Princess Diana's life was cut tragically short, but the world was lucky to have had her for any amount of time. Who would have thought that the girl born in 1961 would one day wind up married to a prince and helping change the world? It's fun to look back on old photos of Lady Diana Spencer from before she became a royal, because we get a sense of who she was before all the fanfare.
Although she did have a privileged childhood, she was also a regular kid with no big dreams of royal grandeur. Young Lady Diana also looks almost exactly like Princess Charlotte, which is fun to see. These early pictures also show off Diana when she was a little less guarded than she had to be once the paparazzi got involved. And it's really interesting to watch her sense of fashion evolve.
Check out these 35 rare photos of Diana before she married Prince Charles.
Baby Diana
At just 1 year old, Diana Frances Spencer had no idea what her life would become. She was born into aristocracy, part of the well-to-do Spencer family line, but other than that, she was an ordinary kid. An ordinary kid who just happened to grow up to marry a prince and become famous all over the world.
A Little Doll
If we didn't know better, we might think that this was a picture of a realistic doll. In actuality, it's Diana at age 2. We can't get over her rosy cheeks, which stand out even in this black and white pic. This photo was taken in Norfolk, where Diana's son Prince William now has a country home for his own family.
In the Pram
Even at such a young age, we totally recognize Diana as a young child. And she was already so stylish as a baby, in her cute polka dot top. She's seated here in an old-fashioned English pram, the kind the royals still use when taking the kids to their ceremonial christenings. If the royals love anything, it's old-fashioned, traditional items.
3 Years Old
Diana's adorable toddler phase was going strong at 3 years old. She had so many facial expressions in her little body. She was never one to always smile for a photo. Instead, pictures tended to capture cute looks, like this one. Also does every child have this bangs-and-bob hairstyle at some point or what?
Stylish Socks
We can't really give Diana the fashion credit here, because she was likely dressed by her parents or a nanny or something, but we absolutely love these socks. She's so little here, and yet she's wearing such fancy dress socks and shoes. She might as well be on her way to a meeting at the bank — minus the hoodie, of course.
An Old Soul
The future princess is just 4 years old in this 1965 photo, but she has a glint in her eye of being an old soul. The camera captured so many layers of her personality — shy, inquisitive, happy, thoughtful. At this point, she'd really started to look like the Diana we'd come to know as an adult.
Playing
This snapshot from 1967 captured Diana playing on the swings with her younger brother Charles. She was 6, and he was 3. Since her death, Charles Spencer, who is now Earl Spencer, has remained a staunch advocate for his sister's legacy, often speaking to the media about her. He currently lives in the fancy estate where they grew up, and he declined to let The Crown film there.
Sassy Smile
Here we see a sassier side of the princess-to-be. Diana had multiple facets to her personality. She had her withdrawn and shy moments, but she also had moments where she was playful, and this shows the latter. She's 8 years old in the picture, wearing an adorable red dress, blue sweater, and chic red headband. Such a fashionista already.
Family Photo
It's a Spencer family photo, featuring an 8-year-old Diana at the front. Next to her are her brother Charles and sisters Sarah and Jane. Before Diana dated Prince Charles, he actually first went out with her older sister Sarah. That ultimately didn't work out, but we almost had an entirely different modern royal family tree.
On Holiday
The Spencers took a summer vacation to West Sussex in 1970, which is where this photo was taken. The future princess is 9 years old here, and this is a little bit of her more shy side we're seeing. She had such an uncanny ability to simply cast her eyes downward and make it look like she was hiding a thousand secrets.
Playing Croquet
During that same vacation, Diana played some croquet — with a mallet that was basically as tall as she was at the time. It's so fun that the Spencers took these pictures of Diana when she was a child and shared them with the public. That way we get to see the life she led before she became a member of the royal family.
Chic Hat
A year later, the Spencers returned to West Sussex. This time, Diana was 10 years old, and a budding fashion star. This black hat is so cute, and as a princess she would go on to wear a bunch more just like it. But sometimes it's sad to look at these pictures and know that her life would be tragically cut short.
A Trip to Scotland
A 1974 vacation brought a young Diana to the Isle of Uist in Scotland. She would go on to spend many a holiday with Charles and his family at their Scottish castle, Balmoral, but she got a feel for the country long before that. She's 13 on this trip — a bona fide teenager. It's so strange to see her at this age.
With Her Pet Horse
This is Diana at age 14 with her pet pony, named Scuffle. The future princess was always great with both people and animals, so it doesn't surprise us at all that she had such a sweet connection with her horse. She and Queen Elizabeth had a shared passion for the animals. We wonder if they ever talked about it together.
Being a Bridesmaid
In 1978, a nearly 17-year-old Diana was the bridesmaid in her sister Jane's wedding to Robert Fellowes. Just a few years later, Diana would be married herself — to the Prince of Wales. She hadn't yet begun dating Charles at this point, but she had already met him. The two first crossed paths when she was 16.
As a Teen
This picture was discovered later on in Diana's royal life, and it shows a teenage Diana hanging out with her friend. It's the kind of cozy photo the royal family would not have wanted published, since they were allegedly hyper focused on Diana's virginity and how "pure" she was when she and Charles got engaged.
Post-Party
By 1980, the press had caught onto Diana and Charles' romance, and Diana never had a moment of peace again. Here, the paparazzi caught her leaving Princess Margaret's 50th birthday party. The press realized things must have been serious between Charles and Diana if she was being invited to royal family events.
Stalked by the Paparazzi
The paparazzi's fascination with Diana started early. And as she was not yet married to Charles, she had little to no protection. She was still living in her small apartment, working, and running her own errands at the time, all without a security detail. This provided the press plenty of opportunities to stalk her wherever she went.
Through the Window
The princess-to-be couldn't even catch a break while at home. Photographers with long cameral lenses took pictures through her windows to capture Diana at any chance they could. She already looks so lonely and isolated here, and that would only get so much worse after she married Charles in July 1981. It's hard to watch.
Working Girl
Diana was just 19 when the press began following her in earnest, and her naiveté was very apparent at points. When Diana allowed a photographer to take her picture while she worked at a local kindergarten, the camera operator posed her in such a way that the sunlight would stream through her skirt and show off her legs. The paparazzi took advantage of her from the beginning.
Spotted With Camilla
Camilla Parker Bowles never really stopped being part of Charles' life — even when he started dating Diana. In fact, she was such a presence that there are even photos of the two women together. This was taken in fall of 1980 when they both attended one of Prince Charles' horse races. We can just feel the tension.
Shy Smile
It took Diana a long time to get used to having paparazzi around her all the time. In the early days, the best she would give them was a shy smile as she just tried to go about her daily activities. She was so young and totally thrown to the wolves. No other royal spouse-to-be had dealt with this level of instant fame.
Driving Herself
Before she had people to do everything for her as a princess, Diana was a regular person who just happened to be dating a prince. There are a lot of photos of her driving herself around in those early days, and she always looked a bit unsure of herself. Perhaps because she was afraid of hitting the surrounding photographers.
Car Troubles
On this occasion, her car stalled out in front of her apartment. Of course, the press was there to turn it into a newsworthy event. Diana looks both shocked and a little amused by the whole situation. She may have been waiting to marry a prince, but she wasn't immune to car troubles like the rest of us.
Already Over It
The press attention quickly wore on Diana, who's pictured here covering her face in late 1980. She hadn't even married Charles yet, and things were already out of control. Of course, they would get so much worse in the end. It's no wonder her son, Prince Harry, got so worried about Meghan Markle when he started noticing similarities in how she was treated by the media. He wanted to avoid his mother's fate for his wife.
Meeting Grace Kelly
By March 1981, Diana and Charles were officially engaged, and she began attending events with him in advance of joining the royal family. This was one of her first, where she got to meet Grace Kelly, the Princess of Monoco. Diana wore a pretty low-cut, strapless dress to this event, and she soon learned that photographers would take advantage of that and try to snap pictures of her cleavage. She then began carrying clutches to protect herself while getting in and out of cars.
Family Time
As Diana integrated into the royal family, she spent some time with the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret. Here they are pictured at a horse race in early 1981. Both of the older royal women seem to be regarding Diana with a little bit of concern, but the princess-to-be looks like she's having a grand time.
Spending Time With the Queen
Of course, the most important royal for Diana to impress was the Queen. She's pictured with the future bride and groom in Buckingham Palace. Let's all remember, Diana was literally 19 years old at this point. That had to have been so stressful as a teenager meeting the Queen who was also your soon-to-be mother-in-law.
Gaining Admirers
Even before she was officially a princess, Diana was gaining admirers left and right. She even got a flower from one of them while visiting a Cheltenham police headquarters during a royal engagement. This adoration people had for Diana would end up causing issues in her marriage to Charles, but the prince really should have seen it coming.
Talking to a Child
Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle, and Princess Diana all share an uncanny ability to relate to children. They all use the same tactic of getting low to be at the child's eye level. Diana likely learned this during her time as a nanny and kindergarten teacher. It totally endeared little ones to the princess.
Foreshadowing
Ah, the infamous black sheep sweater. It's funny that Diana wore this just a month before her wedding, as she would eventually end up the black sheep of the royal family. She bucked too many traditions, was too outspoken, and caused too much controversy for the royals' liking. But it made the public love her. Diana was real.
Puffy Dress
Oof. Diana's sense of style would drastically improve as she grew more confident. But in these early pre-royal days, she just sometimes really didn't know what she was doing. This puffy, ruffled, polka dot piece is so over-the-top — even for the '80s. Good thing she grew out of this sense of fashion.
Sporting Overalls
Something else Diana's pre-royal fashion highlighted was how young she was. She's 19 here, and she looks it. Pale yellow overalls are just never really a grown-up clothing choice. The Crown made the excellent decision to put Diana in this outfit during a meeting with Charles — that way the audience could see how large the age difference between them really was. Charles was 32 when they married, and Diana was just 20.
Trooping the Colour
At her first official Trooping the Colour in 1981, Diana rode in with Charles' brother, Prince Andrew. She would eventually wind up in many carriages during her lifetime as a royal, but it must have felt pretty strange at first to literally be paraded around. This photo was captured a month before Diana and Charles tied the knot.
Wedding Rehearsal
Judging by how these supposed lovebirds look leaving their wedding rehearsal we would — um — suggest they maybe don't get married? There were so many warning signs ahead of their July wedding date that this thing wouldn't work out, but they were in too deep to escape. And so their fate was sealed.
