20 things you didn’t know about Princess Diana, from choosing her own engagement ring and being the first British royal to give birth in a hospital, to confronting Camilla Parker Bowles
- Kristen Stewart depicted the ‘People’s Princess’ in Spencer, a film where she, Prince Charles and the British royal family spend Christmas at Queen Elizabeth’s estate
- Before Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton, Diana was the first British royal to give birth at a hospital – to sons Prince William and Prince Harry
Princess Diana might have passed away almost 25 years ago, but her legacy still holds strong today – and with the recent release of Spencer, a film about her life in which she is portrayed by Kristen Stewart, the public has a renewed interest in the “People’s Princess”.
But how much of the film is rooted in reality, and how well do royal watchers really know the late princess? Read on for 20 surprising facts …
Her parents divorced when she was seven
Diana’s parents, Frances Shand Kydd and Edward John Spencer, divorced after years of a tumultuous, unhappy relationship, according to Diana, Her True Story by Andrew Morton.
She ended up living with her father after her parents’ divorce, and a vicious custody battle ensued over Diana and her three siblings.
She wanted to be a ballerina
When Princess Diana was a child, she dreamt of becoming a ballerina. However, her dreams would never become a reality, as she soon grew to be too tall for the profession and was forced to give it up. She was 178cm (5 feet and 10 inches) tall.
She was an accomplished diver
