On August 31, 1997, 12-year-old Harry and 15-year-old William, were left without their mother after she tragically died in a car crash in Paris, aged 36. The Princess of Wales had written a number of final wishes several years earlier, including what she wanted to be given to her sons in the event of her death. The items included Diana’s iconic 1981 wedding dress which was to be gifted when Harry marked his 30th birthday.
The dress, by designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel, caused a sensation at the time when Diana wore it at her wedding to Prince Charles at St Paul’s Cathedral.
Mr Emanuel said in 2014: “That gown has earned its keep.
“It has been around the globe many, many times.
“I think more people abroad have seen it than British people.
“What’s extraordinary is, after so many years, people are still talking about it.”
The original will was signed by Diana on June 1, 1993 and later amended in 1996.
According to reports, Diana wanted the bulk of her estate to be placed in a trust, which she requested William and Harry have access to when they turned 25.
Diana’s mother and sister were allowed by the court to change a few details of her will after her death.
Instead of the princes getting their share at the age of 25, it was changed to when they reached the age of 30.
The rest were distributed among her 17 godchildren, while £50,000 was given to her butler Paul Burrell.
In the will, Prince William received Diana’s engagement ring, which he later proposed to Kate Middleton with.
Born Diana Frances Spencer on 1 July 1961, her father, Edward John Viscount Althorp, was the only son of the 7th Earl Spencer.
Her mother, born Frances Ruth Burke Roche, was the youngest daughter of the 4th Baron Fermoy.
The Spencers had served the Royal Family for generations.
Diana’s great-grandfather, the 6th Earl Spencer, was Lord Chamberlain to both Edward VII and George V.
All four of her great-aunts on the Spencer side became members of the Queen Mother’s household and her father was equerry to both George VI and the Queen.
After her father inherited the title of Earl Spencer in 1975, she became known as Lady Diana Spencer.
Lady Diana met Prince Charles at Althorp in 1977.
She was 16 and he was 29.
The Prince was a member of a shooting party as a guest of Lady Diana’s eldest sister, Lady Sarah.
The Prince and Princess both recalled later that the meeting could be seen as the first landmark on the road to their marriage three and a half years later.
After Lady Diana spent a weekend at Balmoral as the guest of Prince Charles, a tabloid headline of 8 September 1980 proclaimed: “He’s in Love Again”.
This sparked the press’ obsession with Diana, which would follow her until her death.
Only a few months later, on 24 February 1981, Buckingham Palace announced: “It is with the greatest pleasure that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh announce the betrothal of their beloved son, the Prince of Wales, to the Lady Diana Spencer, daughter of the Earl Spencer and the Honourable Mrs Shand Kydd.”
