Difference between revisions of "Diana, Princess of Wales"
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She married Prince Charles on 1981 at [[St Paul's Cathedral]], [[London]], and gave birth to Prince William in 1982 and Prince Harry in 1984. However, the marriage was troubled and the Prince and Princess separated in 1992; they were divorced in 1996. | She married Prince Charles on 1981 at [[St Paul's Cathedral]], [[London]], and gave birth to Prince William in 1982 and Prince Harry in 1984. However, the marriage was troubled and the Prince and Princess separated in 1992; they were divorced in 1996. | ||
| + | ==Death== | ||
[[Image:Ritz.jpg|right|Hôtel Ritz Paris]] | [[Image:Ritz.jpg|right|Hôtel Ritz Paris]] | ||
In 1997 Diana was holidaying with Dodi Fayed, son of the controversial businessman [[Mohammed al Fayed]]. On 31 August the couple dined at the Ritz Hotel (owned by al Fayed) before leaving by car for Dodi Fayed's Paris appartment. While travelling at speed (eluding the paparazzi) through the Pont d'Alma underpass, their car crashed. Dodi Fayed (42) and the driver, Henri Paul (41), were killed instantly; Diana (36) died some hours later in hospital; a bodyguard survived. It was later found that Paul was over the blood alcohol limit for driving. Despite this, conspiracy theories have flourished about the incident, the most flamboyant being that the [[Duke of Edinburgh]] ordered the British security service [[MI5]] to have Diana and Dodi murdered, to prevent her giving birth to a Moslem child (though she was not pregnant at the time of her death). Such theories are fostered by Mohammed al Fayed and by the British daily newspaper the [[Daily Express]]. | In 1997 Diana was holidaying with Dodi Fayed, son of the controversial businessman [[Mohammed al Fayed]]. On 31 August the couple dined at the Ritz Hotel (owned by al Fayed) before leaving by car for Dodi Fayed's Paris appartment. While travelling at speed (eluding the paparazzi) through the Pont d'Alma underpass, their car crashed. Dodi Fayed (42) and the driver, Henri Paul (41), were killed instantly; Diana (36) died some hours later in hospital; a bodyguard survived. It was later found that Paul was over the blood alcohol limit for driving. Despite this, conspiracy theories have flourished about the incident, the most flamboyant being that the [[Duke of Edinburgh]] ordered the British security service [[MI5]] to have Diana and Dodi murdered, to prevent her giving birth to a Moslem child (though she was not pregnant at the time of her death). Such theories are fostered by Mohammed al Fayed and by the British daily newspaper the [[Daily Express]]. | ||
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In April 2008 an inquest jury in [[London]] disregarded all conspiracy theories and found that Diana and Dodi Fayed had been unlawfully killed by Henri Paul and the pursuing photographers. | In April 2008 an inquest jury in [[London]] disregarded all conspiracy theories and found that Diana and Dodi Fayed had been unlawfully killed by Henri Paul and the pursuing photographers. | ||
| + | ==Legacy== | ||
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| + | :...compassionate action is the only valid test of true spirituality; and people in post-Christian Europe are keenly aware of this insight. Many have left the conventional church because they are repelled by the uncharitable behavior of the devout; crusades, inquisitions and persecutions, past and present, have discredited faith....The deification of Diana, Princess of Wales, in the extraordinary days after her death was a religious event, due, at least in part, to the fact that Diana had become an icon of compassion in a depersonalized world. - [[Karen Armstrong]], author of ''[[A History of God]]'' | ||
Revision as of 19:19, August 17, 2010
Diana, Princess of Wales (1961-1997) was the divorced wife of Prince Charles the Prince of Wales, heir to the throne of the United Kingdom. She was killed in a motor accident in Paris on 31 August 1997. She was the mother of Prince William of Wales, heir-presumptive to the British crown, and Prince Harry.
She was born Lady Diana Frances Spencer, daughter of Viscount Althorp (later the 8th Earl Spencer) and his wife, Frances (Mrs. Frances Shand-Kydd). After an undistinguished private schooling she worked as a nursery school teaching assistant.
She married Prince Charles on 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral, London, and gave birth to Prince William in 1982 and Prince Harry in 1984. However, the marriage was troubled and the Prince and Princess separated in 1992; they were divorced in 1996.
Death
In 1997 Diana was holidaying with Dodi Fayed, son of the controversial businessman Mohammed al Fayed. On 31 August the couple dined at the Ritz Hotel (owned by al Fayed) before leaving by car for Dodi Fayed's Paris appartment. While travelling at speed (eluding the paparazzi) through the Pont d'Alma underpass, their car crashed. Dodi Fayed (42) and the driver, Henri Paul (41), were killed instantly; Diana (36) died some hours later in hospital; a bodyguard survived. It was later found that Paul was over the blood alcohol limit for driving. Despite this, conspiracy theories have flourished about the incident, the most flamboyant being that the Duke of Edinburgh ordered the British security service MI5 to have Diana and Dodi murdered, to prevent her giving birth to a Moslem child (though she was not pregnant at the time of her death). Such theories are fostered by Mohammed al Fayed and by the British daily newspaper the Daily Express.
"Lady Di", as she was often popularly known, was buried on 6 September 1997. Her grave is on an island in a lake in the grounds of her family home (Althorp House, Northamptonshire).
In April 2008 an inquest jury in London disregarded all conspiracy theories and found that Diana and Dodi Fayed had been unlawfully killed by Henri Paul and the pursuing photographers.
Legacy
- ...compassionate action is the only valid test of true spirituality; and people in post-Christian Europe are keenly aware of this insight. Many have left the conventional church because they are repelled by the uncharitable behavior of the devout; crusades, inquisitions and persecutions, past and present, have discredited faith....The deification of Diana, Princess of Wales, in the extraordinary days after her death was a religious event, due, at least in part, to the fact that Diana had become an icon of compassion in a depersonalized world. - Karen Armstrong, author of A History of God