--- title: Princess Diana 20 Years Later: Photos From Youth to Marriage description: Photos of a young Princess Diana shed light on her evolution from a shy child of privilege to one of the most famous women in the world. canonical: https://time.com/4873326/princess-diana-childhood-photos/ author: Liz Ronk article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-30T13:00:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:50:19.434Z article:section: History og:title: Princess Diana 20 Years Later: Photos From Youth to Marriage og:description: Photos of a young Princess Diana shed light on her evolution from a shy child of privilege to one of the most famous women in the world og:url: https://time.com/4873326/princess-diana-childhood-photos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd4c3a9c7295013b/6988d71b196cf410c80412c2/lady-diana-spencer-04.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Lady Diana Spencer og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Princess Diana 20 Years Later: Photos From Youth to Marriage twitter:description: Photos of a young Princess Diana shed light on her evolution from a shy child of privilege to one of the most famous women in the world twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd4c3a9c7295013b/6988d71b196cf410c80412c2/lady-diana-spencer-04.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See Photos From the 'Lonely' Childhood That Shaped Princess Diana by [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) and [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/) Aug 30, 2017 1:00 PM UTC  Lady Diana Spencer with her brother Charles, Viscount Althorp, (Earl Spencer) at their home in Berkshire. Lady Diana Spencer with her brother Charles, Viscount Althorp, (Earl Spencer) at their home in Berkshire.AP Photo by [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) and [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/) Aug 30, 2017 1:00 PM UTC Before Diana was the Princess of Wales, she was Diana Spencer. And while contemporary audiences may [remember](http://time.com/4879138/diana-princess-remembered/) Diana — who died 20 years ago this Thursday, at 36, in a car crash in Paris — for braving the [paparazzi](http://time.com/4881423/princess-diana-celebrity/), in her early life she was known for being the shy and quiet one in her family. The above photos shed light on her early life, from scenes at her birthplace, Park House, to family summer vacations in Sussex. As TIME described her privileged upbringing in [an April 20, 1981, cover package](http://time.com/vault/issue/1981-04-20/page/1/) published shortly after the then-19-year-old Diana became engaged to the Prince of Wales Charles, the house that the Spencer family rented from the Crown had the only heated pool in the area — and that pool was more than a symbol of wealth. Because Park House was part of the royal estate at Sandringham, the neighbors who came by to take advantage of the pool included the Windsor children. “Diana and Charles may have met a few times when she was a child and he already a young man, but everyone is fuzzy on the details,” the story noted. That pool was not the only indicator of her privilege, the story continued: --- > “” --- But, despite having all the makings of a happy childhood, that period could also be a solitary one for the young Diana. She had a strong connection with animals, doting on her Shetland pony and serving as head of “Pets’ Corners” at her boarding school Riddlesworth Hall, but often spent time without many people around. Her parents’ marriage having fallen apart before she was 10, the family home Althorp House could be “a lonely place” for Diana, Tina Brown, the former editor of _The_ _New Yorker_ and _The_ _Daily Beast,_ writes in the forward of the new book _Remembering Diana: A Life in Photographs._ “A frequent erroneous press assumption,” she writes, “was that her distinguished aristocratic background meant familiarity with a grand, high-society world. In fact, Diana’s childhood was limited in its circle and almost feral in its neglect. She spent most of her free time with the servants below stairs (one reason, perhaps, she could communicate so well with ordinary people).”  Lady Diana Spencer ages 3 years old at Park House, Sandringham, Norfolk. PA Images via Getty Images  Lady Diana Spencer with a pram at Park House, Sandringham in Norfolk, 1964. Central Press—Getty Images  Portrait of Lady Diana Spencer circa 1965. Central Press—Getty Images  Lady Diana Spencer with her brother Charles, Viscount Althorp, (Earl Spencer) at their home in Berkshire. AP Photo  Lady Diana Spencer poses barefoot with a croquet mallet circa 1970 at Itchenor Sussex. PA Images via Getty Images  A portrait of the Spencer family; (L-R) Lady Sarah Spencer, Viscount Spencer, Earl Spencer, Lady Jane Spencer and Lady Diana Spencer at home. Keystone—Getty Images  Lady Diana Spencer during a summer holiday in Itchenor, West Sussex in Britain. Hulton Archive—Getty Images  Lady Diana, playing with a pony in the countryside in England in the mid-1970s. Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images  Lady Diana Spencer at the Young England Kindergarten School in Pimlico where she worked as a nursery assistant. Circa 1908. Tim Graham—Getty Images  Lady Diana Spencer surrounded by press photographers and reporter Howard Foster shortly before the announcement of her engagement to Charles, Prince of Wales. Ian Tyas—Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4873326/princess-diana-childhood-photos/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4873326/princess-diana-childhood-photos/"},"headline":"See Photos From the 'Lonely' Childhood That Shaped Princess Diana","datePublished":"2017-08-30T13:00:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:50:19.434Z","description":"Photos of a young Princess Diana shed light on her evolution from a shy child of privilege to one of the most famous women in the world","url":"https://time.com/4873326/princess-diana-childhood-photos/","keywords":["royals","photography","Princess Diana"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd4c3a9c7295013b/6988d71b196cf410c80412c2/lady-diana-spencer-04.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Liz Ronk","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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