Who was Princess Diana? (2024)

Almost a quarter of a century on from her death, the world is still talking about Diana, the Princess of Wales.

In clips released from an television interview, Diana's son, Prince Harry, has compared the media's treatment of his wife, Meghan, to what his mother went through.

Prince Harry has previously said he stepped back from royal duties in order to protect himself and his family from the "toxic" environment created in the UK by the newspaper and television industry.

Princess Diana died in 1997 after a car crash in Paris.

At that point she was one of the most famous people in the world and her funeral was watched by an estimated 2.5 billion people.

Here Newsround looks back at her life.

Diana Spencer was born on 1 July 1961.

Her family was wealthy and had a close relationship with the British Royal family.

In 1981, at the age of 19, Diana became engaged to the Queen's son, Prince Charles.

This was really significant because Prince Charles was - and continues to be - the heir apparent to the throne and this means he'll become King when the Queen dies.

It was a life changing moment for Diana because she was working as a nursery assistant at the time.

Diana and Prince Charles began dating in 1980. She later said that she had only properly met Charles a dozen or so times before he decided to propose to her in 1981.

The wedding took place on 29 July 1981.

They were married in St Paul's Cathedral watched by 3,500 invited guests and an estimated 750 million people around the world on live television.

Soon after the wedding, Diana became involved in the official duties of being a princess, including visits to nurseries, schools and hospitals.

She toured the world with Prince Charles and quickly became a big favourite of the public thanks to her down-to-earth behaviour and willingness to speak to normal people.

Just 11 months after getting married, Princess Diana gave birth to her first son, William.

Then, two years later, she had another son called Harry.

When Prince William was born he became second in line to the throne.

This meant that only his grandmother, The Queen, and his father, Prince Charles, were ahead of him in the line to become King.

William is now married to the duch*ess of Cambridge, Kate, and they have three children - George, Charlotte and Louis.

Prince Harry is sixth in line to the throne. He is married to Meghan and they have one child called Archie but are expecting another child in the summer.

Princess Diana said she wanted to give William and Harry as much of a normal life as possible.

However, her fame and popularity meant it was difficult for her to get away from the attention of newspaper and television companies.

Pictures of the Princess became very valuable because lots of people wanted to see what she was up to.

Diana was followed around by people with cameras wherever she went. They are known as the 'paparazzi'.

What is the tabloid media?

The paparazzi made money by selling their pictures to newspaper companies who would then put the pictures in their papers. The most popular ones - which Diana's often were - usually featured on the front pages.

She complained that the paparazzi and tabloid newspapers made it very difficult for her to live a normal life and, on several occasions, she appeared to be driven to tears as she was pursued by them.

The Princess was passionate about charity work.

She knew how to use the attention of the media to highlight campaigns she believed in.

This included helping her raise a lot of money for different charities.

She was famously photographed walking across a minefield in Angola as part of a campaign to end the use of landmines.

She is also credited for her work in helping change the perception of HIV and Aids in the gay community.

In the mid-eighties there was a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation about how the illness was spread. Lots of people incorrectly believed that it could be passed on through touch.

In 1987, Diana opened the UK's first purpose built HIV/Aids unit that exclusively cared for patients with the virus.

In front of the world's media, she shook the hand of a man suffering from the illness and in doing so challenged the belief that it could be passed on through touching skin.

Diana's relationship with Prince Charles was not a happy one, and in 1992, they decided to separate.

In 1996, they were granted a divorce and Diana gave up the title of Her Royal Highness (HRH).

HRH is given to senior members of the Royal family by the Queen.

In 1997 Diana visited Paris. It was there that a car she was travelling in crashed in a tunnel while being followed by photographers in cars and on mopeds.

Diana was buried on an island on the Spencer family estate, Althorp.

Diana's funeral was broadcast on TV and was a huge event - thousands of people lined the streets as her coffin went by.

The funeral itself was watched by an estimated 2.5 billion people.

The Queen paid tribute to Diana in a speech on TV, but the Royal Family were at Balmoral Castle in Scotland when Diana died, and were criticised by some for not coming to London sooner.

The Prime Minister of the UK at the time, Tony Blair, described her as "the people's Princess".

A special fund called the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund was set up and has raised millions of pounds for charities in her name.

Prince Harry has spoken about his mother, Diana, in a television interview with American chat-show host, Oprah Winfrey.

The Duke of Sussex was just 12 years old when Diana died.

He has spoken previously about the "toxic" environment created in the UK by the press.

In a statement last year, the prince compared the media's coverage of his wife to the way in which his mother was treated.

"I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces," he said.

In a clip of the TV interview, Prince Harry says he feared history was "repeating itself" before he and Meghan decided to step back as senior royals.

In an interview with chat show host, James Corden, the prince said that the British press had damaged his mental wellbeing.

"It was a really difficult environment as a lot of people saw. We all know what the British press can be like and it was destroying my mental health. I was like, this is toxic."

Lots of people are interested to see the interview when it airs in the UK to find out what Prince Harry will say.

But it is clear, his mother - and what happened to her - has had a big effect on his life and decision to step away from the Royal Family.