English aristocrat and activist Lady Diana Spencer, latterly the Princess of Wales, was BOTD in 1961. Born in Sandringham, she was the youngest daughter of the 8th Earl Spencer, with notable ancestors including Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire, Sarah Duchess of Marlborough and Winston Churchill. She had a turbulent childhood, marked by her parents’ acrimonious divorce and a difficult relationship with her father’s second wife. Educated at private schools in England and Switzerland, she moved to London, working as a house cleaner and nursery school assistant. In 1977, aged 16, she met Charles, Prince of Wales, who was at the time dating her elder sister. With the encouragement and connivance of their families, Charles shifted his attention to Diana. After a brief courtship, they announced their engagement in 1981, despite Diana’s concerns about Charles’ pre-existing relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles. Their wedding later that year became an international media event, making her the most famous woman in the world. Admired for her beauty, charisma and fashion sense, her popularity frequently placed her at odds with her husband and other members of the Royal family. She and Charles had two sons, William and Harry, but a largely unhappy marriage, compounded by Charles’ infidelities, her own struggles with depression and bulimia nervosa and increasingly invasive media attention. She became a prominent campaigner for various charities, particularly supporting children, the elderly and socially disadvantaged groups. In 1987, she opened the UK’s first specialist HIV/AIDS unit at London Middlesex Hospital; a photograph of her shaking hands with a HIV-positive man circulated around the world. Two years later, she visited a paediatric hospital in New York’s Lower East Side, drawing attention to the plight of children with AIDS. Her work was credited with de-stigmatising HIV/AIDS at a critical period during the pandemic. Her friendships with celebrity homosexuals including Elton John, Freddie Mercury, Gianni Versace and Wayne Sleep also earned her a loyal LGBTQ following. The publication of Andrew Morton’s 1992 biography Diana: Her True Story, written with Diana’s input, led to her and Charles announcing their separation. An ugly public relations battle followed, culminating in Diana’s 1995 interview with BBC TV journalist Martin Bashir, in which she stated “there were three of us in this marriage” and expressed her doubts about ever becoming Queen. The palace reluctantly permitted a divorce, which was finalised in 1996. Diana continued her charity efforts, igniting controversy over her campaign against landmines, and pursued relationships with surgeon Hasnat Khan and film producer Dodi Fayed. Diana and Fayed died of injuries following a car accident in Paris in 1997. She was 36. Her funeral provoked an international outpouring of grief, and criticism of the Royal family for failing to respond publicly to the news of her death. Elton John’s reworking of his song Candle in the Wind, performed at Diana’s funeral, became the biggest-selling single in history. Her reputation continues to be controversial, with historians and biographers describing her variously as a victim of an outdated aristocratic system, a self-destructive neurotic and a shrewd media manipulator. Her life story, unhappy marriage and public popularity has also drawn frequent comparisons with her ancestor the Duchess of Devonshire. She has been portrayed multiple times onscreen, notably by Emma Corrin and Elizabeth Debicki in TV drama series The Crown and by Kristen Stewart in the film Spencer.