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Lady Diana Frances Spencer (Diana Frances Mountbatten-Windsor, née Spencer) was born on July 1, 1961 in Norfolk, England.  She was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales and arguably the most famous woman in the world.

In her early years she was regarded as a below-average student but an excellent athlete, a talented amateur singer and her dream was to be a ballerina.  The Spencer family had always been close with the Royal family, as Prince Charles neared 30 he was being pressured to marry and his bride needed to be of an aristocratic family, could not have been previously married, Protestant, and preferably a virgin. Diana was a shoe-in. They were married July 29th, 1981. They had 2 sons together, Prince William and Prince Harry.

Their marriage fell apart in the mid 80’s but that didn’t stop her from becoming one of the most influential and powerful women in the world. She used her fame and power to bring to light many important and devastating problems in the world including AIDS and landmines. She was the first high-profile celebrity to be photographed knowingly touching a person infected with the HIV virus, and was a key figure in exposing the disease to the world. She was also a huge influence on the signing of the Ottawa Treaty which banned the use of anti-personnel landmines.

Diana was tragically killed in a widely publicized car accident while fleeing paparazzi in Paris. She died on August 31st 1997 at the age of 36.

Lady Diana Frances Spencer around the Web - click here
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