Princess Diana's Life In Photos: Famous Pictures Of The Royal

Twenty-five years after her tragic death, Diana, Princess of Wales, remains a topic of public fascination.

The late royal died on August 31, 1997, following a car accident in Paris, France. Though her untimely death prompted reports, speculation, documentaries, and books, it was the life of the late royal that truly captivated the public.

Throughout her life as a face of the British royal family, Diana enthralled the world with her sense of style, personal relationships and her public efforts and charitable work. Given her status as the People's Princess, a figure of adoration, the world reeled at the news of her sudden death, and continues to mourn her loss to this day.

On the 25th anniversary of Diana's death, take a look at some of her life's defining photos.

A young Diana

Before she became engaged to Princes Charles, Prince of Wales, she was Lady Diana Spencer. Diana was born into the aristocratic Spencer family and, upon her birth, became The Honourable Diana Frances Spencer. She became Lady Diana Spencer in 1975 at the age of 14 after her father inherited the title Earl Spencer.

Diana, a princess in the making

In the late 1970s, before her marriage to Prince Charles, Diana worked as a kindergarten assistant at the Young England School. Here she is pictured in September 1980, a little over four months before she became engaged to Prince Charles in February 1981.

On a royal path

Four months after the announcement of their engagement, Diana posed alongside her fiancé at Craigowen Lodge, located in the Scottish countryside near the royal family's Balmoral estate. For the photo op, Diana wore a pink alpaca jumper purchased from a London shop called Inca, The Peruvian Shop.

On the cusp of princess-dom

A few months shy of her wedding to Prince Charles in July 1981, a lineup of Diana look alikes met with the Prince of Wales. The above picture is a snapshot of the rising sensation Diana had become and only peek into what public obsession with her would become.

Diana, Princess of Wales

Upon her marriage to the prince, 19-year-old Diana gained a new title: the Princess of Wales.

On July 29, 1981, Diana rode to St. Paul’s Cathedral in a carriage. The bride wore an extravagant ivory silk gown designed by husband-and-wife team David and Elizabeth Emanuel so famous it has its own Wikipedia page. The dress had a train that measured 25 feet, large puff sleeves, antique lace and 10,000 pearls.

To top it all off she wore a Spencer family heirloom, the Spencer tiara.

A mother in the making

On June 22, 1982, one day after giving birth, Diana appeared alongside Charles and their newborn son Prince William – whose full name is William Arthur Philip Louis — for the first time in public. Together the family left the Lindo Wing St. Mary’s Hospital.

Lady in pink

Nearly two years into her marriage, Diana wore a pink dress designed by Victor Edelstein for a state reception in Brisbane, Australia. The photo of her in the Edelstein dress was captured during her April 1983 tour of Australia, in which her documented penchant for the color pink was on full display.

Prince Harry makes his debut

Two years after the birth of her first child, Diana gave birth to Prince Harry — whose full name is Henry Charles Albert David — on Sept. 15, 1984. Like his older brother, Harry was born at St. Mary’s Hospital.

Twirling with Travolta

During an official dinner at the White House on Nov. 9, 1985, Diana famously tore up the dance floor with “Saturday Night Fever” actor John Travolta in Cross Hall. The off-the-shoulder midnight blue gown by Victor Edelstein has since been called the “Travolta dress.”

A look at her playful sense of humor

In June 1991, Diana and her son Prince William enjoyed a laugh over snacks and drinks at Windsor Great Park.

During a service on the 10th anniversary of Diana’s death in 2007, Buckingham Palace, Harry spoke about what his mother meant to him and his brother. "She will always be remembered for her amazing public work, but behind the media glare, to us, just two loving children, she was quite simply the best mother in the world," he said.

Diana at the races

In June 1991, Diana participated in field day activities at Wetherby School, where her son Harry was a student. The fashionable royal showed off her competitive streak by slipping out of her shoes to run barefoot in a race against other school moms. She didn't win, but she came close.

Shepherding her sons through royal duties

The princess carried out official royal duties in an appearance alongside her sons Prince William and Prince Harry at the Heads of State VE Remembrance Service in London, England. This photograph was taken in Hyde Park on May 7, 1995, a year before she and Charles officially divorced.

Princess Diana's walk on minefields to raise awareness

In January 1997,  Diana actively campaigned for the end of landmine use. Her walk across a minefield in Angola raised awareness for the issue.

Diana a modern-day 90s icon, spends time with another 90s hit

Diana met Mother Teresa during a visit to a hospital in the Bronx, New York, in 1997. At the time, Diana was in the United States to take part in a charity auction of 79 of her dresses. According to Associated Press, Diana changed her schedule to meet with the nun.

Mother Teresa died several months after the above photo was taken on Sept. 5, just days after Diana’s death on Aug. 31. of the same year.

Before tragedy struck, Diana rang in her birthday and soaked in the sun with her sons

A little over a month before her death, Diana celebrated her 36th birthday on July 1, 1997. She carried out her last official engagement on July 21 with a visit to the children’s accident and emergency unit of Northwick Park Hospital in London.

That month, the royal also holidayed throughout the Mediterranean. The photograph above shows Diana with her son Harry while riding a jet ski on the beaches of Saint-Tropez one month before her death.

Diana leaves Westminster Abbey for the last time

On August 31, 1997, Diana’s untimely death at 36 shocked the world. The mother of two was involved in a high-speed accident that occurred Place de l’Alma underpass in the early morning hours of Aug. 31, 1997.

Seven days later, on Sept. 6, the late princess was carried in a casket from Kensington Palace to Westminster Abbey. A floral arrangement of white flowers adorned her coffin with a tribute from her sons that read “Mummy.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com