weqtraeIntroduction

Princess Diana is one of my favourite celebrities. This is why I decided I must do

my research paper about her, like a tribute to everything she meant and still means to me

and all the people who found hope and a role model in her.

Characterizing Princess Diana with any sweeping generalizations is an exercise in

futility. Those who categorize her solely by her charitable work would be as one-sided in

their assessment as others who describe her as a needy soul who searched in vain for true

love. Though it remains a pleasant notion to remember Diana for the enormous

humanitarian impact she made on the world, it is not realistic to sketch her picture solely

by those efforts. The princess was an enigmatic figure who led a complex life.

In her lifetime she accomplished many great things. She worked on numerous

charity projects; she was also one of the most photographed people during her lifetime. A

particular thing that I liked very much at her was her elegance. She was the only celebrity

I have ever seen with natural and elegant manners. She was polite with everybody

nearby, including media, the citizens waiting to greet her and the under-privileged she

was visiting.

She had the ability to handle almost every problem, just by caring for everybody

at each event. She always smiled pleasantly. She made everybody feel comfortable,

including the audiences watching her in the TV programmes! How powerful her charm

has been!

The Princess was well known both for her support of charity projects and her

sense of style. She was also credited with considerable influence for her campaigns

against the use of landmines and helping the victims of AIDS. In fact, Princess Diana was

the first high-profile celebrity to be photographed touching a person infected with the

HIV virus. She visited landmine survivors in hospitals, toured demining projects run by

the HALO Trust, and attended nine awareness education classes about the dangers of

landmines immediately surrounding homes and villages. One of the reasons that Princess

Diana’s charity work is so special is because she truly believed in participating in

helping, not just giving money. The Princess fought for so many different causes that one

can really tell how much she cared for humanity in general and how she sincerely wanted

to end suffering wherever it occurred. Princess Diana even said, “I understand people's

suffering, people's pain, more than you will ever know yourself…”

The Princess’s will to help these landmine workers demonstrates how directly

connected she was to the people. She cared about them strongly enough to make sure she

was involved personally to protest against what she thought to be wrong. Time magazine

writes, “First she became the patron saint of victims, sick, discriminated against, the

homeless”. Heroines are allowed to make mistakes too. Diana’s adulterous marriage

brought her down to the level of any other ordinary person. The Princess admitted she

had been depressed, self-mutilated and bulimic. This allows the public, especially

women, to empathize with the way she was feeling. Diana’s demonstration of how to

overcome an obstacle and the way she turned a helpless life into one of aiding others,

shows why people look up to her and idealize her.

As Diana was such a realistic woman, she inspired other women to live up to

their potential. She cared for all children, no matter what. She was like a universal

mother. Her love for children was evident in her social work and also in her own family

life. Diana placed much value on the family unity. Princess Diana stresses how much she

appreciates families. Princess Diana’s ability to be a good mother made her a genuine

heroine.

Diana-The Queen of People’s Hearts

'I would like to be a queen in the hearts of the people.' (Princess Diana)

Short Biography

 

Lady Diana Frances Spencer (July 1, 1961–August 31, 1997) was the first wife of

Charles, Prince of Wales. She was often called Princess Diana by the media and the

public, but she did not possess such a title and was not personally a princess, a point

Diana herself made to people who referred to her as such. Princesses in their own right

only exist by creation of the monarch or by birth. Diana was in fact the first non-princess

to be Princess of Wales for centuries. Diana, Princess of Wales was noted for her charity

work. Yet her philanthropic endeavours were overshadowed by her scandal-plagued

marriage to Prince Charles. Her bitter accusations via friends and biographers of adultery,

mental cruelty and emotional distress visited upon her, and her own admission of adultery

and numerous love affairs riveted the world for much of the 1990s, spawning books,

magazine articles and television movies. From the time of her engagement to the Prince

of Wales in 1981 until her death in a car accident in 1997, the Princess was arguably the

most famous woman in the world, the pre-eminent female celebrity of her generation: a

fashion icon, an image of feminine beauty, admired and emulated for her high-profile

involvement in AIDS issues, and the international campaign against landmines. During

her lifetime, she was often referred to as the most photographed person in the world. To

her admirers, the Princess of Wales was a role model - after her death, there were even

calls for her to be nominated for sainthood - while her detractors saw her life as a

cautionary tale of how an obsession with publicity can ultimately destroy an individual.

Early life

Diana Frances Spencer was born at Park House on the Sandringham estate. On

the death of her paternal grandfather, Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer, in 1975, Diana's

father became the 8th Earl Spencer, and she acquired the courtesy title of Lady Diana

Spencer and moved from her childhood home at Park House to her family's sixteenth-

century ancestral home of Althorp.Diana was educated at Riddlesworth Hall in Norfolk

and at West Heath Girls' School in Sevenoaks, Kent, where she was regarded as an

academically below-average student, having failed all of her O-level examinations. In

1977, aged 16, she left West Heath and briefly attended Institut Alpin Videmanette, a

finishing school in Rougemont, Switzerland). Diana was a talented amateur singer,

excelled in sports and reportedly longed to be a ballerina.

Wedding to Prince Charles

Her wedding with Prince of Charles took place at St Paul's Cathedral in London

on Wednesday 29 July 1981.Diana was the first Englishwoman to marry the heir to the

throne .Upon her marriage, Diana became Her Royal Highness .The Princess of Wales

and was ranked as the third most senior royal woman in the United Kingdom after the

Queen and the Queen Mother.The Prince and Princess of Wales had two children, Prince

William of Wales on 21 June 1982 and Prince Henry of Wales (commonly called Prince

Harry) on 15 September 1984.

Break up of Marriage

In the mid 1980s her marriage felt apart, an event at first suppressed, but then

sensationalised, by the world media. Both the Prince and Princess of Wales allegedly

spoke to the press through friends, accusing each other of blame for the marriage's

demise. Charles resumed his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, whilst Diana

became involved with James Hewitt and possibly later with James Gilbey, with whom

she was involved in the so-called Squidgygate affair. She later confirmed (in a television

interview with Martin Bashir) the affair with her riding instructor, James Hewitt. After

her separation from Prince Charles, Diana was allegedly involved with married art dealer

Oliver Hoare and rugby player Will

Carling. She did publicly date heart surgeon Hasnat Khan before becoming

involved with Dodi Fayed.The Prince and Princess of Wales were separated on 9

December 1992; their divorce was finalised on 28 August 1996. The Princess lost the

style Her Royal Highness and instead was styled as Diana, Princess of Wales. However,

since the divorce, Buckingham Palace has maintained that Diana was officially a member

of the Royal Family, since she was the mother of the second and third in line to the

throne.

Death

On 31 August 1997 Diana was involved in a car accident in the Pont de l'Alma

road tunnel in Paris, along with her friend and lover Dodi Al-Fayed, and their driver

Henri Paul. Fayed's bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones is the only person who survived the

wreckage. The death of the Princess has been widely blamed on reporters,that were

reportedly hounding the Princess, and were following the vehicle at a high speed. Ever

since the word paparazzi has been associated with the death of the Princess.

Charity work

 

AIDS

Starting in the mid-to-late 1980s, the Princess of Wales became well known for

her support of charity projects.Despite her love of social events, Diana stayed very active

in charity events around Great Britain.She became the president of Barnardo’s, a charity

that looked after troubled children.. In the early 1980s, acquired immunodeficiency

syndrome (AIDS) had just been identified as a specific disease. As some medical

researchers attempted to find its cause, others began to actively look for a cure..At the

beginning of the AIDS health crisis in the 1980s, people often avoided touching anyone

who had contracted the disease. Few people knew its causes, and many were afraid they

could get the disease merely by shaking hands with an infected person.

AIDS charities would have growing significance to Diana. Throughout her life

Diana was something of a rebel. Her work with victims of AIDS could in some ways be

seen in this regard. She was one of the first very high profile people to be pictured

touching those afflicted with AIDS. This had a significant impact in changing people’s

opinions and attitudes to the disease it was certainly a charity not following the protocol

and tradition of the Royal family. The British media was impressed that she did it

without wearing gloves. “She gave it respectability and a profile,” said a professor who

focused on the AIDS epidemic at Middlesex. “HIV [the virus that causes AIDS]does not

make people dangerous to know, so you can shake their hands and give them a hug:

Heaven knows they need it,” Diana said. Although she felt ignored by the royal family,

Diana came to realize that, outside the palace walls, her star power could help unleash

millions of dollars in donations to help those in need. She began to attend as many

charity events as possible. In addition to helping raise money at these events, Diana also

spent hours in hospitals visiting the sick and dying, as well as in homeless charities

visiting those in need. Her mere presence often brought comfort to people she touched.

Her contribution to changing the public opinion of AIDS sufferers was summarised in

December 2001 by Bill Clinton at the 'Diana, Princess of Wales Lecture on AIDS', when

he said: 'In 1987, when so many still believed that AIDS could be contracted through

casual contact, Princess Diana sat on the sickbed of a man with AIDS and held his hand.

She showed the world that people with AIDS deserve no isolation, but compassion and

kindness. It helped change world opinion, and gave hope to people. AIDS with an

outcome of saved lives of people at risk.'

Throughout her life Diana was something of a rebel. Her work with victims of

AIDS could in some ways be seen in this regard. She was one of the first very high

profile people to be pictured touching those afflicted with AIDS this had a significant

impact in changing people’s opinions and attitudes to the disease it was certainly a

charity not following the protocol and tradition of the Royal family. AS Princess Diana

said: “HIV does not make people dangerous to know. You can shake their hands and give

them hug heaven knows they need it'.

Diana shakes hands with an unidentified 32-year-old AIDS patient in his

private room at Middlesex Hospital, London, on April 19, 1987.

Meanwhile, progress was being made by researchers. Although there is still no

cure, drugs have been developed that help control the HIV infection and may delay the

onset of AIDS. Today, more than one million Americans and more than 33 million

people around the world live with HIV/AIDS. To the media Diana often portrayed a very

stoic and positive energy, but an aid suggested that at the same time these engagements

often drained Diana emotionally at the end of some engagements she felt depleted. Diana

had a very personable touch. She was very at ease in meeting people from any

background and even if they were ill or in hospices. The patients would react very

favourably to her meetings, they warmed to her life energy and heartfelt sympathy. Part

of her appeal was her sympathy and natural compassion. She could empathise with

people’s suffering, having suffered much herself.

Brazil

Princess Diana also made clandestine visits to show kindness to terminally ill

AIDS patients. According to nurses, she would turn up unannounced, for example, at the

Mildmay Hospice in London, with specific instructions that these visits were to be

concealed from the media.

International Campaign to Ban Landmines

Through her work with the Red Cross, Diana became involved with the

International Campaign to Ban Landmines. ICBL was little known until Princess Diana

made it her favorite charity this year, traveling to Bosnia and Angola on its behalf,” said

an article in Newsweek. Because of Diana’s international influence, the movement might

now spread to protect people around the world from being maimed by mines. Her visit to

Angola, in fact, was turned into a television documentary that increased the land mine

cause’s profile.

Perhaps her most widely publicised charity appearance was her visit to Angola in

January 1997, when, serving as an International Red Cross VIP volunteer she visited

landmine survivors in hospitals, toured de-mining projects run by the HALO Trust, and

attended mine awareness education classes about the dangers of mines immediately

surrounding homes and villages. The pictures of Diana touring a minefield, in a ballistic

helmet and flak jacket, were seen worldwide. (In fact, mine-clearance experts had already

cleared the pre-planned walk that Diana took wearing the protective equipment.) In

August that year, she visited Bosnia with the Landmine Survivors Network. Her interest

in landmines was focused on the injuries they create, often to children, long after the

conflict has finished.

She is widely acclaimed for her influence on the signing by the governments of

the UK and other nations of the Ottawa Treaty in December 1997, after her death, which

created an international ban on the use of anti-personnel landmines. Introducing the

Second Reading of the Landmines Bill 1998 to the British House of Commons, the

Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, paid tribute to Diana's work on landmines:' All

Honourable Members will be aware from their postbags of the immense contribution

made by Diana, Princess of Wales to bringing home to many of our constituents the

human costs of landmines. The best way in which to record our appreciation of her work,

and the work of NGOs that have campaigned against landmines, is to pass the Bill, and to

pave the way towards a global ban on landmines. '

As of January 2005, Diana's legacy on landmines remained unfulfilled. The

United Nations appealed to the nations which produced and stockpiled the largest

numbers of landmines (China, India, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and the United

States) to sign the Ottawa Treaty forbidding their production and use, for which Diana

had campaigned. Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's

Fund (UNICEF), said that landmines remained 'a deadly attraction for children, whose

innate curiosity and need for play often lure them directly into harm's way.

Angola

Although Diana’s death was a huge loss for the organization, its members have

continued to work toward its goals. In addition to its Bosnia-Herzegovina office, it has

now established regional offices in Colombia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Jordan,

Mozambique, and Vietnam. The organization’s many programs reach out to land mine

survivors in 43 of the most-affected countries and regions in the world, including Iraq

and Afghanistan. Her personal support is said to have been a significant factor in

encouraging Britain and then other countries to support the Ottawa Treaty which sought

to introduce a ban on the use of anti – personnel landmines. When Robin Cook brought

the second reading of the landmines bill to the house in 1998 he made a point of paying

tribute to the contribution of Princess Diana. Despite her love of social events, Diana

stayed very active in charity events around Great Britain. No other members of the royal

family, it seemed, made themselves more available to the charity circuit. She became

the president of Barnardo’s, a charity that looked after troubled children. She was also the

guest of honour at an elaborate event that became known as the Tiffany Ball, which

raised money for the AIDS Crisis Trust. Although she felt ignored by the royal family,

Diana came to realize that, outside the palace walls, her star power could help unleash

millions of dollars in donations to help those in need. She began to attend as many charity

events as possible. In addition to helping raise money at these events, Diana also spent

hours in hospitals visiting the sick and dying, as well as in homeless charities visiting

those in need. Her mere presence often brought comfort to people she touched.

February 1992, Diana comforts a dying woman at Calcutta

Conclusions

In conclusion, Princess Diana was a great person and a heroine. She is not my idol

just because she was part of the royal family. Princess Diana attempted to solve some of

the world's problems. She worked in charity projects and went against landmines. She is

one of my role models because of her accomplishments.

In short, Princess Diana was just one of the most beautiful celebrities in the world.

She was a good mother for her two sons. She had a kind heart to care for everybody. She

has done her best to take the responsibility of being a royal member. She has made the

world much more beautiful. Although she died, she will always be an example for our

ladies to imitate in good manners.

Diana will be remembered not for just one of her accomplishments, but for many

other things, from giving birth to the future King of England to showing kindness to the

sick, to touring an Angolan minefield, to being identified as the “People’s Princess”. Her

personality was caring and giving, but did not come without struggles from within

herself. Out of the sadness in her life, Diana developed into a highly respected woman

and was noted for her sense of style, charisma, humour and high-profile charity work.

She developed into not only notable leader, but an inspiration for many people

throughout the world. Upon her death, the world was greatly saddened by the loss.

Diana was the very essence of compassion, of duty, of style, of beauty. All over

the world she was a symbol of selfless humanity. Someone with a natural nobility who

was classless and who proved that she needed no royal title to continue to generate her

particular brand of magic.

Some may say that Princess Diana lived a fairy tale. But upon examining her life

events and obstacles, one can see that Diana was not only a real heroine, but also, a real

person. Princess Diana was a living heroine. She personified how a woman should strive

to become the best what she can.

She showed how to act appropriately in public. Not that Diana believed in

putting on appearances that were not true, but she always showed a face to the world that

was presentable and real. Her grace and loveliness show what women are really capable

of everything.

Along with her motherly qualities and charitable inclinations, Diana retained and

perfected her feminine charm and eloquence. Her sense of style and charm made her a

role model. Princess Diana further used her fashion sense and femininity to once again

help the public. She auctioned off her most famous dresses to the public to help raise

money for charities she worked for. This is a wonderful demonstration of using one’s

femininity for the public good.

Diana’s funeral, a worldwide event, demonstrated accurately how powerful and

moving she was as a heroine. She was followed by many mourners that had been inspired

by her warmth, intelligence, grace, and care for humanity. Her death had such a wide

impact on not just England, but the world, that one must admit what a motivational

heroine she was and will continue to be. Her death in some ways seems to inspire people

even more than her work while she was alive.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

óTanya Lee Stone,1999,” Diana: Princess Of The People(Gateway Biographies)”, Millbrook Press

óSherry Beck Paprocki,2009,”Diana, Princess of Wales: Humanitarian (Women of Achievment)”,Chelsea House Publications

óAdrian Kear,1999,”Mourning Diana: Nation, Culture and the Performance of Grief”, RoutledgeóStuart Maslen,2004,” Mine Action After Diana: Progress in the Struggle Against Landmines”, Pluto Press

óMartin Gitlin,2008,”Diana,Princess of Wales: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies)”, Greenwood Press

ó Mark Cerasini ,2004,Diana,Queen of Hearts”, Random House

óhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana,_Princess_of_Wales

óhttp://learningtogive.org/papers/paper88.html

óhttp://www.biographyonline.net/people/biography_princess_diana.html

óhttp://www.answers.com/topic/diana-princess-of-wales