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Princess Diana: Her Legacy Lives On

Writer's picture: Sean ChapmanSean Chapman

The world recognized Princess Diana as a beautiful, all-around woman and also as a hero because of all of the things she stood for. Although the public and the media frequently referred to her as Princess Diana, she did not appreciate the term and did not title herself as "princess". Diana continued to stay strong and maintain her duties despite a number of situations that could have killed her. She also discussed her own issues with bulimia and death with suicide, giving those battling these difficulties a role model of transparency and honesty. Princess Diana made use of her fame in the media to highlight the most desperate of people and those whose needs had been neglected. She made it her mission to set an example for the compassion everyone should possess, on a global scale.

Diana's Background

Despite being born into a royal family, Princess Diana experienced a difficult childhood. Diana's mother filed for child custody during the bitter divorce between her parents that resulted from her adultery. Diana and her mother had numerous arguments over this, which made Diana resent her mother. Diana's grandmother, on her mother's side, testified against her daughter during the trial, which resulted in custody of Diana and her brother going to their father.

Diana attended college not to learn, but to learn new things she could do to better the world. Her parents were more persistent because she nearly failed all of her academic classes. Diana did not fail all courses as she was exceptional in singing, dancing, participating in sports, and she enjoyed volunteering at shelters, leading Diana to the desire to someday give back to those who need it. On July 29, 1981, Princess Diana got married to Prince Charles, King of Wales. The Prince allegedly married Diana simply because she "fit the role." Every Princess must fulfill the following requirements: is a virgin, has never been married, and is a Protestant. Since 1959, Diana was the first English woman to wed the heir to the throne. It was difficult to accomplish anything without the media finding out about it because Diana was constantly harassed by the media. Her marriage ended in the middle of the 1980s, an event that was initially hidden by the international media until it could no longer be hidden and was discovered.

Their Divorce

Both the Prince and Princess of Wales allegedly spoke to the media and blamed each other for their failed marriage. Three years later, the Royal couple filed for divorce. The Princess was renamed Diana, Princess of Wales after losing the title "Her Royal Highness". Buckingham Palace still regards her as a member of the royal family despite everything.



Diana's Charity Work

Diana had a bit of a rebellious nature throughout her lifetime. In certain aspects, her involvement with AIDS patients could be viewed negatively. She was among the first prominent figures to be seen holding an AIDS patient, and this had a big influence on how people felt about the illness. She once said, “HIV does not make people dangerous to know. You can shake their hands and give them hugs, heaven knows they need it.” The patients enjoyed Diana's visits and could feel her genuine compassion for them. Along with working for charities like AIDS, she contributed her name to the effort to outlaw landmines. She visited landmine survivors in hospitals, went on tours of HALO Trust de-mining initiatives, and took mine awareness seminars to learn about the risks of mines that are close to houses and villages. She advocated on behalf of people whose daily lives were and still are destroyed by landmines. "A lethal draw for children, whose innate curiosity and craving for play frequently pull them directly into harm's way," wrote renowned author Carol Bellamy. Diana signed a convention that banned the use of huge landmines and worked to establish an international ban on the use of anti-personnel mines.


Princess Diana is a hero because she has helped the victims of social injustice, poverty, and disease by using her renown and position of power to provide them with hope and comfort. Princess Diana will be remembered as a person who was both a beautiful human and royalty who refused to fit the mold. She was undoubtedly the "Queen of our Hearts" to the millions of people who supported her charity endeavors.


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