Out of all the members of the Royal Family in England, nobody stole the hearts of the English people like Princess Diana. Coined as “The People’s Princess” and “England’s Rose”, Princess Diana dedicated her life to helping those in need, and she supported more than 100 different charities around the world.
But as much as her public life was admirable, her private life was consumed with heartache, sadness and even mystery. If you're thinking of visiting London or taking a free tour of Buckingham Palace, you'll want to know more about the world's most polemic royal family:
1. She had royal connections even before marrying Prince Charles
Not only was Diana’s maternal grandmother Lady Fermoy, known to be a lady-in-waiting for The Queen Mum, Queen Elizabeth II is also the godmother of Diana’s brother as well.
2. Prince Charles dated her big sister
Princess Diana met her future husband Prince Charles when he was dating her big sister, Sara Spencer. Apparently, the relationship was short-lived and soon Prince Charles fell head over heels for Diana (much to the dismay of her sister, of course).
3. She has a famous family lineage
Although Diana was the first British citizen to marry an heir to the British throne since Anne Hyde married the future James II in 1659, her ancestry is anything but normal.
Some of Diana’s many famous ancestors include Lady Catherine Grey, Mary Boleyn, Robert I (The Bruce) and Mary, Queen of Scots, and Diana’s father is also the direct descendant of King Charles II. Her cousins include Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, Rainier III and Oliver Platt, and she was also related to Winston Churchill as well as eight different American presidents. And if that isn’t enough, four of her female ancestors were mistresses to British kings, her stepmother (Raine) was the daughter of Barbara Cartland (a famous romance novelist), and some reports have claimed that Diana is also the direct descendant of an Indian woman named Eliza Kewark from Bombay.
4. Winston Churchill’s granddaughter was in her wedding party
Apparently, Winston Churchill’s granddaughter, Clementine Hambro, was the Princess’ favourite kindergarten student, and she was asked to be in Diana’s wedding party when she was five years old.
5. She taught Princes Charles how to tap dance
Before he tapped his way into her heart, Princess Diana taught Charles how to tap dance in 1977 (although they didn’t start dating until 1980).
If you want to learn more about London and the Royals, you might want to check out the list of free tours of London that run daily.