Heartbreaking Facts About Princess Diana, The Royal Rebel
Diana, Princess of Wales captivated the world when she married into the House of Windsor. Unfortunately, she couldn’t get the same unconditional love or attention from her husband nor her in-laws.
From there, she was sucked into a whirlwind of struggle and scandal that ended with her untimely death. But, as we’ll see, that’s just one part of it—and the real story of Princess Diana is so much more tragic than people know.
1. She Was Born Into A Tense Situation
Diana Spencer eventually occupied the ultra-stressful position of wife of the heir to the British throne—but even that was nothing compared to the pressure cooker she was born into. Her parents John and Frances Spencer were both high-ranking nobles desperate for a male heir. In 1960, they gave birth to their third child, a son, only for him to die ten hours later.
Diana’s birth followed a year and a half year, in July of 1961—thrusting her into the center of a family strained to the limit and still mourning for her lost brother.
2. They Got What They Wanted
Three years after Diana’s birth, the family felt some of their pressure relieved when Frances gave birth to a son, Charles—but it soon became clear that even this blessing wouldn’t alleviate the unhappiness that pervaded the Spencer family.
Diana’s elder sisters left for boarding school as soon as they could, and Diana did her best to shield her little brother from the strife in her parent’s marriage—but there was no one to protect her, and the consequences were dire.
3. She Witnessed The Worst Of It
When Diana’s parents’ marriage eventually imploded, it was incredibly dramatic. However, it was only as an adult that she finally revealed the horrific details of what happened behind closed doors. Diana claimed that there was physical abuse in the relationship, as well as plenty of infidelity. Publicly, it appeared that it all fell apart when her mother left her father for another man. In reality, there was a lot more to the story than that.
4. They Had A Custody Battle Over Her
When Frances left John Spencer, it started a horrible chain reaction that damaged the lives of everyone connected to them.
After their divorce, John took Frances to court for custody of Diana and her siblings—and he had a devastating witness of his side: Frances’ own mother. She was his secret weapon, and she made sure that the deal was done.
At just seven, Diana’s father had her ripped away from her mother. It left her absolutely bereft.
