26 Quiet Acts Of Rebellion That Made Princess Diana A Force In A Cage Of Gold

In a groundbreaking moment in April 1987, Princess Diana helped change public understanding of HIV when she opened the UK's first dedicated HIV/Aids unit at London Middlesex Hospital. On that same day, she was famously photographed shaking the hand of an HIV patient without wearing gloves. This simple, powerful act did much to educate people about the illness and challenge the prevailing stigma surrounding it.

Today, some of Princess Diana's handwritten letters can sell for a lot of money at auction, anywhere from $2,000 to $20,000, depending on what's in the note and how unique it is. This is because she was famous for always writing thank you cards to anyone who gave her a gift. She even reportedly sent thank you notes to the thousands of people who brought gifts for Prince William after he was born.

Princess Diana effectively used her influence as a fashion icon to support charitable causes, alongside her duties as an official royal patron for numerous organizations focused on medical funding. A significant example of this occurred just months before her passing when she held a Christie's auction featuring 79 of her most iconic dresses. The proceeds from this auction went to benefit AIDS and cancer charities, and one of the most famous items sold was the "Travolta dress"—a velvet blue gown she wore while famously dancing with John Travolta at a White House gala.

Designer Anya Hindmarch, who often collaborated with Princess Diana, recalled how they "used to laugh when we designed what she called her 'cleavage bags,' little satin clutches which she would cover her cleavage with when she stepped out of cars." This clever use of her small clutch bags became a signature move for Diana. With cameras constantly documenting her every move, she employed these accessories as a shield to prevent photographers from capturing an unwanted glimpse down her top, particularly when exiting vehicles to attend events.

Princess Diana’s iconic “revenge dress” became one of the most unforgettable fashion statements in royal history, worn on the very night Prince Charles admitted to infidelity on national television. On June 29, 1994, she stepped out for a gala at London’s Serpentine Gallery in a striking black, off-the-shoulder dress with an asymmetrical hemline and chiffon train, an ensemble that broke from royal tradition and grabbed headlines worldwide. Originally planning to wear a Valentino gown, she opted instead for a bold dress by designer Christina Stambolian, which had sat in her closet for three years. The outfit marked not only a significant shift in Diana’s public image but also a powerful silent response to the televised revelation of her husband’s affair. Her appearance at the Vanity Fair-hosted event turned the narrative in her favor, showing confidence, poise, and quiet defiance. The dress later became a symbol of reclaiming control and dignity during personal turmoil. Diana eventually auctioned off the now-famous dress for charity, raising $65,000 for cancer and AIDS-related causes. In 2017, the dress was displayed in Ireland’s Museum of Style Icons to commemorate her legacy, and a replica was later worn by Elizabeth Debicki in The Crown, further cementing its place in pop culture and royal history.

Patrick Jephson, who served as Princess Diana's chief of staff for six years, noted, "She made sure that they experienced things like going to the cinema, queuing up to buy a McDonald's, going to amusement parks, those sorts of things that were experiences that they could share with their friends." This approach reflected Diana's unconventional parenting style for a royal. She was determined to raise Prince William and Prince Harry with a sense of normalcy, which included sending them to public school, using public transportation, and even visiting fast-food restaurants.

With a train stretching an impressive 25 feet, one of the longest royal trains ever witnessed, Diana's wedding dress was a sight to behold. The iconic ivory taffeta gown, embellished with over 10,000 pearls, was the creation of husband-and-wife design team David and Elizabeth Emanuel. Its enduring legacy is such that the dress even has its own dedicated page on Wikipedia.

Princess Diana harbored a passion for ballet and aspired to become a professional dancer, though her height ultimately prevented her from pursuing this dream. Her ballet teacher, Anne Allan, recalled in 2017, “she had dance in her soul. I realized the pure enjoyment that it gave her. She loved the freeness of being able to move and dance... I could see it helped to alleviate her emotional life."

Breaking with tradition, Diana was the first royal bride to have held a paying job before her engagement to an heir when she married Prince Charles in 1981. Prior to becoming a princess, she worked several odd jobs, including as a part-time kindergarten teacher in London's Pimlico area. She also worked as a nanny, earning just $5 an hour to play with children, do their laundry, and clean.

Unusually for a royal, who typically have jewels custom-designed, Diana selected her engagement ring from a Garrard's catalogue. This iconic piece, a 12-carat oval sapphire surrounded by 14 solitaire diamonds, now belongs to Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge. Prince William chose to propose to Kate with his mother's ring in 2010, explaining, "Obviously she's not going to be around to share all the fun and excitement, so this is my way of sort of keeping her close to it all."

The nickname "Wombat" was affectionately given to Prince William by his mother, Diana, when he was just two years old. In a 2007 interview, William explained the origin: "When we went to Australia with our parents, and the wombat, you know, that's the local animal. So I just basically got called that." He then humorously added, "Not because I look like a wombat. Or maybe I do." The nickname stuck after their trip where they encountered the cute native Australian creature.

Known for being a bit of a royal rebel, Diana often broke protocol, especially with her fashion. She famously ditched gloves because she preferred to hold hands when meeting people and wasn't afraid to wear black, like when she wore her iconic figure-hugging "revenge dress" in 1994 on the same day Charles publicly admitted his affair. Beyond fashion, she also chose to send her sons to public school, where she once even joined a barefoot race with other parents at a "sports day," another departure from royal norms.

During her 1995 BBC interview with Bashir, Princess Diana famously stated, "I'd like to be queen of people's hearts—in people's hearts—but I don't see myself being Queen of this country." She expressed that she didn't believe many people, particularly "the establishment that I'm married into," wanted her to take on the role of Queen. She attributed this to her tendency to "do things differently," suggesting she felt she was seen as a "non-starter" for the position, despite being in line for it.

Princess Diana was the fourth of five children born into her family. She had two older sisters, Sarah (now Lady Sarah McCorquodale) and Jane (now Lady Jane Fellowes), and was later joined by a younger brother, Charles Spencer (now the Earl Spencer). Tragically, an older brother, John Spencer, had passed away in infancy about a year and a half before Diana was born.

With Diana being just 19 and Charles 32 at the time of their engagement in 1981, it's remarkable that they had only met approximately a dozen times before this major life decision. Susan Zirinsky, senior executive producer of "Princess Diana: Her Life, Her Death, The Truth," noted this brief courtship, stating, "They had only been together 12 times and at one point Prince Phillip pressured his son and said, 'You have to do the right thing.'"

Princess Diana hung out with quite a few famous people. Her circle included A-listers like Elton John, George Michael, Tilda Swinton, and Liza Minelli. She was also friends with Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, and even spent ten days at their Colorado ranch with William and Harry to get away from the paparazzi.

In 1992, Andrew Morton's bestselling book, "Diana: Her True Story—In Her Own Words," dramatically shifted public perception of the princess. This was possible because Diana, amidst a tabloid frenzy following her messy public divorce, had decided to secretly record her own account, starting in May 1991. A friend then delivered these candid tapes to the British royal journalist. Morton later revealed the depth of their content, stating, "The Princess was talking about her unhappiness, her sense of betrayal, her s*****e attempts—and two things I’d never previously heard of: an eating disorder called bulimia nervosa and a woman called Camilla."

Following her 1996 divorce from Prince Charles, Diana's title of "Her Royal Highness" was officially removed. Interestingly, it was reportedly Prince Charles who insisted on this, not Queen Elizabeth II. According to The New York Times, the divorce terms stipulated, "She is to give up her right to be Queen of England and to be called 'Her Royal Highness.'" It was noted that "Queen Elizabeth II was reported to have been ready to allow Diana to retain the honorific, but Prince Charles was said to be adamant that she give it up."

A staggering 750 million people around the globe watched Diana marry the Prince of Wales in 1981, an audience six and a half times larger than even the most-viewed Super Bowl. To give you an idea, at that time in the US, there were around 56 million households with TVs. While Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding in 2011 drew 300 million viewers, it was Diana's ceremony that truly captivated a massive worldwide audience.

A close connection to the royal family existed even before Diana's marriage: her maternal grandmother, Ruth Roche, Baroness Fermoy, served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. In this role, she was a personal assistant and companion. She was also a trusted friend to the Queen Mother and frequently organized her parties.

Princess Diana's childhood home, Park House, was actually located on the Sandringham estate, which her family leased from Queen Elizabeth. This estate in Norfolk is a significant place for the royal family, with Sandringham House often serving as the location for their holidays. Interestingly, Diana's mother, Frances, was also born at Park House in 1936, decades before Diana herself was born there in 1961.

Interestingly, Diana's first encounter with her future husband, Prince Charles, was through her older sister, Sarah, who had a brief relationship with the prince in the late 1970s. Sarah even jokingly referred to herself as "Cupid" for introducing them. Despite this connection, Diana and Sarah remained very close throughout Diana's life, often traveling together, and Diana once described Sarah as “the only person I know I can trust."

Princess Diana chose to give birth to both Prince William and Prince Harry at the Lido Wing of St. Mary's Hospital. This decision marked a departure from royal tradition, which usually saw heirs to the throne born at home. As a result, Prince William became the first future monarch to be born in a hospital setting.

It turns out that Diana and Charles were distant relatives, specifically 16th cousins once removed, both tracing their lineage back to Tudor King Henry VII. This kind of distant relation isn't entirely uncommon in royal circles; for example, Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton are also related as 12th cousins once removed through Sir Thomas Leighton. Leighton is Prince William's 12th generation great-grandfather and Kate's 11th.

Before her marriage to Prince Charles in 1981, Diana Spencer lived in a three-bedroom flatshare in Coleherne Court, London, which she bought with a £50,000 inheritance from her American great-grandmother. She shared this apartment, located in the Kensington and Chelsea borough, with three friends, charging them £18 a week for rent, and reportedly enjoyed several happy years there. It was only after her wedding that she moved out, first to Kensington Palace, and later sharing Highgrove House and Clarence House with Prince Charles; that same flat is now reportedly on the market for £2.5 million (around $3.37 million).

Feeling she wasn't projecting the power she desired after her Panorama interview, where she "felt quite submissive," Princess Diana sought the help of voice coach Peter Stewart. Stewart, who detailed their work in his 2021 book "Diana: The Voice of Change," shared Diana's aim with Town & Country: "She wanted to try and find a way of really balancing her private self with her public persona... so she could stand on a platform and render forth whatever she needed to say, but feel good about it, to feel relaxed, to feel confident, to feel empowered, and to feel harmony." Their professional relationship continued until her death in 1997.