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SCMP Reporter

Princess Diana by Cherry Gilchrist

Diana Spencer married Prince Charles, heir to the throne of England, on the July 29, 1981. It was a fairy tale wedding which brought colour to the royal family.

Sadly, the marriage went wrong, but she was so popular that she was followed by the press everywhere she went. She was also followed by the press when she was killed in a car crash in 1997. She died when she was only 36, but still lives on in people's hearts today. What made her so special?

A fairy tale wedding

Charles was 12 years older then Diana. They met at a party in a grand house and at first Charles was not interested for he had many girlfriends. It was not until 1980 that he began to see Diana as a future wife. In February 1981 he gave her a beautiful blue ring and it seemed like real love.

But all was not well. Diana soon realised that Charles's old girlfriend, Camilla Parker Bowles, was still important to him and she found presents from Charles for her. Were Diana and Charles really in love and could the wedding really last? We soon found out.

The young princess

It wasn't long before Diana was loved by everyone. She was pretty, young and beautiful and soon became more popular than Charles, which he didn't take

too well. She had good taste and wore beautiful clothes.

In 1982 she gave birth to a baby boy, William, and two years later she gave birth to Harry. Unlike usual women members of the royal family she wasn't afraid to hug or kiss them in public.

Diana soon started to work with charities and met people with terrible illnesses like Aids. She proved you couldn't catch it by touching people. Soon she was respected for her kindness in helping others. But Charles thought she was becoming too wild.

The true story?

A book came out called Diana - Her True Story telling the world of Diana's eating illness and how unhappy she was with Charles.

It also talked about Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles being lovers and although at first everyone was surprised at the book they soon realised it was true.

Soon, Diana started to find new lovers. She had to be careful because she and Charles were still married. She started to see James Gillbey, an old friend of hers and James Hewitt, the man who had taught Diana to ride again.

Then in 1993 recordings of phone calls between Charles and Camilla were released and it became a well known fact the two were lovers. Finally, in December 1993 they told the public they were separating.

Her last days

Diana never stopped her charity work. She often visited children's hospitals like Great Ormond Street Hospital for sick children and visited Angola and Bosnia where she dealt with the terrible problems of land mines.

She also helped troubled friends because she knew what it was like to hurt inside.

The marriage finally ended in 1996 and Diana set off on her own with her own personal fortune of

17 million pounds.

During the summer Diana gained a new boyfriend: Dodi Al-Fayed, a filmmaker and the member of a very wealthy family who own the famous London shop, Harrods, and the Ritz Hotel in Paris.

It was when they went away together to Corsica that the paparazzi followed and their love was exposed. The pictures of their first kisses sold for millions of dollars.

One evening they planned to eat dinner, but they decided it wasn't safe and when returning to the Ritz hotel in Paris they were awaited by more than 40 reporters. They drove off very fast to escape the press. However it was too fast, and at over 160 km an hour they hit a wall.

The crash killed her driver and her boyfriend Dodi at once. Diana was immediately taken to hospital but she died the next morning.

Conclusion

Although her life was short she was greatly admired throughout it all and will always be remembered for her constant kindness even if things were bad for her.

Public life in Britain has become more caring and humane as a result of her influence, and many still hold a place in their hearts for her today.

Teachers

Every week Young Post will cover one of the SBA non-fiction texts. For this year's

schedule go to the Teaching Zone at www.yp.scmp.com. The Teaching Zone is open to teachers who subscribe to the Young Post. Call School Subscription hotline on 2680 8822 or e-mail schoolsub@scmp.com to get your password.



Fairy tale with a sad ending