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Lady Diana Spencer
Princess of Wales
MARRIAGE
AND FAMILY
On 24 February 1981 it was officially
announced that Lady Diana was to marry The Prince of Wales. As neighbours at
Sandringham until 1975, their families had known each other for many years, and
Lady Diana and the The Prince had met again when he was invited to a weekend at
Althorp in November 1977.
They were married at St Paul's Cathedral in London on 29 July 1981, in a
ceremony which drew a global television and radio audience estimated at around
1,000 million people, and hundreds of thousands of people lining the route from
Buckingham Palace to the Cathedral. The wedding reception was at Buckingham
Palace.
The marriage was solemnised by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Runcie, together
with the Dean of St Paul's; clergy from other denominations read prayers. Music
included the hymns 'Christ is made the sure foundation', 'I vow to thee my
country', the anthem 'I was glad' (by Sir Hubert Parry), a specially composed
anthem 'Let the people praise thee' by Professor Mathias, and Handel's 'Let the
bright seraphim' performed by Dame Kiri te Kanawa. The lesson was read by the
Speaker of the House of Commons, Mr George Thomas (the late Lord Tonypandy).
The Princess was the first Englishwoman to
marry an heir to the throne for 300 years (when Lady Anne Hyde married the
future James II from whom the Princess was descended). The bride wore a silk
taffeta dress with a 25-foot train designed by the Emanuels, her veil was held
in place by the Spencer family diamond tiara, and she carried a bouquet of
gardenias, lilies-of-the-valley, white freesia, golden roses, white orchids and
stephanotis. She was attended by five bridesmaids including Princess Margaret's
daughter Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones (now Lady Sarah Chatto); Prince Andrew (now
The Duke of York) and Prince Edward were The Prince of Wales's supporters (a
Royal custom instead of a best man).
The Prince and Princess of Wales spent part of their honeymoon at the
Mountbatten family home at Broadlands, Hampshire, before flying to Gibraltar to
join the Royal Yacht HMY BRITANNIA for a 12-day cruise through the Mediterranean
to Egypt. They finished their honeymoon with a stay at Balmoral.
The Prince and Princess made their principal home at Highgrove House near
Tetbury, Gloucestershire, and shared an apartment in Kensington Palace.
The Princess of Wales had two sons. Prince William Arthur Philip Louis was born
on 21 June 1982 and Prince Henry (Harry) Charles Albert David on 15 September
1984, both at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, in London. The Princess had
seventeen godchildren.
In December 1992 it was announced that The Prince and Princess of Wales had
agreed to separate. The Princess based her household and her office at
Kensington Palace, while The Prince was based at St James's Palace and continued
to live at Highgrove.
In November 1995, the Princess gave a
television interview during which she spoke of her unhappiness in her personal
life and the pressures of her public role. The Prince and Princess were divorced
on 28 August 1996.
The Prince and Princess continued to share equal responsibility for the
upbringing of their children. The Princess, as the mother of Prince William (second
in line to the throne), continued to be regarded as a member of the Royal
family. The Queen, The Prince and The Princess of Wales agreed that the Princess
was to be known after the divorce as Diana, Princess of Wales, without the style
of 'Her Royal Highness' (as the Princess was given the style 'HRH' on marriage
she would therefore be expected to give it up on divorce).
The Princess continued to live at Kensington Palace, with her office
DEATH
The tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales occurred
on Sunday, 31 August 1997 following a car accident in Paris, France. The vehicle
in which the Princess was travelling was involved in a high-speed accident in
the Place de l'Alma underpass in central Paris shortly before midnight on
Saturday, 30 August. The Princess was taken to the La Pitie Salpetriere
Hospital, where she underwent two hours of emergency surgery before being
declared dead at 0300 BST. The Princess's companion, Mr Dodi Fayed, and the
driver of the vehicle died in the accident, whilst a bodyguard was seriously
injured.
The Princess's body was subsequently repatriated to the
United Kingdom in the evening of Sunday, 31 August by a BAe 146 aircraft of the
Royal Squadron. The Prince of Wales and the Princess's elder sisters, Lady Sarah
McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes, accompanied the Princess's coffin on its
return journey. Upon arrival at RAF Northolt, the coffin, draped with a Royal
Standard, was removed from the aircraft and transferred to a waiting hearse by a
bearer party from The Queen's Colour Squadron of the RAF. The Prime Minister was
among those in the reception party.
From RAF Northolt the coffin was taken to a private
mortuary in London, so that the necessary legal formalities could be completed.
Shortly after midnight, it was moved to the Chapel Royal in St James's Palace,
where it lay privately until the funeral on Saturday, 6 September, in
Westminster Abbey. The Princess's family and friends visited the Chapel to pay
their respects.
Following the funeral service, the coffin then was
taken by road to the family estate at Althorp for a private interment. The
Princess was buried in sanctified ground on an island in the centre of an
ornamental lake.
The Queen speech
The Queen spoke to the nation live at 6.00 p.m. on Friday, 5 September,
from the Chinese Dining Room at Buckingham Palace.
Since last Sunday's dreadful news we have seen,
throughout Britain and around the world, an overwhelming expression of sadness
at Diana's death.
We have all been trying in our different ways to cope. It is not easy to express
a sense of loss, since the initial shock is often succeeded by a mixture of
other feelings: disbelief, incomprehension, anger - and concern for those who
remain. We have all felt those emotions in these last few days. So what I say to
you now, as your Queen and as a grandmother, I say from my heart.
First, I want to pay tribute to Diana myself. She was an exceptional and gifted
human being. In good times and bad, she never lost her capacity to smile and
laugh, nor to inspire others with her warmth and kindness. I admired and
respected her - for her energy and commitment to others, and especially for her
devotion to her two boys. This week at Balmoral, we have all been trying to help
William and Harry come to terms with the devastating loss that they and the rest
of us have suffered.No-one who knew Diana will ever forget her. Millions of
others who never met her, but felt they knew her, will remember her. I for one
believe there are lessons to be drawn from her life and from the extraordinary
and moving reaction to her death. I share in your determination to cherish her
memory.
This is also an opportunity for me, on behalf of my family, and especially
Prince Charles and William and Harry, to thank all of you who have brought
flowers, sent messages and paid your respects in so many ways to a remarkable
person. These acts of kindness have been a huge source of help and comfort.Our
thoughts are also with Diana's family and the families of those who died with
her. I know that they too have drawn strength from what has happened since last
weekend, as they seek to heal their sorrow and then to face the future without a
loved one.
I hope that tomorrow we can all, wherever we are, join in expressing our grief
at Diana's loss, and gratitude for her all-too-short life. It is a chance to
show to the whole world the British nation united in grief and respect.
May those who died rest in peace and may we, each and every one of us, thank God
for someone who made many, many people happy.
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