Diana, Princess of Wales - Timeline

July 1, 1961

Diana Frances Spencer born in Norfolk, England

1967

Diana's parents divorced. Diana initially lived with her mother, and then her father fought for and won custody.

1969

Diana's mother married Peter Shand Kydd.

1970

After being educated at home by tutors, Diana was sent to Riddlesworth Hall, Norfolk, a boarding school

1972

Diana's father began a relationship with Raine Legge, Countess of Dartmouth, whose mother was Barbara Cartland, romance novelist

1973

Diana began her education at the West Heath Girls School, Kent, an exclusive girls' boarding school

1974

Diana moved to the Spencer family estate in Althorp

1975

Diana's father inherited the title of Earl Spencer, and Diana gained the title of Lady Diana

1976

Diana's father married Raine Legge

1977

Diana dropped out of West Girls Heath School; her father sent her to a Swiss finishing school, Chateau d'Oex, but she only stayed a few months

1977

Prince Charles and Diana met in November when he was dating her sister, Lady Sarah; Diana taught him to tap-dance

1978

Diana attended a Swiss finishing school, Institut Alpin Videmanette, for a term

1979

Diana moved to London, where she worked as a housekeeper, nanny, and kindergarten teacher's aide; she lived with three other girls in a three-bedroom flat purchased by her father

1980

On a visit to see her sister Jane, who was married to Robert Fellowes, an assistant secretary to the Queen, Diana and Charles met again; soon, Charles asked Diana for a date, and in November, he introduced her to several members of the royal family: the Queen, the Queen Mother, and the Duke of Edinburgh (his mother, grandmother, and father)

February 3, 1981

Prince Charles proposed to Lady Diana Spencer at a dinner for two at Buckingham Palace

February 8, 1981

Lady Diana left for a previously-planned vacation in Australia

July 29, 1981

wedding of Lady Diana Spencer and Charles, Prince of Wales, at St. Paul's Cathedral; broadcast worldwide

October 1981

the Prince and Princess of Wales visit Wales

November 5, 1981

official announcement that Diana was pregnant

June 21, 1982

Prince William born (William Arthur Philip Louis)

September 15, 1984

Prince Harry born (Henry Charles Albert David)

1986

strains in the marriage began to be obvious to the public, Diana begins relationship with James Hewitt

March 29, 1992

Diana's father died

June 16, 1992

publication of Morton's book Diana: Her True Story, including the story of Charles' long affair with Camilla Parker Bowles and allegations of five suicide attempts including once during Diana's first pregnancy; it later became apparent that Diana or at least her family had cooperated with the author, her father contributing many family photographs

December 9, 1992

formal announcement of the legal separation of Diana and Charles

December 3, 1993

announcement from Diana that she was withdrawing from public life

1994

Prince Charles interviewed by Jonathan Dimbleby, admitted he had had a relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles since 1986 (later, it was questioned whether his attraction to her had been rekindled earlier) -- the British television audience was 14 million

November 20, 1995

Princess Diana interviewed by Martin Bashir on BBC, with 21.1 million audience in Britain, revealing her struggles with depression, bulimia, and self-mutilations; this interview contained her line, "Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded," referring to her husband's relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles

December 20, 1995

Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen had written to the Prince and Princess of Wales, with the backing of the Prime Minister and Privy Counsel, advising them to divorce

February 29, 1996

Princess Diana announced she'd agreed to a divorce

July 1996

Diana and Charles agreed to divorce terms

August 28, 1996

divorce of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Charles, Prince of Wales, final; Diana received about $23 million settlement plus $600,000 per year, retained the title "Princess of Wales" but not the title "Her Royal Highness," continued to live at Kensington Palace; agreement was that both parents were to be active in their children's lives

late 1996

Diana became involved with the issue of landmines

1997

Nobel Peace Prize went to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, for which Diana had worked and traveled

June 29, 1997

Christie's in New York auctioned 79 of Diana's evening gowns; proceeds of about $3.5 million went to cancer and AIDS charities.

1997

linked romantically with 42-year-old "Dodi" Fayed, whose father, Mohammed al-Fayed, owned Harrod's Department Store and Paris' Ritz Hotel

August 31, 1997

Diana, Princess of Wales, died of injuries sustained in a car accident, in Paris, France

September 6, 1997

Princess Diana's funeral. She was buried at the Spencer estate at Althorp, on an island in a lake.