Pool/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty ImagesPrincess Diana was beloved the world over. Affectionately known as the “People’s Princess,” Diana was well known not just for her beauty and royal status, but also her compassion and concern for human rights. Although Princess Diana is no longer with us, her legacy of humanity and kindness lives on. Because she was a prominent public figure, much is known about Princess Diana. However, a few nuggets of information, while not well-known, are likely to make you respect and appreciate the princess even more.
5 Wrinkled Couture
As perfect as Princess Diana’s wedding day was, there were a few mishaps. One major one was train-gate. On the ride to St. Paul’s Cathedral, the 25-foot train of her wedding dress became crumpled—so badly wrinkled that her bridesmaids busily went to work trying to shake the wrinkles out as she made her grand entrance from the horse-drawn carriage into the chapel. Of course, the always gracious Diana encouraged her bridal party to “Just do your best.”
4 Becoming Lady Spencer
When Diana’s father became the 8th Earl Spencer after the death of her grandfather, Albert Spencer, in 1975, she inherited the title of “lady.” She was 14 at the time. Princess Diana maintained her humility, choosing to live a quiet, unassuming life as she came of age. She enjoyed dancing, skiing and swimming. At 19, she worked as a nanny while also serving as a teacher’s assistant at Young England Nursery School in Knightsbridge.
3 Big Sister Dated Prince Charles
Before courting and marrying Princess Diana, Prince Charles first dated her big sister Sarah Spencer. In fact, that was how the young Diana met her future husband. Sarah and Charles dated in the late ’70s and it was supposedly a short romance; however, there are reports Sarah resented her sister’s marriage to her one-time flame.
2 Indian Heritage
It seems Princess Diana’s heritage is as ethnically rich as her royal background. She is the direct descendant of Eliza Kewark, an Indian woman from Bombay. Kewark gave birth to an illegitimate child by the name of Katharine, who was separated from her mother and sent off to England to live. Katharine eventually gave birth to a child of her own. After several generations, this same familial line produced Diana. Diana’s family chose to hide this part of their racial makeup and instead claimed Kewark was Armenian. However, now that times have changed and DNA proof is irrefutable, the family openly embraces its Indian heritage.
1 Good Genes
Princess Diana comes from a long line of notable human beings, inside and outside of the aristocracy. When it comes to connections to the royal family and aristocratic bloodlines, Princess Diana’s are overflowing. Her father, Edward John Spencer, was a direct descendant of King Charles II. Her maternal grandmother, Ruth, Lady Fermoy, was friend and lady-in-waiting to Prince Charles’ grandmother, Queen Elizabeth. Diana was also related to Mary, Queen of Scots; Rainier III; Lady Catherine Grey; and Mary Boleyn. On the celebrity side, she was a distant relative of Humphrey Bogart, Oliver Platt, Winston Churchill and Audrey Hepburn. Her mother’s grandmother was American heiress Frances Work. She’s even related to several past American presidents, including George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt and George Bush. It’s no wonder the royal family thought she would be a good match for Prince Charles, next in line to be king of England.
