantime, rumours had begun to surface about the Princess of Wales' relationship with James Hewitt, her former riding instructor. These would be brought into the open by the publication in 1994 of Princess in Love.

In December 1992, Prime Minister John Major announced the Wales' "amicable separation" to the House of Commons,^[34] and the full Camillagate transcript was published a month later in the newspapers, in January 1993. On 3 December 1993, the Princess of Wales announced her withdrawal from public life.^[35] The Prince of Wales sought public understanding via a televised interview with Jonathan Dimbleby on 29 June 1994. In this he confirmed his own extramarital affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles, saying that he had only rekindled their association in 1986, after his marriage to the Princess had "irretrievably broken down".^[36][37]

While she blamed Camilla Parker-Bowles for her marital troubles due to her previous relationship with the Prince, the Princess at some point began to believe he had other affairs. In October 1993, she wrote to a friend that she believed her husband was now in love with Tiggy Legge-Bourke and wanted to marry her.^[38] Legge-Bourke had been hired by the Prince as a young companion for his sons while they were in his care, and the Princess was extremely resentful of Legge-Bourke and her relationship with the young princes.

Princess Margaret burnt "highly personal" letters that Diana wrote to the Queen Mother in 1993 because she thought they were considered to be "so private". A biographer named William Shawcross wrote: "No doubt Princess Margaret felt that she was protecting her mother and other members of the family". He considered Princess Margaret's action to be "understandable, although regrettable from a historical viewpoint".^[39]

Divorce[link]

The Princess of Wales at the Cannes film festival in 1987

The Princess of Wales was interviewed for the BBC current affairs show Panorama^[40] by journalist Martin Bashir; the interview was broadcast on 20 November 1995. In it, the Princess said of her relationship with Hewitt, "Yes, I adored him." Of Camilla, she claimed "There were three of us in this marriage." For herself, she said, "I'd like to be a queen of people's hearts." On the Prince of Wales' suitability for kingship, she said, "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."^[41]

In December 1995, the Queen asked the Prince and Princess of Wales for "an early divorce", as a direct result of the Princess' Panorama interview.^[42] This followed shortly after the Princess' accusation that Tiggy Legge-Bourke had aborted the Prince's child, after which Legge-Bourke instructed Peter Carter-Ruck to demand an apology.^[42] Two days before this story broke, Diana's secretary Patrick Jephson resigned, later writing that the Princess had "exulted in accusing Legge-Bourke of having had an abortion".^[43]

On 20 December 1995, Buckingham Palace publicly announced the Queen had sent letters to the Prince and Princess of Wales advising them to divorce. The Queen's move was backed by the Prime Minister and by senior Privy Counsellors, and, according to the BBC, was decided after two weeks of talks.^[44] The Prince immediately agreed with the suggestion. In February, the Princess announced her agreement after negotiations with the Prince and representatives of the Queen, irritating Buckingham Palace by issuing her own announcement of a divorce agreement and its terms.

The divorce was finalised on 28 August 1996.^[35]

Diana received a lump sum settlement of around £17 million along with a clause standard in royal divorces preventing her from discussing the details.^[45]

Days before the decree absolute of divorce, Letters Patent were issued with general rules to regulate royal titles after divorce. In accordance, as she was no longer married to the Prince of Wales, Diana lost the style Her Royal Highness and instead was styled Diana, Princess of Wales.^{[N 2]} Buckingham Palace issued a press release on the day of the decree absolute of divorce was issued, announcing Diana's change of title, but made it clear Diana continued to be a British princess.

Almost a year before, according to Tina Brown, The Duke of Edinburgh had warned the Princess of Wales, "If you don't behave, my girl, we'll take your title away." The Princess is said to have replied: "My title is a lot older than yours, Philip".^[46]

Buckingham Palace stated Diana was still a member of the Royal Family, as she was the mother of the second- and third-in-line to the throne. This was confirmed by the Deputy Coroner of the Queen's Household, Baroness Butler-Sloss, after a pre-hearing on 8 January 2007: "I am satisfied that at her death, Diana, Princess of Wales continued to be considered as a member of the Royal Household."^[47] This appears to have been confirmed in the High Court judicial review matter of Al Fayed & Ors v Butler-Sloss.^[48] In that case, three High Court judges accepted submissions that the "very name ‘Coroner to the Queen's Household’ gave the appearance of partiality in the context of inquests into the deaths of two people, one of whom was a member of the Family and the other was not."^[48]

Personal life after divorce[link]

Diana, Princess of Wales meeting with Sri Chinmoy, May 1997 at her Kensington Palace apartments

After the divorce, Diana retained her double apartment on the north side of Kensington Palace, which she had shared with the Prince of Wales since the first year of their marriage, and it remained her home until her death.

Prince William comforted her, and he was said to have wanted to let her have the style of Her Royal Highness again. He was reported to have said: "Don't worry, Mummy, I will give it back to you one day when I am King."^[49]

Diana dated the respected heart surgeon Hasnat Khan, from Jhelum, Pakistan, who was called "the love of her life" after her death by many of her closest friends,^[50] for almost two years, before Khan ended the relationship.^[51][52] Khan was intensely private and the relationship was conducted in secrecy, with Diana lying to members of the press who questioned her about it. According to Khan's testimonial at the inquest for her death, it was Diana herself, not Khan, who ended their relationship in a late-night meeting in Hyde Park, which adjoins the grounds of Kensington Palace, in June 1997.

Within a month Diana had begun seeing Dodi Fayed, son of her host that summer, Mohamed Al-Fayed. Diana had considered taking her sons that summer on a holiday to the Hamptons on Long Island, New York, but security officials had prevented it. After deciding against a trip to Thailand, she accepted Fayed's invitation to join his family in the south of France, where his compound and large security detail would not cause concern to the Royal Protection squad. Mohamed Al-Fayed bought a multi-million pound yacht, the Jonikal, a 60-metre yacht on which to entertain Diana and her sons.

Landmines[link]

In January 1997, pictures of Diana touring an Angolan minefield in a ballistic helmet and flak jacket were seen worldwide. It was during this campaign that some accused her of meddling in politics and declared her a 'loose cannon'.^[53] In August 1997, just days before her death, she visited Bosnia with Jerry White and Ken Rutherford of the Landmine Survivors Network.^[54] Her interest in landmines was focused on the injuries they create, often to children, long after a conflict is over.

She is believed to have influenced the signing, though only after her death, of the Ottawa Treaty, which created an international ban on the use of anti-personnel landmines.^[55] Introducing the Second Reading of the Landmines Bill 1998 to the British House of Commons, the Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, paid tribute to Diana's work on landmines:

All Honourable Members will be aware from their postbags of the immense contribution made by Diana, Princess of Wales to bringing home to many of our constituents the human costs of landmines. The best way in which to record our appreciation of her work, and the work of NGOs that have campaigned against landmines, is to pass the Bill, and to pave the way towards a global ban on landmines.^[56]

The United Nations appealed to the nations which produced and stockpiled the largest numbers of landmines (United States, China, India, North Korea, Pakistan, and Russia) to sign the Ottawa Treaty forbidding their production and use, for which Diana had campaigned. Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said that landmines remained "a deadly attraction for children, whose innate curiosity and need for play often lure them directly into harm's way".^[57]

Death[link]

On 31 August 1997, Diana was fatally injured in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris, which also caused the deaths of her companion, Dodi Fayed and the driver, Henri Paul, acting security manager of the Hôtel Ritz Paris. Millions of people watched her funeral.^[58]

Conspiracy theories and inquest[link]

The initial French judicial investigation concluded the accident was caused by Henri Paul's drunken loss of control.^[59] As early as February 1998, Dodi's father, Mohamed Al-Fayed (who was also the owner of the Paris Ritz, for which Paul had worked) publicly maintained that the crash had been planned,^[60] accusing MI6 as well as The Duke of Edinburgh.^[61] An inquest in London starting in 2004 and continued in 2007–2008^[62] attributed the accident to grossly negligent driving by Henri Paul and to the pursuing paparazzi.^[63] On 8 April 2008, the day following the final verdict of the inquest, Al-Fayed announced he would end his 10-year campaign to establish that it was murder rather than an accident, stating that he did so for the sake of the late princess's children.^[64]

Tribute, funeral, and burial[link]

Funeral cortege of Diana, Princess of Wales. Her coffin was transported on a gun carriage

The sudden and unexpected death of an extraordinarily popular royal figure brought statements from senior figures worldwide and many tributes by members of the public. People left public offerings of flowers, candles, cards and personal messages outside Kensington Palace for many months.

Diana's funeral took place in Westminster Abbey on 6 September 1997. The previous day Queen Elizabeth II had paid tribute to her in a live television broadcast.^[65] Her sons, the Princes William and Harry, walked in the funeral procession behind her coffin, along with the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh, and with Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer. Lord Spencer said of his sister, "She proved in the last year that she needed no royal title to continue to generate her particular brand of magic."^[66]

Memorials[link]

The first of two memorials to Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed in Harrods

"Innocent Victims", the second of two memorials in Harrods.

Immediately after her death, many sites around the world became briefly ad hoc memorials to Diana, where the public left flowers and other tributes. The largest was outside the gates of Kensington Palace. Permanent memorials include:

• The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Gardens in Regent Centre Gardens Kirkintilloch
• The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park, London, opened by Elizabeth II
• The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens, London
• The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk, a circular path between Kensington Gardens, Green Park, Hyde Park and St James's Park, London.

In addition, there are two memorials inside Harrods department store, at the time owned by Dodi Fayed's father Mohamed Al-Fayed, in London. The first memorial consists of photos of the two behind a pyramid-shaped display that holds a wine glass still smudged with lipstick from Diana's last dinner as well as an 'engagement' ring Dodi purchased the day before they died.^[67] The second, unveiled in 2005 and titled "Innocent Victims", is a bronze statue of the two dancing on a beach beneath the wings of an albatross.^[68] The Flame of Liberty, erected in 1989 on the Place de l'Alma in Paris, above the entrance to the tunnel in which the fatal crash later occurred, has become an unofficial memorial to Diana.^[69]

Memorabilia[link]

Following Diana's death, the Diana Memorial Fund was granted intellectual property rights over her image.^[70] In 1998, after refusing the Franklin Mint an official license to produce Diana merchandise, the fund sued the company, accusing it of illegally selling Diana dolls, plates and jewellery.^[71] In California, where the initial case was tried, a suit to preserve the right of publicity may be filed on behalf of a dead person, but only if that person is a Californian. The Memorial Fund therefore filed the lawsuit on behalf of the estate and, upon losing the case, were required to pay the Franklin Mint's legal costs of £3 million which, combined with other fees, caused the Memorial Fund to freeze their grants to charities.^[72]

In 1998, Azermarka issued postage stamps with both Azeri and English captions, commemorating Diana. The English text reads "Diana, Princess of Wales. The Princess that captured people's hearts".

In 2003, the Franklin Mint counter-sued; the case was eventually settled in 2004, with the fund agreeing to an out-of-court settlement, which was donated to mutually agreed charitable causes.^[73]

Today, pursuant to this lawsuit, two California companies continue to sell Diana memorabilia without the need for any permission from Diana's estate: the Franklin Mint and Princess Ring LLC.

Diana in contemporary art[link]

Entrance to the Pont de l'Alma tunnel, where Diana, Princess of Wales had a fatal car-crash

The Lake at Althorp with the Diana memorial beyond

Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, Hyde Park, London, UK

Diana has been depicted in contemporary art since her death. Some of the artworks have referenced the conspiracy theories, as well as paying tribute to Diana's compassion and acknowledging her perceived victimhood.

In July 1999, Tracey Emin created a number of monoprint drawings featuring textual references about Diana's public and private life, for Temple of Diana, a themed exhibition at The Blue Gallery, London. Works such as They Wanted You To Be Destroyed (1999)^[74] related to Diana's bulimia, while others included affectionate texts such as Love Was On Your Side and Diana's Dress with puffy sleeves. Another text praised her selflessness – The things you did to help other people, showing Diana in protective clothing walking through a minefield in Angola – while another referenced the conspiracy theories. Of her drawings, Emin maintained "They're quite sentimental . . . and there's nothing cynical about it whatsoever."^[75]

In 2005 Martin Sastre premiered during the Venice Biennial the film Diana: The Rose Conspiracy. This fictional work starts with the world discovering Diana alive and enjoying a happy undercover new life in a dangerous favela on the outskirts of Montevideo. Shot on a genuine Uruguayan slum and using a Diana impersonator from São Paulo, the film was selected among the Venice Biennial's best works by the Italian Art Critics Association.^[76]

In 2007, following an earlier series referencing the conspiracy theories, Stella Vine created a series of Diana paintings for her first major solo exhibition at Modern Art Oxford gallery.^[77] Vine intended to portray Diana's combined strength and vulnerability as well as her closeness to her two sons.^[78] The works, all completed in 2007, included Diana branches, Diana family picnic, Diana veil and Diana pram, which incorporated the quotation "I vow to thee my country".^[79] Immodesty Blaize said she had been entranced by Diana crash, finding it "by turns horrifying, bemusing and funny".^[80] Vine asserted her own abiding attraction to "the beauty and the tragedy of Diana's life".^[78]

Later events[link]

On 13 July 2006 Italian magazine Chi published photographs showing Diana amid the wreckage of the car crash,^[81] despite an unofficial blackout on such photographs being published.^{[82][N 3]} The editor of Chi defended his decision by saying he published the photographs simply because they had not been previously seen, and he felt the images are not disrespectful to the memory of Diana.^[82] Fresh controversy arose over the issue of these photographs when Britain's Channel 4 broadcast them during a documentary in June 2007.^{[citation needed]}

1 July 2007 marked a concert at Wembley Stadium. The event, organised by the Princes William and Harry, celebrated the 46th anniversary of their mother's birth and occurred a few weeks before the 10th anniversary of her death on 31 August.

When the tenth anniversary of her death arrived, Prince Harry paid tribute to her. He spoke of her, "But behind the media glare, to us, just two loving children, she was quite simply the best mother in the world.".^[83]

The 2007 docudrama Diana: Last Days of a Princess details the final two months of her life.

On an October 2007 episode of The Chaser's War on Everything, Andrew Hansen mocked Diana in his "Eulogy Song", which immediately created considerable controversy in the Australian media.^[84]

The midnight-blue gown that Diana wore when she famously danced with John Travolta at the White House, which became known as the "Travolta dress", was sold for £510,000 in 2011.^[85]

Contemporary opinions[link]

John Travolta and The Princess of Wales dancing at the White House

From her engagement to the Prince of Wales in 1981 until her death in 1997, Diana was a major presence on the world stage, often described as the world's most photographed woman. However, numerous other sources split the title of "world's most photographed woman"--in terms of Diana compared to others—between her and Princess Grace. She was noted for her compassion,^[86] style, charisma, and high-profile charity work, as well as her difficult marriage to the Prince of Wales.

Diana was revealed to be a major source behind Andrew Morton's Diana: Her True Story, which had portrayed her as being wronged by the House of Windsor. Morton instanced Diana's claim that she attempted suicide while pregnant by falling down a series of stairs and that Charles had left her to go riding. Tina Brown opined that it was not a suicide attempt because she would not intentionally have tried to harm the unborn child.

Royal biographer Sarah Bradford commented, "The only cure for her (Diana's) suffering would have been the love of the Prince of Wales, which she so passionately desired, something which would always be denied her. His was the final rejection; the way in which he consistently denigrated her reduced her to despair."^[87] Diana herself commented, "My husband made me feel inadequate in every possible way that each time I came up for air he pushed me down again ..."^[87]

Diana stated that she had depression and that she self-harmed. She said she had bulimia nervosa from 1981 onwards.^[88] One biographer suggested Diana suffered from borderline personality disorder.^[89]

In 2007, Tina Brown wrote a biography about Diana as a "restless and demanding ... obsessed with her public image" and also "spiteful, manipulative, media-savvy neurotic." Brown also claims Diana married Charles for his power and had a romantic relationship with Dodi Fayed to anger the royal family, with no intention of marrying him.^[90]

Titles, styles, honours, and arms[link]

Royal styles of The Princess of Wales (before her divorce)
Reference style	Her Royal Highness
Spoken style	Your Royal Highness
Alternative style	Ma'am

Titles and styles[link]

• 1 July 1961 – 9 June 1975: The Honourable Diana Frances Spencer
• 9 June 1975 – 29 July 1981: The Lady Diana Frances Spencer
• 29 July 1981 – 28 August 1996: Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales
  • in Scotland: 29 July 1981 – 28 August 1996: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Rothesay
• 28 August 1996 – 31 August 1997: Diana, Princess of Wales

Posthumously, as in life, she is most popularly referred to as "Princess Diana", a title she never held.^{[N 4]} Still, she is sometimes referred to (according to the tradition of using maiden names after death) in the media as "Lady Diana Spencer", or simply as "Lady Di". After Tony Blair's famous speech she was also often referred to as the People's Princess.^[91]

Royal Monogram

Diana's full title, while married, 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 of Scotland.

After her divorce and until her death Diana, Princess of Wales continued to be a Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland without the style Royal Highness. As the mother of the future Sovereign, she was accorded the same precedence she enjoyed whilst being married to The Prince of Wales. This situation made the Princess the first non royal British princess in history.^[92]

Honours[link]

British honours

• Member of the Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II

Foreign honours

• Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown (Netherlands), bestowed by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands in 1982^[93][94]
• Supreme Class of the Order of the Virtues (or Order of Al-Kamal), 1982^[93]

Honorary military appointments[link]

The Princess of Wales held the following military appointments:

United Kingdom

• : Colonel-in-Chief of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment^[95]
• : Colonel-in-Chief of the Light Dragoons^[95]
• : Honorary Air Commodore, RAF Wittering^[96]

Arms[link]

Arms of Diana, Princess of Wales Notes During her marriage, as the wife of the Prince of Wales, Diana used his arms impaled (side by side) with those of her father. After her divorce, she resumed her paternal arms with the addition of a royal coronet. Adopted 1981 Crest Coronet of the Prince of Wales Escutcheon Quarterly 1st and 4th gules three lions passant guardant in pale or armed and langed azure 2nd or a lion rampant gules armed and langued azure within a double tressure flory counterflory of the second 3rd azure a harp or stringed argent overall an escutcheon of Coat of Arms of the Principality of Wales, the whole differenced with a label of three points argent; impaled with a shield quarterly 1st and 4th Argent 2nd and 3rd Gules a fret Or overall a bend Sable charged with three escallops Argent. Supporters Dexter a lion rampant gardant Or crowned with the coronet of the Prince of Wales Proper, sinister a griffin winged and unguled Or, gorged with a coronet Or composed of crosses patée and fleurs de lis a chain affixed thereto passing between the forelegs and reflexed over the back also Or Motto DIEU DEFEND LE DROIT (God defends the right) Symbolism Prior to marriage, Diana had her own coat of arms, based on a very old coat of arms of the spencer family, which she inherited from her paternal ancestors or father. The Spencer coat of arms came into existence centuries ago. The new arms also applied by her sisters too. The arms showed the coat of arms of the spencer family, the noble family, where they came from. It also included three escallops argent of the Spencer coat of arms. Previous versions Before her marriage, Diana used the arms of her father. Her previous coat of arms depicted a lozenge shaped shield of arms which hangs from a blue ribbon, this symbolised her unmarried state. This version of the coat of arms only used before her marriage.

Legacy[link]

A message of condolence at Piccadilly Circus following her death

• Diana's interest in supporting and helping young people led to the establishment of the Diana Memorial Award, awarded to youths who have demonstrated the unselfish devotion and commitment to causes advocated by the Princess.
• In 2002, Diana was ranked 3rd in 100 Greatest Britons poll, outranking The Queen and other British monarchs.
• On 30 August 2007 Peruvian photographer Mario Testino announced that on 20 November he would auction a signed photo of Diana for the benefit of the Peru earthquake (in London by Phillips de Pury & Co). The photo appeared in a 1997 Vanity Fair issue, and shows Diana wearing a black dress.^[97]
• The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground was erected in Kensington Gardens at a cost of £1.7 million.^[98]
• The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk was dedicated to the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales. It stretches between Kensington Gardens, Green Park, Hyde Park and St. James's Park.
• On 6 July 2004, The Queen officially opened the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain. It is located in the south-west corner of Hyde Park in London.
• In 1999 the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Award for Inspirational Young People was established.
• Diana's family announced in 2010 they would auction art and horse-drawn carriages that once belonged to Althorp House.^[99]
• Fashion designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel, responsible for much of Diana's clothes, including her wedding dress, announced in May 2010 they were auctioning 30 lots of clothing, measurements, and related items.^[100]

Issue[link]

Ancestry[link]

Diana by birth was a member of the Spencer family, one of the oldest and most prominent noble families in Britain which currently holds the titles of Duke of Marlborough, Earl Spencer and Viscount Churchill. The Spencers claimed to have descended from a cadet branch of the powerful medieval Despenser family, but its validity is still being questioned. Diana's noble ancestors include the legendary John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and Prince of Mindelheim, his equally famous wife, the powerful and influential Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, Britain's first Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo, 2nd Duke of Alba, one of the most powerful men of his era, Maria, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh, and Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey. She is also a distant relative of the dukes of Abercorn, Bedford, Richmond, Devonshire, Gordon and most of the members of the British aristocracy.

Diana's 4th great-grandmother, Eliza Kewark, is often claimed to be Armenian.^[101][102] However, Kewark's exact ancestry is unknown; she is variously described in contemporary documents as "a dark-skinned native woman", "an Armenian woman from Bombay", and "Mrs. Forbesian".^[103] Possibly, Kewark was an Indian, and the family deliberately pretended she was Armenian to expunge the "stigma of what was then known as 'coloured blood'."^[104] Diana's ancestry also connects her with most of Europe's royal houses. Diana is five times descended from the House of Stuart from Charles II's four illegitimate sons James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton, Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans and Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, and from James II's daughter, Henrietta FitzJames, Countess of Newcastle, an ancestry she shares with the current Dukes of Alba. From the House of Stuart, Diana is a descendant of the House of Bourbon from the line Henry IV of France and of the House of Medici from the line of Marie de' Medici. She is also a descendant of powerful Italian noble families such as that of the House of Sforza who ruled as the Dukes of Milan from the line of the legendary Caterina Sforza, Countess of Forlì. Diana is a descendant of the famous Lucrezia Borgia (18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519), who was Princess of Salerno, Duchess of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio. Diana also descends from the House of Wittelsbach via morganatic line from Frederick V, Elector Palatine and of the House of Hanover via Sophia von Platen und Hallermund, Countess of Leinster and Darlington, the illegitimate daughter of Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg and the half sister of George I. Diana also descends from the House of Toledo of the original dukes of Alba and Medina Sidonia.

Diana also descended from ancient noble and royal Gaelic families of Ireland from her mother's side. From her maternal great-great grandfather, Edmond Roche, 1st Baron Fermoy, Diana descends from both the O'Donovan family who ruled the Kingdom of Desmond until the 13th century and became semi-sovereign princes of Carbery from the line of Donal IV O'Donovan, Lord of Clancahill, the De Barry family, an ancient family of Cambro-Norman origins who descends from Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn, a Welsh prince and the O'Shaughnessy family, a family which descends from Guaire Aidne mac Colmáin, King of Connacht.

See also[link]

Elton John performing at the Concert for Diana, London, 1 July 2007

• Burrell affair
• Concert for Diana
• Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund
• Diana, Princess of Wales: Tribute (a CD tribute)
• Diana - The People's Princess (exhibition)
• Squidgygate
• The New School at West Heath (Mr Al-Fayed's memorial to Diana)

Notes[link]