50 Fun Facts About Princess Diana

Which traditional promise to her husband did Diana leave out of her wedding vows, at the couple's own request?

Diana never promised to obey him: the vow was dropped at the couple's request, which caused comment at the time. At the altar she also muddled the order of Charles's first two names.

Which Hollywood actor danced with Diana at a White House gala dinner in 1985, giving her velvet gown its nickname?

John Travolta led her around the Entrance Hall to music from Saturday Night Fever, and the pictures went around the world. The midnight blue gown later became the top lot at an auction of her dresses.

Which gemstone forms the centre of Diana's engagement ring, later worn by her daughter-in-law Catherine?

A 12-carat oval Ceylon sapphire is the centrepiece, circled by 14 diamonds. The ring was not custom-made: the design was in the jeweller's collection for anyone to buy.

Who was Prince Charles dating in November 1977 when he first met Diana, then aged 16?

Her older sister Sarah was the Spencer the 29-year-old prince was seeing at the time. Diana later said she had met Charles just 13 times before they got engaged.

Which friend of Diana performed a rewritten version of one of his 1970s hits at her funeral in 1997?

Elton John sang Candle in the Wind 1997 at Westminster Abbey, the only time he has performed that version live. Proceeds from the single went to Diana's charities.

In which African country did Diana tour a minefield in a ballistic helmet and flak jacket in January 1997?

Angola was where Diana visited a minefield being cleared by the HALO Trust, and the pictures were seen worldwide. A Ministry of Defence official called her a loose cannon for the campaign.

What did Charles and Diana do on the Buckingham Palace balcony in 1981 that started a royal wedding tradition?

They kissed each other in front of a delighted crowd, and later royal couples have repeated the balcony moment. About 600,000 people lined the streets of London that day.

In front of which famous landmark was Diana photographed alone in 1992, on one of her last tours with Charles?

The Taj Mahal was built by an emperor in memory of his wife, which made the solo pictures headline news. Charles and Diana's separation was announced that December.

What nickname stuck to the black gown Diana wore on the night in 1994 that Charles admitted adultery on television?

The revenge dress was a black silk gown by Christina Stambolian that Diana picked over a planned Valentino. She wore it to a Vanity Fair dinner at the Serpentine Gallery.

Which British prime minister described Diana as the people's princess in a speech shortly after her death in 1997?

Tony Blair, then only months into the job, had been discussing a special role for Diana that would have had her promoting Britain's interests overseas.

In which London church did Diana marry Prince Charles in 1981, chosen because it offered more seating?

St Paul's Cathedral beat the usual royal wedding church because it seated more guests and allowed a longer procession through London. A congregation of 3,500 watched inside.

Which royal residence in London was Diana's home from the first year of her marriage until her death in 1997?

Kensington Palace was where Diana kept a double apartment on the north side after the divorce. Mourners left flowers, candles and messages outside for months after she died.

From which luxury Paris hotel did Diana leave by a rear entrance shortly before the fatal crash in August 1997?

The Ritz belonged to the father of her companion, and its deputy head of security took the wheel. A decoy car left first from the main entrance to draw the photographers away.

Which film producer, an executive producer of Chariots of Fire, died in the 1997 Paris crash alongside Diana?

Dodi Fayed had been seeing Diana for only a few weeks, after she spent part of the summer with his family in the south of France. His father owned Harrods at the time.

Whose gift of rosary beads did Diana hold when she was buried in September 1997?

Mother Teresa met Diana in Rome in 1992 and the two formed a personal bond. The nun died on 5 September 1997, the day before Diana's funeral.

What job did Diana give up after her engagement to Prince Charles in February 1981?

Diana was a nursery assistant at the Young England School in Pimlico, helping the teachers with the children. She had also worked as a nanny and cleaned for friends.

Which relative of Diana gave the eulogy at her funeral, rebuking the press for its treatment of her?

Her brother, Earl Spencer, delivered the address and then had Diana buried on the family estate, where her sons could visit the grave in privacy.

What simple gesture did Diana make towards an AIDS patient in 1987 that no British royal had made before?

Diana held hands with the patient to challenge the stigma surrounding the illness, and went on to hug patients in public. The Queen reportedly suggested she take up something more pleasant.

Which Nobel Peace Prize winner, whom Diana met in South Africa in March 1997, later praised her work on AIDS?

Nelson Mandela said Diana had used her fame to fight the stigma around the illness. His children's fund later teamed up with her memorial fund to help people living with it.

Which actress earned an Oscar nomination for playing Diana in the 2021 film Spencer, directed by Pablo Larraín?

Kristen Stewart was nominated for Best Actress for the role. The film imagines a royal holiday in 1991 during which Diana weighs up leaving her marriage.

Which actor won a Golden Globe for playing the young Diana in the fourth season of The Crown?

Emma Corrin landed the part after first being brought in only to read Diana's lines while another role was being cast. Six months later came an offer of the role on the spot.

Which style did Diana have to give up under her 1996 divorce settlement, though she stayed Princess of Wales?

Her Royal Highness was removed at Charles's insistence, although the Queen reportedly wanted Diana to keep it. Prince William is said to have promised to give it back once he was king.

Which disease did Diana work to destigmatise by touching patients at hospitals in Indonesia, Nepal and Zimbabwe?

Leprosy was widely believed to spread through casual contact, so Diana made a point of touching the people she met. She became patron of the Leprosy Mission after a hospital visit in 1989.

The song rewritten for Diana's funeral in 1997 was first written in 1973 as a tribute to which film star?

Marilyn Monroe had died 11 years before lyricist Bernie Taupin wrote the original words. He rewrote them for Diana when the singer asked him to in the days before the funeral.

Diana took baby Prince William on her first major overseas tour in 1983, to New Zealand and which other country?

Australia's prime minister, Malcolm Fraser, was the one who suggested bringing the baby along. Immense crowds turned out, and the press coined the word Dianamania.

Where in London did the Queen open the Diana memorial fountain, an oval stream of Cornish granite, in 2004?

Hyde Park's fountain is built from 545 pieces of Cornish granite, with water flowing down both sides of a sloping oval. Its designer wanted it to reflect Diana's inclusive personality.

On which BBC current affairs programme did Diana give her famous 1995 television interview about her marriage?

Panorama drew nearly 23 million British viewers that night. The 54-minute interview was filmed in Diana's own sitting room, which later became a playroom for her sons.

Diana came third in the BBC's 2002 public poll of the 100 Greatest Britons; who finished in first place?

Winston Churchill overtook the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel with a late surge in the final week of voting. Diana finished above the Queen and every other British monarch.

On which royal estate was Diana born in 1961, in a house her family leased from the Queen?

Sandringham was where Diana grew up at Park House, playing with Princes Andrew and Edward when the royal family holidayed next door. She called the Queen Aunt Lilibet.

On an island at which Spencer family estate in Northamptonshire is Diana buried?

Althorp has belonged to the Spencers for more than 500 years, and the grave lies in an ornamental lake called the Round Oval. The first plan had been the family vault in a nearby church.

Which journalist secured Diana's 1995 BBC interview using forged bank statements, as an inquiry found in 2021?

Martin Bashir had the fake statements mocked up by a BBC graphic designer to win the trust of Diana's family. He resigned from the corporation in 2021, as Lord Dyson's inquiry reported.

Which journalist wrote the 1992 biography Diana: Her True Story, secretly based on tapes she had recorded?

Andrew Morton never interviewed her in person: his questions went through her friend James Colthurst, who taped the answers. Her role was only acknowledged after her death.

What pet name did James Gilbey call Diana on phone recordings leaked to the press in 1992?

Squidgy gave the scandal its name, Squidgygate, when The Sun revealed the tape. Gilbey was a car dealer and heir to a gin fortune who had known Diana since childhood.

Which cavalry officer, first asked to give Diana riding lessons, had an affair with her that she confirmed in 1995?

James Hewitt served in the Life Guards and was the main source for a tell-all book about the romance, which left Diana outraged. He has denied being Prince Harry's father.

What was the profession of Hasnat Khan, the man Diana's friends called the love of her life?

A heart surgeon born in Pakistan, Khan was so private that their two-year romance was kept secret. Diana is said to have called him Mr Wonderful, and she visited his family in Lahore.

Aboard which royal yacht did Charles and Diana cruise the Mediterranean on their honeymoon in 1981?

Britannia collected the couple at Gibraltar for an eleven-day cruise that took in Tunisia, Sardinia, Greece and Egypt. Princess Anne had honeymooned aboard eight years earlier.

Who designed Diana's wedding dress, famous for its 25-foot train of ivory taffeta and antique lace?

The Emanuels, David and Elizabeth, also made a spare dress in case the design leaked. An 18-carat gold horseshoe was stitched into the petticoats for good luck.

Which romantic novelist was the mother of Raine Spencer, the stepmother Diana and her siblings nicknamed Acid Raine?

Barbara Cartland's daughter married Diana's father in 1976 without telling his children beforehand. Diana's dealings with her stepmother reportedly improved in her final years.

What verdict did a London inquest jury return in 2008 on the deaths of Diana and her companion?

Unlawful killing was the finding, blamed on the grossly negligent driving of the chauffeur and of the photographers following the car. The jury could also have chosen accidental death.

Which flag flew at half-mast over Buckingham Palace for the first time on the day of Diana's funeral?

The Union Jack broke a protocol under which no flag flew at half-mast over the palace, even on the death of a monarch. It has been lowered there for royal deaths ever since.

At which London venue did Princes William and Harry host the Concert for Diana on 1 July 2007?

Wembley Stadium had only just been rebuilt when 63,000 people came on what would have been her 46th birthday. The first 22,500 tickets sold out in 17 minutes.

Which fashion house made the handbag France's first lady gave Diana in 1995, later renamed in her honour?

Dior's bag was first nicknamed Chouchou, and Bernadette Chirac presented a black one to Diana at a Cézanne exhibition in Paris. She carried it so often that it became the Lady Dior.

Which former Hollywood star's funeral did Diana attend in September 1982 on her first official overseas trip?

Grace Kelly, by then Princess Grace of Monaco, had met Diana at her first public engagement with Charles in March 1981. She died of injuries from a car crash 18 months later.

Who was the only person in the car to survive the 1997 Paris crash that killed Diana?

The bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, was in the front passenger seat and suffered serious facial injuries. Investigators found that nobody in the car had been wearing a seat belt.

Which animal is knitted across the red jumper Diana wore in 1981, sold for over a million dollars in 2023?

Sheep fill the Warm & Wonderful jumper in white rows, with a single black one among them. Many have read it as a hint that Diana felt like the odd one out among the royals.

At which royal residence did Prince Charles propose to Diana in February 1981, weeks before the public was told?

Windsor Castle was the setting, and the engagement stayed secret for two and a half weeks. Diana chose her own ring and moved into Clarence House once the news was out.

Which youth homelessness charity did Diana take her sons to visit, with Prince William later becoming its patron?

Centrepoint was one of only six patronages Diana kept after her divorce. It became William's first patronage when he took it on in 2005.

Which 1997 agreement banning anti-personnel landmines is Diana's campaigning credited with influencing?

The Ottawa Treaty opened for signing in December 1997, three months after her death, and 122 countries signed. A British minister paid tribute to her work when Parliament passed its own ban.

Beside which Paris bridge is the road tunnel where the car carrying Diana crashed in August 1997?

Pont de l'Alma gives the tunnel its name, and the Flame of Liberty monument above the entrance became an unofficial memorial. The square there was renamed after Diana in 2019.

Which butler to Diana saw his 2002 theft trial collapse after the Queen recalled a conversation with him?

Paul Burrell began as a Buckingham Palace footman at 18 and joined Charles and Diana's household in 1987. By his own account, Diana called him her rock.