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
Dianas 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 Princesss 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. Dianas 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. Dianas 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 Dianas ability to be a good mother made her a genuine
heroine.
Diana-The Queen of Peoples Hearts
'I would like to be a queen in the hearts of the people.' (Princess Diana)

Short Biography

Lady Diana Frances Spencer (July 1, 1961August 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 sixteenthcentury 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 Barnardos, 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 peoples
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 peoples 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 peoples 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 Dianas 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
causes 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 Dianas 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 organizations 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 Barnardos, 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 Peoples 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 ones
femininity for the public good.
Dianas 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
Tanya Lee Stone,1999, Diana: Princess Of The People(Gateway Biographies),
Millbrook Press
Sherry Beck Paprocki,2009,Diana, Princess of Wales: Humanitarian (Women of
Achievment),Chelsea House Publications
Adrian Kear,1999,Mourning Diana: Nation, Culture and the Performance of Grief,
Routledge
Stuart Maslen,2004, Mine Action After Diana: Progress in the Struggle Against
Landmines, Pluto Press
Martin Gitlin,2008,Diana,Princess of Wales: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies),
Greenwood Press

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana,_Princess_of_Wales
http://learningtogive.org/papers/paper88.html
http://www.biographyonline.net/people/biography_princess_diana.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/diana-princess-of-wales