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Princess Diana’s Life in Photographs: Star Power, Duty, and Liberation

Twenty-five years after Princess Diana’s death, The Daily Beast looks back at her life—her marriage, fame, her children, and post-royal life—through the many pictures taken of her.

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Tomorrow, August 31, marks the 25th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana—and a moment to reflect on one of the most fascinating people of the last century, one who bridged the worlds of royalty and celebrity and whose influence not only changed modern monarchy at the time but continues to change it today.

This is her life, in pictures.

A young Lady Diana Spencer, circa 1965.

Then-Lady Diana Spencer and Camilla Parker Bowles at Ludlow Races where Prince Charles was competing, 1980.

Then known as Lady Diana Spencer, Diana at the Young England Kindergarten School in Pimlico on Sept. 17, 1980, in London. She was employed as an assistant, when she was courting Prince Charles.

Lady Diana Spencer reveals her sapphire and diamond engagement ring while she and Prince Charles pose for photographs in the grounds of Buckingham Palace following the announcement of their engagement.

The wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral in London, July 29, 1981.

The Prince and Princess of Wales with their newborn son Prince William on the steps of St Mary's Hospital, London, June 1982.

Diana and Charles standing in front of Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, during their official tour of Australia.

Princess Diana and Prince Charles leaving St Mary's Hospital, London with then-newborn Prince Harry, September 1984.

Diana with William and Harry at the piano in Kensington Palace.

In this handout image provided by the White House, Princess Diana dances with John Travolta in Cross Hall at the White House during an official dinner on Nov. 9, 1985 in Washington, D.C.

After a polo match, Princess Diana awards a trophy to James Hewitt. The two had an affair, though Hewitt emphatically denied rumors he was Prince Harry’s father.

Princess Diana shaking hands with a resident at Casey House, an AIDS hospice, in Toronto, Canada, in 1991.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana on their last official trip together, a visit to South Korea, in 1992.

Princess Diana with her sons, Princes William and Harry, visit the Thorpe Park amusement park in 1993.

June 1994: Princess Diana arriving at the Serpentine Gallery in London in a gown by Christina Stambolian. She wore the infamous, fabulous “revenge dress” the night Prince Charles confessed his adultery on national television, ensuring the front pages of the papers belonged to her the next day.

Martin Bashir interviews Princess Diana in Kensington Palace for the television program Panorama, shown on Nov. 20, 1995.

Diana, Princess of Wales, wearing protective body armor and a visor visits a landmine minefield being cleared by the charity Halo in Huambo, Angola in January 1997.

Diana, Princess of Wales, and son HRH Prince William are seen holidaying with Dodi Fayed (not pictured) in St Tropez in the summer of 1997.

CCTV footage showing the final hours of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, France.

Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed (both partially visible in back seat), bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones (front, left) and driver Henri Paul, in their Mercedes-Benz S280, shortly before the fatal crash which killed Diana, Fayed and Paul on Aug. 31, 1997.

A multi-colored sea of floral tributes to Diana, Princess of Wales, lie outside the gates of her London home, early September 1997. The flowers began to be laid soon after news of Diana’s death was announced.

Prince Philip, Prince William, Earl Spencer, Prince Harry, and Prince Charles follow Diana’s coffin in London on Sept. 6, 1997. The funeral took place seven days after the crash in Paris. Members of the royal family walked in the procession behind the coffin, as did 500 representatives of the charities associated with the princess. At least a million people lined the streets of central London to watch the procession from Kensington Palace to Westminster Abbey.

Sept. 6, 1997: People lined the streets to watch the hearse carrying Diana’s coffin leave London for its journey to her final resting place of Althorp, her childhood and ancestral home. The public threw flowers on to the vehicle as it drove past.

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Tim TeemanSenior Editor and Writer

Elizabeth Hunt BrockwayEditorial Visual Director

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