WhenPrincess Dianawas born in 1961, her father, John Spencer, was known as Viscount Althorp.
Princess Diana’s mother, Frances Shand Kydd, was the daughter of the 4th Baron Fermoy.
Despite the elevated status and friends in the highest places, the princess-to-be was not immune to family drama.
Understanding what Princess Diana endured as a child portrays her in a different light.
Her mother left the family home in 1967 and separated from Diana’s father.
Her parents eventually divorced in 1969 after a custody battle.
“It was a very unhappy childhood.
Always seeing our mum crying,” Diana admitted in recordings published by theDaily Mail.
“Daddy never spoke to us about it we could never ask questions.
Very unstable, the whole thing.”
Diana recollected traumatic interactions from her childhood.
“I remember seeing my father slap my mother across the face,” she confessed.
“I was hiding behind the door, and Mummy was crying.
I remember Mummy crying an awful lot.”
According to The Guardian, Frances was described as a marriage breaker and adulteress during the trial.
“We would both see her crying.
‘What’s the matter, Mummy?’
Her brother, Charles, told the Sunday Times that Frances was “not cut out for maternity.”
He insisted, “Not her fault, she couldn’t do it.”
Charles maintained that his mother was in love with someone else and self-absorbed in her own life’s journey.
She simply didn’t leave room for the maternal guidance that could have helped the children cope.
Throughout her childhood, Diana didn’t have a reliable maternal relationship.
Even as an adult, Diana could not rely on her mother.
Diana had no one maternal to lean on at that time because her mother was a mess.
After the wedding, Diana didn’t speak to Frances for many years.
Although they eventually regained contact, Diana spent most of her adult life going no contact with her mother.
But Princess Diana recollected feelings of resentment from her father when she was a child.
She felt the resentment stemmed from her simply being born another healthy girl to the Spencer family.
‘What a bore, we’re going to have to have another go.’
And then comes a third daughter.”
It wasknownthat the Spencer children referred to their stepmother as “Acid Raine” and would taunt her.
Diana and Raine eventually reconciled their relationship in the last couple of years before her death.
According to the Evening Standard, the house spans 500 acres and has 90 rooms.
Althorp Park, the estate, sits upon a sprawling 13,000 acres.
It was also at this time that Diana became a lady due to her father’s earldom.
She was often referred to in the press by the nickname “Lady Di.”
The move from Sandringham to Northampton was over an hour away.
Although it was an adjustment, Diana still found enjoyment.
Lady Sarah is the eldest sister and was six years older than Diana.
Lady Jane was four years older than Diana.
In a recording, Diana recalled, “Their growing up was done out of our sight.
We saw them at holidays.
I don’t remember it being a big thing.”
As the sisters grew older, they grew closer and developed stronger relationships.
It was Lady Sarah who introduced Diana to her future husband, Prince Charles.
He had to change homes at age 2 and was sent to boarding school at age 8.
Princess Diana explained in a recording, “I always looked after my brother, really.”
We tend to think they came for that, rather than for looking after my brother and me."
As a child she loved swimming, tennis, dance, and piano.
From this childhood passion, Diana became a daily swimmer to help alleviate stress.
Lady Diana also loved to dance and it was her first passion as a child.
She had aspirations of becoming a professional dancer, but she was too tall.
Her former teacher, Anne Allan said, “She has dance in her soul.
I realize the pure enjoyment it gave her.”
She continued, “I could see that it helped alleviate her emotional life.”
She was not a good student, and she struggled through her school experience as a teen.
Around the time she begandating Prince Charles,she was working as an assistant kindergarten teacher.
