A look back at the defining moments of Princess Diana’s life

She spoke candidly about her eating disorder, informed public perception of AIDS and even took part in a post-divorce photoshoot

Diana in Cambridge, 1993 (Mike Forster/Daily Mail/Shutterstock)

Prince William and Prince Harry will honour their late mother on what would have been her 60^th birthday by unveiling a new statue being at Kensington Palace.

The ceremony will take place in the Sunken Garden, said to be one of Princess Diana’s favourite places in the palace, on Thursday, 1 July, to honour her life and legacy.

Diana died aged 36 in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997, when William was 15 years old, and Harry was 12.

Nicknamed the “people’s princess” for her open approach, she was most well-known for her charity work, her devotion to giving William and Harry as normal a childhood as possible, and the breakdown of her marriage to Prince Charles.

In her now infamous 1995 interview with BBC Panorama journalist Martin Bashir, Diana spoke openly about her mental health struggles, and that she had suffered for years with bulimia, an eating disorder.

While a subsequent investigation earlier this year concluded Bashir had acted in a “deceitful” way to secure the interview, Diana’s openness and willingness to speak on difficult subjects departed from royal protocol and has inspired Harry and William’s work today. Here are some of the defining moments in the Princess of Wales's life and how her legacy lives on through her children.

Before royal life

Diana leaving her flat (Getty Images)

Although hailed as a “commoner” by royal standards when she began dating Charles, Lady Diana Spencer was born into nobility and her parents had close ties to the royal family.

Before her marriage, she lived in a flat in London with and worked as a nanny and kindergarten teacher’s assistant.

In 1979, her parents bought her a flat in Earl’s Court as an 18^th birthday present, where she lived with three of her girlfriends.

Her wedding day

Diana and Charles on their wedding day (Reginald Davis/Shutterstock)

Prince Charles and Diana wed at St Paul’s Cathedral on 29 July 1981. The wedding was broadcast across the world and watched by more than 750 million people.

As crowds gathered outside Buckingham Palace, Diana and Charles shared a kiss on the balcony. The display of affection, which broke from royal protocol, would go down in history.

Diana’s wedding dress, which was designed by husband and wife David and Elizabeth Emanuel, featuring a corset and billowing sleeves, is currently on display at Kensington Palace for the first time in 25 years.

Mother to William and Harry

Diana with William and Harry on a ski trip (Mike Forster/ANL/Shutterstock)

Wiliam and Harry have previously revealed that their mother wanted them to have as normal a childhood as possible, telling ITV in 2017 documentary, Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, that she was a “total kid through and through”.

Harry said she would often tell the boys, “you can be as naughty as you want, just don’t get caught”. Aside from taking her sons on royal trips with her, she also made sure they did regular activities together with the three of them photographed at theme parks and the cinema.

Her willingness to discuss her struggles with mental health has influenced the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex’s work over the years.

In 2018, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Royal Foundation launched Head’s Up, a campaign to tackle the stigma around mental health. As part of the initiative, the duke took part in a documentary in which he interviewed football players in a bid to open up the conversation of mental health struggles in men.

Earlier this year, Harry released a new documentary series, The Me You Can’t See. In a series of conversations with Oprah Winfrey, he discussed his lifelong battle with poor mental health, and the impact of Diana’s death.

Shaking hands with AIDS patients

Diana shakes hands with an AIDS patient (Shutterstock)

In 1987, princess Diana helped debunk the widespread belief that AIDS, and HIV could be passed by touching when she was photographed shaking hands with an AIDS patient at the Middlesex Hospital in London without gloves.

Ian Green, chief executive of the HIV charity the Terrence Higgins Trust described Diana as a “true champion of HIV awareness”.

“She brought passion to the cause and did things which were truly remarkable. She was the first person of profile who was prepared to shake hands and touch people with HIV which at the time was seen as a risk. This statement publicly challenged the notion that HIV was passed from person to person by touch,” he said.

The breakdown of her marriage

Diana alone at the Taj Mahal (Mike Forster/Daily Mail/Shutterstock)

The distance between Charles and Diana first began to show during a royal tour to India in February 1992, when she sat alone at the Taj Mahal.

On the same trip, Charles was seen attempting to kiss his wife but instead, he collided with her ear. Later that year, the couple was nicknamed “the glums”, shortly before they announced they were separating.

In her interview with Bashir, Diana revealed that she knew Charles had been having an affair with Camille Parker-Bowles since 1986, but that she “wasn’t in a position to do anything about it”.

She said the affair had been “pretty devastating” and had made her bulimia “rampant”. When asked whether she had any evidence of Charles and Camilla’s relationship, Diana replied: “Oh, a woman’s instinct is a very good one.”

Post-divorce photoshoot

A Catherine Walker black velvet and beaded evening gown worn by Diana (Tim Stewart News/Shutterstock)

While divorce was unconventional for the royal family, a post-divorce photoshoot was unheard of.

In 1997, Diana took part in a shoot for Vanity Fair and was captured by celebrity photographer Mario Testino.

The princess unveiled newly cropped hair and a variety of glamourous gowns, including a Catherine Walker black velvet and beaded evening gown, in a series of relaxed, happy and carefree images.

The campaign to outlaw landmines

Diana consoles a survivor in Bosnia (Tim Rooke/Shutterstock)

Following her divorce, Diana was photographed walking through minefields wearing a protective vest and visor in Angola. She later visited Bosnia to meet survivors of landmine explosions.

Sadly, the princess did not get to see the results of her effort. An international treaty to ban the use and production of landmines was signed into law in December 1997.

Diana’s death

Earl Spencer Prince William Prince Harry and Prince Charles at Princess Diana’s funeral (L-R) (David O'Neil/ANL/Shutterstock)

After the news of her death broke, Tony Blair paid tribute to the late mother of two, describing her as “the people’s princess”.

The public’s adoration of Diana and her influence was evident in the outpouring of love she received. A sea of flowers was left at the gates of her home, Kensington Palace, while hundreds of thousands of mourners gathered in London on the day of her funeral.

William, 15, and Harry 12, walked behind their mother’s coffin as it proceeded through the city’s streets on its way to Westminster Abbey.