Princess Diana and boyfriend Dodi Al-Fayed were killed in a car crash in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997, while being pursued by paparazzi
Remembering Princess Diana 25 years after her death
British Journalist Bidisha Mamata from the Fox Nation series ‘Scandalous: Diana - Killing of a Princess’ looks back at the life and legacy of Princess Diana on the 25th anniversary of her tragic death.
Princess Diana’s brother Charles Spencer honored his big sister’s memory 26 years after her death by sharing a childhood photo of the two of them.
The 1960s-era snapshot showed Diana in a pink and white striped dress with her arm around her little brother who wore a polo shirt and blue shorts.
Earl Spencer didn’t caption the family photo, which he posted on his social media Thursday — exactly 26 years after she and her boyfriend Dodi Al-Fayed were killed in a car crash in Paris while being pursued by paparazzi. She was 36 years old.
In 2020, the earl discussed how close he and Diana were growing up as the two youngest children in their family.
PRINCE WILLIAM REVEALS PRINCESS DIANA'S CHARITY WORK LEFT ‘DEEP AND LASTING IMPRESSION’ ON HIM
Charles Spencer shared this childhood photo Thursday in remembrance of his sister Princess Diana 26 years after her death. (Charles Spencer/Instagram)
"Diana and I had two older sisters who were away at school, so she and I were very much in it together, and I did talk to her about it," Spencer, 59, told The Sunday Times. Their older sisters are Lady Sarah McCorquodale, 65, and Jane Fellowes, Baroness Fellowes, 63. Diana would be 62 today if she had lived.
Spencer added about their parents, "Our father was a quiet and constant source of love, but our mother wasn’t cut out for maternity. Not her fault, she couldn’t do it," he said. "While she was packing her stuff to leave, she promised Diana [then aged five] she’d come back to see her. Diana used to wait on the doorstep for her, but she never came."
— Charles Spencer (@cspencer1508) August 31, 2023
Spencer memorably walked alongside then-Prince Charles, Prince Philip and Diana’s young sons Princes William and Harry who followed her casket during her funeral procession in September 1997.
Princess Diana with her brother Earl Spencer in 1985. (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)
Harry recently spoke about his mental health struggles connected to his deployment to Afghanistan with the British Army that he said stemmed from the pain of losing his mother at such a young age.
"There was an unraveling and the trigger to me was actually returning from Afghanistan, but the stuff that was coming up was from the age of – 1997, from the age of 12," Harry said in the second episode of his Netflix show "Heart of Invictus." "Losing my mum at such a young age, the trauma that I had, I was never really aware of. It wasn’t discussed. I didn’t really talk about it. And I’ve suppressed it like most youngsters would have done."
Charles Spencer joined Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry in Princess Diana's funeral procession in September 1997. (Anwar Hussein/WireImage)
But he said once he returned from his deployment "it all came fizzing out, I was bouncing off the walls. Like, what is going on here? I’m now feeling everything as opposed to being numb."
Diana was buried at Althorp House, their childhood home, in Northampton, north of London, where Spencer still lives.
Spencer shared another childhood photo of Diana in a sweater and skirt on his social media on her birthday in 2021.
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"Today is the 60th Birthday of Diana, Princess of Wales," he wrote. "1 July 1961 was an exceptionally hot English summer's day, Diana's parents always remembered. She was born in Park House, on the Queen's Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. Park House is seen in the background of this family photograph taken by Diana's father, the 8th Earl Spencer."
