When The Crown first aired, it was mainly about Queen Elizabeth and her legacy. Still, towards the end of season 3, it was clear that season 4 would focus on Prince Charles and his relationship and marriage with “People’s Princess Diana.”
Season 4 first introduced Emma Corrin, playing the role of the shy and young Diana, who would become a Princess one day. She first caught the eyes of Prince Charles, played by Josh O’Connor, when she was skipping near her family house dressed in one of her costumes for a school play.
This was just the fairytale beginning of the Royal couple’s turbulent relationship that eventually led to her untimely demise.
A Fairy Tale love story: The Beginning!
It is a dream for any girl to be a princess. However, beautiful young girl Diana Spencer, the dream came true. A prince came and sweapt her off her feet. This man was none other than the prince next in line to be the King of England, Prince Charles.
As the hit series Crown projects, Diana was only 20 years old when she married to Prince Charles, who was then 32. The whole world became obsessed for a single glimpse of the young woman who would become Queen one day.
On the day of the Royal Wedding, there were thousands of people waiting to see even a glimpse of Diana Princess of Wales.
Any Royal Wedding is always a selling point for the Nation, whether it was the Queen’s own wedding with Prince Philip in 1947 or whether it was Prince Charles in 1981. This is the reason why the media still estimates that over 750 million people were watching this real-life fairy tale worldwide.
Her personality and naivety were not the only quality of hers that was amplified by the British media. The fact that Diana worked as a part-time teacher was also a key trait of her personality. Her addition to the Royal Family was definitely an asset for the family.
Emma Corrin’s portrayal of Diana in The Crown is one of the most accurate depictions of her personality and nature. Ingrid Seward, EOC of Majesty Magazine, said, “Corrin has absolutely got the essence of the young Diana, and because it’s the young Diana, it’s probably easier to capture the naivety, the innocence and the fear she felt very well.”
Princess Diana: Dominating The World Stage!
It is quite common for any Royal Wedding that the attention and attraction towards a new member die down after the wedding, but for Diana, it was different! She was different!
The attention and invasive nature of the media toward the new Princess Diana just became more and more intense. According to Seward,”No one in the Royal Family had experienced that before.”
The relationship between the Royal family and the media changed drastically over the years. In the 80s, the media became hungry for even a single picture of Diana, which made Diana’s life far from normal.
The image of the Royal Family went to new heights when even International media took an interest in her. Shortly after Prince William was born, all three of them took a trip to Australia, which is also the television series also shows.
The crowd was much more eager to meet her and William than Prince Charles. The young Princess was charming with her outfit choices and her interaction with the crowd. We always saw her in the media, joking and chatting with the crowd. She was always kind!
The family also traveled to the United States and met with President Reagan, who organized a gala for them and invited many Hollywood A-listers. This is wear; she wore her famous midnight-blue dress with off-the-shoulder sleeves, known as The Travolta Dress, as she famously danced with John Travolta in that dress.
The People’s Princess!
Princess Diana is popular by the name “The People’s Princess.” She had this honorable name because of her humanitarian work. And she was actively working with many different charity works.
She was a high-profile ambassador for most of the charity works she did. One of the most eminent of these was when she took a solo trip to New York City in 1989. The Local papers in New York City headlines were “Di-mania,”. Traffic was extremally slow, and every other turn was facing a block. There were so many on the streets, waiting to see Princess Diana
The Princess al with a few political elites and visiting homeless shelters and even children’s hospitals. She went to a Children’s hospital in Harlem and visited children with AIDS. This was the time when AIDS and HIV had a stigma surrounding them that spread with touch.
So to stop such a stigma, Princess Diana hugged a small kid with AIDS without wearing any gloves. The photograph sent a strong message about the stigma that AIDS spreads just by touching a patient.
The TIME reported, “After that, even the most hard-boiled of New Yorkers had to admit that Diana was a class act.”
A Tragic End!
What began with a Fairy Tale, Ended in Tragedy!
On 31st August 1997, the life of the People’s Princess ended in a tragic car accident. By this time, Diana had already separated herself from the Royal family and divorced Prince Charles only a year prior.
Years prior to Princess Diana death, she was dating Dodi Al Fayed, a famous film producer. The couple were in a car and driving through an underpass in Paris and groups of photographers just started chasing them.
But the car crashed and toppled over. The driver and Dodi Fayed died on the spot, but Diana was taken to a hospital, where she died shortly after. The public was in mourning for days after the accident till her funeral.
Diana’s sudden death had a significant effect on her legacy. She will always be memorable in the royal history books, and the people. She became an icon even after death; she lived on through her sons, William and Harry.
According to Seward, “She became canonized almost. I think of other icons like Marilyn Monrow, but Diana seemed to take on this saint-like quality, because people only remembered the good and forgot the bad.”
Though the public is still not do not believe about the technicalities of how did Princess Diana die, which brought up a lot of conspiracy theories targeting the Royal Family. What year did Princess Diana die is a question that will still haunt the memories of her admirers and will remain forever.
Her Legacy Continues
Even after her death, her impact and significance were felt on the Royal Family. In a bombshell interview with BBC in 1995, she talked about depression, anxiety, self-inflected harm, and bulimia during her marriage with Charles. This interview was viewed by almost 23 million viewers.
The public was very eager to see the personalities of her two sons, William and Harry. And the boys didn’t disappoint; their personality was like their mothers. Even when William announced her engagement with yet another commoner Kate Middleton.
And neither Kate nor William disappointed us; they are perfectly capable of carrying forward Diana’s legacy with them. She will always remain a part of their lives, which is why William proposed to Kate with his mother’s blue sapphire engagement ring.
Both the brothers are taking forward their mother’s legacy of doing charity work and having a happy family life, which their mother never had.
On her 60th birth anniversary, 1st July 2022, her sons unveiled a statue made in her honor to celebrate her legacy. Princess Diana statue is located in the Sunken Garden of London’s Kensington Palace.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
Now that you know all about Princess Diana and her life’s legacy, here are a few questions asked by others.
Princess Diana died on 31st August 1997. She was with Dodi Fayed, her boyfriend, driving through a Paris underpass chased by photographers when their car crashed.
The last words she ever uttered were, “My God, what’s happened?” Sergeant Xavier Gourmelon was the one to discover her first after her tragic accident.
Princess Diana was only 36 years old when she passed away in a tragic car crash in Paris. Her death sent shock waves throughout the globe.
Wrapping Up!
Princess Diana was one of those women whose mere aura was enough to admire her. Everything about this person was admirable and impactful. Whether her stand against AIDS or her bold statements regarding her marriage and her mental health.
This is a woman to be admired throughout our lives, and it is well justified the impact and popularity she still has after so many years after her death.
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