Diana, the Earl's daughter, born to life of privilege                                          

The woman who became known worldwide simply as Diana knew nothing but a life of privilege and royal association from the outset.

The Honorable Diana Frances Spencer was born July 1, 1961 to an aristocratic family. Her father, then Lord Althorp, became the 8th Earl Spencer upon his own father's death in 1975, and her title in turn changed to Lady Diana Spencer.

Her parents' unpleasant divorce, in 1969, hit the young girl hard and was thought to have made her determined to have a happier marriage of her own. Her father won custody of the children: Diana, her brother and two sisters. After her parents each remarried, Diana remained close to both of them.

Diana never excelled academically at school but was recognized at West Heath, in Kent, with a special award for service in 1977. She was described there as "a girl who notices what needs to be done, then does it willingly and cheerfully."

Diana attended finishing school briefly in Switzerland. She returned to London, where she worked for a short time as a nanny and governess before becoming a kindergarten teacher.

Diana and her siblings, growing up at her father's house on the royal estate at Sandringham and the family home at Althorp, knew the royal family from a young age, with Charles' younger brothers Edward and Andrew as playmates.

She and Charles began dating in 1980, when their romance at first remained a secret from the media. But soon the cameras caught up with "Shy Di," who at 19 charmed the world with her fresh beauty and innocence. Charles proposed marriage in February 1981.