Princess Diana: Rise of a 1980s Icon

Queen of Hearts

En español | The ’80s saw a dowdy London kindergarten assistant take the global stage as she morphed into a charismatic and empathetic superstar known as the “Queen of Hearts” and the “People’s Princess.”

Shy Di

The world is introduced to 19-year-old Lady Diana Frances Spencer in 1980 after she began dating Prince Charles, Britain’s most eligible bachelor and heir to the throne. She’s dubbed “Shy Di” as she keeps her head down and dodges paparazzi while trying to go about her daily routine. In a photo flashed around the globe, she holds a child in her arms while her thin, flowing skirt appears semi-transparent due to lighting conditions.

Early Fairy-Tale Romance

In February 1981, she and new fiancé Prince Charles pose for photographers at Buckingham Palace, where she hides her bitten fingernails when asked to show off the impressive sapphire-and-diamond engagement ring (now worn by her son William’s wife, Kate Middleton). Di acts like a smitten kitten when asked about the momentous changes in store. “Next to Prince Charles, I can’t go wrong,” she says. Queried as to whether they are in love, she responds, “ ’Course!” The prince unromantically adds, “Whatever ‘in love’ means.”

Emerging Fashionista

Diana’s reign as a fashion queen begins when women copy her short, layered hairdo and rush to buy what she wears, including rubber Wellington boots and a red sweater emblazoned with rows of white sheep and one black one.

Wedding Bells

An estimated 750 million people watch the couple’s July 29, 1981, wedding at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London on TV. Di dazzles in a shimmering ivory silk taffeta gown with poufy sleeves, hand-embroidered pearls and a flowing 25-foot train designed by Elizabeth and David Emanuel. Adding to the fairy tale: a carriage ride to Buckingham Palace followed by a balcony smooch beamed ’round the world while thousands outside the gates roar approval.

International Ascension

The duo appears happy, although years later tabloid tales and Andrew Morton’s tell-all biography, Diana: Her True Story (written with the princess’s then-secret collaboration), will reveal that the bride was upset by Charles’ continued communication with former girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles. Meanwhile, Di’s fame continues to grow; her face is a best-seller for magazines everywhere. An October 1982 Ladies’ Home Journal cover dubs her the “Queen of Hearts.”

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First-Time Mum

On June 21, 1982, Diana gives birth to son William Arthur Philip Louis in London’s St. Mary’s Hospital, with Charles at her side. She demonstrates her intention to be a hands-on mom by taking the 9-month-old on her first big tour with Charles to Australia and New Zealand. William is the first British royal infant to accompany his or her parents on an official overseas visit.

Motherhood, Round 2

The couple’s second son, Henry “Harry” Charles Albert David, is born Sept. 15, 1984, giving them what’s jokingly referred to as “an heir and a spare.” Diana vows to make her children’s upbringing as normal as possible.

Taking Fashion Risks

Developing more confidence and taking more fashion chances, Diana wears Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gift of a diamond-and-emerald necklace nontraditionally, on her forehead in a flapper style, during a state visit to Melbourne, Australia, in 1985.

Putting on the Ritz

Diana continues to overshadow her husband and takes Washington, D.C., by storm in November 1985, topped off by a dance with Saturday Night Fever star John Travolta at a gala dinner at the Reagan White House. Quizzed by British tabloid reporters, the actor rates her dancing skills a “10.”

Royal Compassion

Winning high marks for her bond with everyday people and her work with charities, Diana takes a leading role in destigmatizing AIDs sufferers by shaking hands with patients in London in 1987. Two years later, she hugs a child afflicted with pediatric AIDS in a Harlem, N.Y., hospital. “HIV does not make people dangerous to know,” she famously said. “You can shake their hands and give them a hug. Heaven knows, they need it.”

Secret Lovers

By the mid-1980s, Charles has resumed his intimate relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles. Diana embarks on a clandestine liaison with her riding instructor, cavalry officer James Hewitt. The affairs were later laid bare in Andrew Morton’s biography as well as in embarrassing tapes of phone calls between Charles and Camilla that fell into reporters’ hands.

Fergie and Di

Diana reportedly shares her growing unhappiness with another royal wife, Sarah Ferguson, wed to Charles’ younger brother Andrew. The pair, dubbed the “Merry Wives of Windsor” by tabloids, engage in hijinks such as prodding pals’ behinds with umbrellas at the stuffy Ascot horse races. A People magazine cover story about them is headlined: “Naughty, Naughty: The Follies of Fergie and Di.”

Princess Meets King of Pop

Diana flouts royal tradition by enthusiastically embracing pop culture, a contrast to her more intellectual husband. She relishes rubbing shoulders with stars such as Elton John (who performed a special version of “Candle in the Wind” at her funeral) and Michael Jackson.

Smiling Faces, Sometimes

As the ’80s close, a fairy-tale ending seems unlikely. Although Charles and Diana put on a happy face for Christmas cards and at public events, the marriage continues to deteriorate. It culminates in a 1992 separation and a 1996 divorce. Then the world is stunned when Diana and beau Dodi Fayed are killed after an Aug. 31, 1997, car crash in Paris, prompting weeks of public mourning and an emotional funeral at Westminster Abbey. In announcing her death in a televised address, British Prime Minister Tony Blair dubs her the “People’s Princess.” “That’s how she will stay, how she will remain in our hearts, in our memories forever,” he says.

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