10 Photos That Capture Princess Diana’s Life in the Spotlight

After dating Sarah Spencer, Prince Charles turned his attention to her younger sister, Diana. Charles proposed to Diana at Windsor Castle in February 1981, after meeting her just 13 times. Diana was 19 years old when she got engaged to the 32-year-old prince. When the news became public on February 24, the press mobbed the shy teenager, a former kindergarten teacher’s aide now destined to become a princess.

Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer’s wedding at St. Paul’s Cathedral on July 29, 1981, was dubbed the “wedding of the century.” An estimated 750 million people tuned in around the globe to watch the royal couple walk down the aisle. Diana’s wedding gown featured a 25-foot train, romantic puff sleeves and lace that had belonged to Queen Mary. Diana famously chose to omit the word “obey” from her vows and accidentally reversed the order of her husband-to-be’s first two names during the ceremony. Their iconic kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace launched a royal tradition.

Diana broke with centuries of royal precedent by choosing to give birth to the heir to the British throne in a public hospital, not a palace. Prince William was born on June 21, 1982. Her photo shoot with her new baby on the steps of the Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s Hospital signaled her more relatable approach to motherhood.

In 1985, American actor John Travolta was a megastar thanks to his roles in Saturday Night Fever and Grease. First Lady Nancy Reagan arranged for him to dance with Diana during a royal visit to the White House. In the famous photograph, Travolta twirls the 24-year-old royal, who wears an off-the-shoulder Victor Edelstein gown. Travolta called it a “storybook moment.”

In 1987, at the height of the AIDS epidemic, Diana made headlines by shaking hands with an AIDS patient without gloves at the opening of a dedicated ward at Middlesex Hospital. With that one handshake, she shattered the false belief that the HIV virus could be spread by touch, helping to combat misinformation and reduce the stigma surrounding AIDS.

In 1992, Diana fueled speculation about her marital troubles by posing solo in front of the Taj Mahal—a mausoleum built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a symbol of eternal love for his wife—while Charles attended business meetings in New Delhi. When an interviewer asked Diana about her impression of the monument, she answered: “It was a fascinating experience—very healing.” She refused to elaborate, telling the reporter to “work it out for yourself.” Charles and Diana announced their separation 10 months later.

Mere months after her highly publicized separation from Charles, Diana took her sons, William and Harry, for an outing at Thorpe Park, an amusement park outside of London. She refused special treatment, choosing to wait in line for rides in a move that highlighted her efforts to give her sons as “normal” a childhood as possible. The joy on Diana and her sons’ faces as they got soaked on the Logger’s Leap ride telegraphed her hands-on approach to motherhood.

Diana’s humanitarian work earned her the moniker of “the people’s princess,” and this 1993 photo of her serving food to displaced children in Zimbabwe at a Red Cross event epitomizes her empathy, humility and willingness to engage directly with people. She used her global influence to draw attention to causes she believed in and became personally involved in humanitarian efforts, modeling public service as no royal had before.

On June 29, 1994, Princess Diana arrived at a gala at the Serpentine Gallery wearing a form-fitting off-the-shoulder black dress that highlighted her famous physique. The daring dress by designer Christina Stambolian became known as the “revenge dress” because Diana wore it the night her estranged husband admitted to having an affair in a televised interview.

In 1997, Diana partnered with HALO and the British Red Cross and flew to Angola, where she was photographed walking through a minefield in protective gear. She used her celebrity status to bring awareness to the danger landmines pose to civilians, even years after wars end. Her highly visible tour helped build momentum that led to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, or Ottawa Treaty, an international agreement banning the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines.