Diana, Princess of Wales — Age, Birthday & Biography
Born: 1 July 1961 · Died: 31 August 1997 · Age: 36
Princess of Wales and mother of Prince William and Prince Harry, admired worldwide for her campaigning against landmines and on HIV
Did you know?Before her marriage, she worked as a dance instructor and as a nursery school assistant.
Quick facts
Date of birth1 July 1961
Date of death31 August 1997
Age at death36
Cause of deathCar collision
NationalityBritish
BirthplaceSandringham, England
Occupationphilanthropist
Editor's Take:
Diana, Princess of Wales, changed what the public expected from royalty. Thrust into the spotlight at nineteen, she combined glamour with a striking instinct for empathy, shaking hands with AIDS patients at a time when many feared touching them and walking through a minefield in Angola to campaign for a ban on landmines. Her openness about her own struggles, from an unhappy marriage to eating disorders, made her feel human in a way earlier royals rarely did. Her death in a Paris car crash in 1997 prompted an outpouring of grief unlike anything Britain had seen. Decades later, her influence on how the monarchy connects with people is still easy to see.
Key Milestones
1981: Marries Prince Charles at St Paul's Cathedral
1982: Gives birth to Prince William
1987: Shakes hands with an AIDS patient without gloves
1995: Gives her landmark Panorama interview
1996: Divorces Prince Charles
1997: Walks through an Angolan minefield; dies in Paris weeks later
Member of the British royal family known for her humanitarian work and global popularity.
“There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”
