Construction Maison

They were the seven days that shocked the world, from the death of Princess Diana in Paris to her funeral at Westminster Abbey.  In this, the fifth part of our poignant series to mark the 20th anniversary, JONATHAN MAYO reconstructs those momentous events as they happened though the eyes of Royal Family members , politicians, the Princess’s family, and a grief-stricken public... 9am, Friday, September 5 At Althorp, the Spencer family seat , a temporary pontoon bridge to an island in the middle of a lake is being built by the Army. It is on this island that tomorrow Diana, Princess of Wales will be buried. In Great Yarmouth, sticks of rock with the message ‘Diana RIP’ are being taken off the shelves after complaints that they are disrespectful. Dickie Arbiter, the Queen’s Press secretary, is once more standing in front of Diana’s coffin in the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace. When he was here on Wednesday, he felt angry with the Princess for not wearing a seatbelt. Today he has onl...

Cover of Remembering Diana published by National Geographic. (Photo: Mario Testino) Princess Diana is a larger-than-life figure in so many ways, and her biography contains moments large and small, public and private, royal and routine. This timeline follows Diana from childhood to storybook royal wedding to parenthood and then, unfortunately, to a death that came far too soon. 1961:   Diana Frances Spencer , born July 1, was the fourth of five children born to John Spencer, the 8th Earl Spencer and his first wife, Frances Ruth Roche. 1967:  The Spencers separate when Diana is six years old. The divorce would not be final until 1969, following a child custody battle won by her father. In later years, her younger brother, Charles, blames the split on the loss of their first son, John, who died within hours of his birth in 1960, and the difficulty of producing a male heir. 1969:  Diana's mother marries Peter Shand Kydd , an Australian wallpaper heir , and is accused by Shand Kydd...