Princess Diana (1961-1997)

Diana Frances Spencer was born in Sandringham, Norfolk on the 1-th of July in 1961. She was the youngest daughter of Viscount Althorp. Diana had two elder sisters, Jane and Sarah, and a younger brother, Charles. Diana was only six years old when her parents separated: her mother, Frances, left to join a wealthy businessman. Diana and her brother, Charles, spent much of their childhood moving from one parent to the other. When Diana was twelve she attended West Heath School in Kent. She left at the age of sixteen and spent a few years In Switzerland. In 1979 Diana worked as a nanny and as an assistant at the Young England kindergarten. At that time she got acquainted with Prince Charles and they started seeing each other.

On the 29-th of July, 1981, about 600,000 people filled the streets of London on Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer's wedding day. They married at St Paul's Cathedral. In less than a year Charles and Diana had their first child, William, on the 21-th of June, 1982. A second son, Prince Harry, was born on the 15-th of September, 1984. Princess Diana appeared a glamorous Princess who won the hearts of the nation, as well as international acclaim. She did a lot of charitable work and in 1989 she opened the Landmark AIDS Centre. However things were not well with her relationship with her husband and his family, partly because of Prince Charles’ long-running relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles. Because of this the couple separated in 1992 and divorced in August, 1996.

Princess Diana continued her charitable work and became a campaigner against landmines making trips to Angola and Bosnia. Diana died in a car crash on the 31-th of August, 1997. Her lover, Dodi Al Fayed and the driver, Henri Paul, were also killed in the accident in a tunnel under the Place de l’Alma in Paris after the group was being chased by paparazzi.

Exercise 1 Answer the following questions.

1. Who was William Shakespeare? 2. What was he famous for? 3. When was Bell born? 4. What did Bell invent? 5. Where was Dickens born? 6. How did he earn his living? 7. What books did Dickens write? 8. What is the full name of Princess Diana? 9. When and how did she meet Prince Charles? 10. How did Diana die?

Exercise 2 Translate and memorize the following expressions from the text.

To be famous for, to enter the university, well-known sayings, come from, a great influence on, the best known, a popular place with, the medical department, to earn money, to become famous, a great success, to separate, to get acquainted with, a wedding day, international acclaim, charitable work, a glamorous Princess, a long-running relationship, a car crash, to be chased by.