Princess diana's legacy and love of children

* Tim Graham/Getty Images THE PEOPLE'S PRINCESS En español | If Princess Diana hadn't died in a high-speed car crash in a Paris tunnel on Aug. 31, 1997, she would be a first-time

grandmother — at only 52 years old — thanks to the July 22 arrival of William and Kate's baby boy. Diana would have reveled in the role. 1 of 20 * Tim Graham/Getty Images ICONIC INTRO

Lady Diana Spencer was a 19-year-old kindergarten aide when she was introduced to the world in 1980 as Prince Charles's fiancée. Diana had a special rapport with children — her own and

those she met while doing her royal work. 2 of 20 * Terry Fincher/Getty Images A DOWN-TO-EARTH ROYAL Because she was so comfortable with little ones, Diana sought them out as she learned to

handle royal engagements. During an outing with fiancé Prince Charles in March 1981, she crouched to meet a young girl at eye level, as she would often do with children. 3 of 20 *

Lichfield/Getty Images HERE COMES THE BRIDE Some 750 million watching on TV waited for Diana to walk down the aisle of St. Paul's Cathedral to meet her prince, but the bride (with

soon-to-be mother-in-law Queen Elizabeth) was wrangling her young bridesmaids, including Clementine Hambro, 5, Winston Churchill's great-granddaughter. 4 of 20 * Georges DeKeerle/Getty

Image MOTHER-TO-BE It was no surprise that Diana was expecting soon after her wedding, nor that she continued making appearances during her pregnancy. (She's greeting children at a

London community center in May 1982.) The unexpected? British tabloids were already hinting at her marital unhappiness. 5 of 20 * John Manning/Times Newspapers/Newscom CHILD'S PLAY

Diana was affiliated with many charities, but the causes she kept close all her life were those that had to do with children. A windswept princess had some fun with youngsters at the new

Charlie Chaplin Adventure Playground for handicapped youth in South London in September 1982. 6 of 20 * Tim Graham/Getty Images YOUNG MUM The royal couple posed with Prince William (born in

June 1982) for a family portrait in early 1983. (Prince Harry arrived in September 1984.) The boys called Queen Elizabeth "Granny," and their children would have called Diana by

the same name. It's an upper-crust British appellation. 7 of 20 * David Levenson/Getty Images CHARITY AT HOME Visiting the head office of Barnardo's in 1985, Diana was just

beginning her long commitment to the British charity that helps children in need. As president of the organization for 12 years, from 1984 to 1996, she attended more than 110 events to

support its efforts. 8 of 20 * Tim Graham/Getty Images HANDS-ON MUM Holding a mischievous Prince Harry, then 3, Diana stood with Prince William, Lady Gabriella Windsor and Lady Rose Windsor

to watch a 1988 procession of the British and Commonwealth armies from a Buckingham Palace balcony. 9 of 20 * Tim Graham/Getty Images FAMILY HOLIDAY Always an active and in-the-trenches mom,

Diana played in the sand with her sons (ages 5 and 7) and nephews during a 1990 visit to the British Virgin Islands estate of business magnate Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Airlines.

10 of 20 * Tim Graham/Getty Images REAL-WORLD PRINCESS The British tabloids were focused on her marital troubles, but in the U.S., _People_ magazine marveled that Diana, who greeted young

admirers in Derbyshire in June 1990, was "forging an emotional connection with her countrymen that few other Windsors have achieved." 11 of 20 * Tim Graham/Getty Images KEEPING HER

COMMITMENTS In the spring of 1991, as rumors swirled that the Prince and Princess of Wales' marriage was over, Diana kept at her royal duties, traveling to Brazil, where she exhibited

her famous ease and unself-conscious physical contact with children — many of them living with disability or disease. 12 of 20 * Jayne Fincher/Getty Images BITTERSWEET TIMES While her

marriage was disintegrating publicly — Charles confessed to adultery; Diana's affair with a cavalry officer was acknowledged — she continued her royal work, greeting a little girl at

the opening of an English foundation for the disabled in 1995. 13 of 20 * Alamy COMING INTO HER OWN Divorced from Charles in 1996, Diana found  meaningful work with the Red Cross. In 1997,

on a visit to Pakistan, she held a child in her lap. That summer she vacationed with William and Harry at the St. Tropez villa of Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed and began a romance with his

son, Dodi. 14 of 20 * Ian Jones/Zuma Press/Newscom THE PERSONAL TOUCH Helping land mine victims, such as this child amputee in Angola in 1997, was a cause close to Diana's heart. The

princes have taken up their mom's youth-focused charity. William supports programs for homeless young people; Harry cofounded an organization for children in Lesotho. 15 of 20 * Dave

Chancellor/Zuma Press/Newscom HER FINAL DAYS Diana visited land mine victims in Bosnia just two weeks before her death, at age 36. On Sept. 6, 1997, mourners lined London's streets for

her funeral. On the 10th anniversary of the tragedy, Harry said, "To us, just two loving children, she was quite simply the best mother in the world." 16 of 20 * Max

Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images HER LEGACY Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge — aka Prince William's wife, the former Kate Middleton — has showed the same gentle ease Diana had with young

people. Here, the 31-year-old princess goes about her engagements while awaiting the birth of her own royal baby. 17 of 20 * Lefteris Pitarakis/AP Images THE PROUD PARENTS William and Kate

welcomed their first child on July 22, 2013. The 8-pound, 6-ounce baby boy is third in line to the throne, after his grandfather, Prince Charles, and dad William. The couple introduced the

newborn to the public on July 23 and revealed his name as George Alexander Louis on July 24. 18 of 20 * Bettmann/Corbis MORE DIANA, MORE SLIDESHOWS See more photos of Princess Diana

(including her 21st birthday portrait at left): REMEMBERING DIANA. 19 of 20 * MORE ENTERTAINMENT SLIDESHOWS * 21 MUST-READ NOVELS * 2015 TECHNOLOGY GEAR GUIDE * VOLUNTEER WITH AARP

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