1st July 1961
Birth of the honourable Diana Frances Spencer as the third daughter of Lord Edward John Spencer, later 8th Earl of Spencer - from 1975 Diana bore the title "Lady Diana" - and his wife Frances Ruth Burke Roche in Park House on the Royal Estate of Sandringham (Norfolk, England). Diana's father is the equerry to Queen Elizabeth II.
1966-1974
Attendance at Riddlesworth Hall Preparatory School in Diss, Norfolk.
1969
The parents divorce. The father obtains custody for Diana, her brother Charles and both sisters Jane and Sarah.
1974-1977
Attendance at West Heath School near Sevenoaks, Kent.
November 1977
Diana meets Prince Charles at a hunting party, who at that time was friends with her sister.
1977-1978
Diana goes to finishing school at the Institut Alpin Videmanette in Rougemont, Switzerland.
1979
After her return to London, Diana lives with three friends in an apartment in Coleherne Court in South Kensington, London.
1979-1981
Diana works as a children's nanny at the Young England School in Pimlico, London.
1980
Diana's contact with the Royal Family and Prince Charles starts anew. The Spencers visit the Windsors during the summer holidays at Balmoral Castle. The romance between Charles and Diana begins.
24th February 1981
The engagement between the 19 year-old Lady Diana Frances Spencer and the 32 year-old Heir to the British Throne Prince Charles is officially announced. The engagement ring is white gold with an oval sapphire in the middle and 14 diamonds.
29th July 1981
600,000 people crowd Diana's route from Buckingham Palace to London's St. Paul's Cathedral, and around 750 million television viewers follow the dream wedding of Charles and Diana live in front of TV sets. For the first time in 300 years an English girl is betrothed to a British Heir to the Throne.
October 1981
The first official three day visit to Wales.
21st June 1982
The fist son and Heir to the Throne, Prince William Arthur Philip Louis, named Wills, is born in St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London.
September 1982
Diana's first official appearance outside Great Britain at the burial of Princess Grace of Monaco. Diana represented the Queen.
1983
For an official visit to Australia Diana asserts herself and takes her son William with her.
15th September 1984
The second son of Princess Diana and Charles, Prince Henry Charles Albert David, named Harry is born, also at St. Mary's Hospital.
1985
At a visit of the British Heirs to the Throne in Italy their two sons Prince William and Henry are also present. Diana and Charles are also invited to a private audience with Pope John Paul II.
1985
Diana travels to Berlin and becomes the honorary colonel of the Royal Hampshire Regiment, which she remained up to 1996.
1985
Princess Diana visits AIDS victims. The palace reacts with outrage at her visit.
October 1985
Supposedly out of desperation over her unhappy marriage, Princess Diana attempts suicide.
Winter 1985
The first official visit of Charles and Diana to America. President Reagan throws a huge gala party at the White House. It is the society event of the year.
1987
The honourable citizen of London, the sultan sends Diana jewellery to the estimated value of æÃ1 million.
November 1987
Diana has a state visit to Germany.
1989
Diana becomes President of the British marital advice organisations, which she ended on 16/07/1996. She also becomes an honorary citizen of Northampton and Bardolino (Italy).
1990
Diana receives a one month driving ban and æÃ150 fine due to speeding.
1990
In a magazine she is voted as "Best Dressed Woman". Diana and Charles live in separate apartments.
March 1992
Earl Spencer, Diana's father dies. His death affects her greatly.
June 1992
The book "Diana, Her True Story" by Andrew Morton is published as a series in the Sunday Times, and due to its explosive contents it becomes a bestseller. With the Princess' later admitted approval, it contains statements from her close friends about the poor state of her marriage to Prince Charles and over Diana's fears, her bulimia and the Princess' several suicide attempts.
25th August 1992
The British tabloid paper "The Sun" prints the supposed transcript of a telephone conversation between Princess Diana and her former friend James Gilbey. Diana however denied having an affair with Gilbey ( which is also not clearly presented in this conversation, and probably is just a press invention).
1992
During the state visit to India it becomes clear that Charles and Diana's marriage over.
November 1992
A joint trip by Diana and Charles to Korea is judged by the press to be the last chance to save their marriage.
December 1992
The magazine "Woman" votes Diana as the "Most Beautiful Woman" in Britain.
9th December 1992
The British Prime Minister John Major officially announces Charles and Diana's separation.
13th January 1993
In the Australian woman's magazine "New Idea" the complete transcript is printed of a six minute long telephone conversation with very intimate details between Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles, which he had held with her three years before. Charles' adultery with a married woman is therefore obvious. Not only these whispers between Prince Charles and his lover Camilla Parker-Bowles, but also the conversation between Diana and her supposed lover James Gilbey are supposed to have taken place as early as 1989, and supposedly have been recorded by amateur radio enthusiasts. Rumours grow that it was the work of the systematic monitoring one by the secret organisation MI5.
29th June 1994
In a television interview Prince Charles acknowledges to Jonathan Dimbleby his liaison with Camilla Parker-Bowles and his unfaithfulness to his wife Diana. He explains his adultery by saying that he already saw his marriage as being over.
August 1994
Newspapers report further intimate telephone conversations by Princess Diana.
October 1994
In the book "Princess in Love" by Anna Pasternak, the love-relationship between the former bodyguard and riding teacher for Princess Diana, James Hewitt and the Princess is described. In the following weeks Hewitt divulges more and more details about the relationship and the love life between the pair. He is supposed to have made himself around æÃ270,000 richer by doing this.
February 1995
Diana visits Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko in Japan.
1995
Diana is awarded the "Prize for Humanity" by the Society for Brain Research in New York.
24th November 1995
Diana admits her affair with James Hewitt in a BBC TV interview with the journalist Martin Bashir. She speaks further about her psychological desperation during the unlucky married years, her mental trauma and the ensuing concurrent psychological illnesses, which first appeared as eating disorders, and about her attempt to commit suicide. Apart from this she spoke of her mistrust of the Royal Family and doubts that her husband, Prince Charles, will ever become king.
November 1995
Thirteen years after the British-Argentinian war, during her visit to Argentina as Ambassador of Peace Princess Diana is greeted with excitement.
18th December 1995
Queen Elisabeth II asks her son Prince Charles and Princess Diana to end their marriage: Charles is immediately in agreement, yet Diana puts off the decision for three months.
1995
According to a questionnaire by the Gallup-Institute she is voted as the Beauty Queen of the last 50 years.
December 1995
Diana is on the front cover photo of the December edition of "Harper's Bazaar".
28th February 1996
Princess Diana agrees to the wish of Prince Charles and his mother Queen Elizabeth II to end the marriage.
12th July 1996
Princess Diana and Prince Charles agree over divorce formalities.
15th July 1996
Princess Diana becomes divorced after a 15 year long marriage to the British Heir to the Throne Prince Charles.
28th August 1996
The divorce becomes legal after six weeks of talks: Diana loses the title "Royal Highness", but may still call herself "Princess of Wales". The Princess has a permanent right to live in Kensington Palace and remains a member of the Royal Family. The custody of the two sons Wills and Harry is given jointly to both parents, and Diana receives a settlement from her ex-husband in the millions and a yearly payment of around æÃ300,000.
1996
Diana receives a gold medal for a humanitarian mission.
January 1997
At a visit to Angola Diana demonstrates her disgust at the use of landmines and demands a world wide ban on these weapons.
June 1997
Diana meets Mother Theresa ( who died on 5th September 1997 )in New York.
1997
Diana and her sons fly to St. Tropez together, the first holiday with Dodi Al Fayed.
08th August 1997
Diana visits Bosnia. It is her last trip as "Charity Queen" and "Queen of Hearts".
30th August 1997
21.45 o'clock: Diana and Dodi go to dinner at the "Ritz" in the Place Vendome.
31st August 1997
0.25 o'clock: the accident in the Seine-Tunnel under the Place de I'Alme, not far from the Eiffel Tower. Dodi and the chauffeur Henri Paul die at the scene. Diana and her bodyguard are still alive. 4.15 o'clock: after intensive attempts to save Diana's life, the doctors Bruno Rioux and Philipe Pavie at the Pite Salpã´triere Hospital, where the emergency doctors had brought Diana, let it be known that Diana, Princess of Wales, died at 4 o'clock in the morning. A BA 146 from the Royal Squadron brings back Diana's corpse back to Great Britain on that afternoon. The aircraft lands at Northolt airport. Prime Minister Tony Blair is among those who are waiting. The coffin is draped with the royal flag. At midnight the coffin lays in state in the Royal Chapel in St. James' Palace.
5th September 1997
The first live speech from the Queen concerning the death of Princess Diana.
6th September 1997
For the lengthy procession through London the Princess of Wales' coffin is borne on a gun carriage escorted by the Welsh Guard. In Westminster Abbey a great funeral service is held. Countless prominent people are present, and the popstar Elton John sings the song "Candle in the Wind". Especially moving to the watchers is the speech given by Diana's younger brother, the Earl of Spencer. Approximately two-and-a-half million television viewers followed this speech on the screen. The coffin containing Diana's body is brought to Althorp House, the Spencer's family seat. Diana is buried on a small island in the middle of a lake on the estate.
