In modern royal family history, no other member has made as much of an impact as Princess Diana. She continues to inspire royal watchers of all ages, from those who recall her entry into the royal family or those who learned of her impact from history books. In honor of the 27th anniversary of her death, here are three of Princess Diana’s most unforgettable royal moments.
Princess Diana’s church entrance on her wedding day
Princess Diana enters St. Paul’s Cathedral on her July 1981 wedding day | Bettmann/Getty Images
Royal weddings are spectacles. Filled with pomp, circumstance, pageantry, and grace, the royal family knows how to put on a tremendous show when one of its members ties the knot.
When then-Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in July 1981, the anticipation leading up to their big day was palatable worldwide. What type of dress would she wear? What would the day be like? Would it be like the storybook romance they envisioned?
Diana delivered on the day she became the Princess of Wales by entering St. Paul’s Cathedral. Her exit from the royal carriage, accompanied by her father, John, the 8th Earl Spencer, was a showstopping moment.
Then, the world saw the enormous silk taffeta, antique lace, tulle crinoline, and netting that set a style standard for brides after that. The dress featured puff sleeves, a 25-foot train, and 10,000 mother-of-pearl sequins and pearls.
Elizabeth and David Emanuel designed Diana’s dress with a 25-foot train and a 153-yard tulle veil topped by a diamond-encrusted Spencer family tiara. Diana made history just by walking into the church to marry Charles.
Dancing with John Travolta at a White House dinner
Princess Diana and Prince Charles attended an intimate White House dinner during their first joint visit to the United States, reported The Reagan Library. It states the event “was on an intimate scale with only 80 guests, most selected by the Reagans with a few suggestions by the Prince and Princess of Wales. The star-studded guest list included Neil Diamond, Clint Eastwood, Tom Selleck, and Rear Admiral Alan B. Shepard.”
The 1985 dinner celebrated Charles and Diana as patrons of the exhibit “The Treasure Houses of Britain: Five Hundred Years of Private Patronage and Art Collecting” housed at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
A dance between Diana and John Travolta created an iconic moment in pop culture history. The actor later reflected on the dance, calling it a “storybook moment” to Inside Edition.
“Nancy Reagan tapped on my shoulder and said the princess, her fantasy is to dance with you,” Travolta reflected. “‘Would you dance with her tonight?’ And I said, ‘of course.’”
“My heart started to race, and I tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and looked at me with a bashful dip that she did, and I said, ‘Would you care to dance with me?’ and she said, ‘Yes.’” Diana and Travolta subsequently danced to a medley of songs from some of Travolta’s most iconic movies, including Saturday Night Fever and Grease.
Princess Diana held hands with AIDS patients when little was known about how the disease spread
Princess Diana shakes hands with an AIDS patient in 1991 | Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
The Princess of Wales was a humanitarian at heart. Princess Diana worked tirelessly to promote causes that she felt needed a spotlight, which perhaps other royal family members would not have lent their names to.
She caused a sensation in April 1987 at the height of the AIDS epidemic when Diana opened the UK’s first HIV/AIDs unit at London Middlesex Hospital. With one kind gesture, Diana showed that AIDS patients needed touch instead of fear surrounding their disease.
At the time, popular belief was that one could catch the virus simply by shaking hands with a person who had AIDS. Diana shook hands with patients without gloves, proving there was nothing to fear by showing compassion toward those with the disease.
The Terrence Higgins Trust reported that Diana’s determination to spotlight the disease helped destigmatize these patients and their families. The trust’s chief executive, Ian Green, shared his thoughts on Diana’s work for the cause.
Green wrote, “While visiting the unit, she famously noted, ‘HIV does not make people dangerous to know. You can shake their hands and give them a hug. Heaven knows they need it. What’s more, you can share their homes, their workplaces, and their playgrounds and toys.’”
He continued, “For people living with HIV, her comments marked the start of her monumental efforts to see them treated with dignity, respect, and compassion. And, through her actions, she showed everyone else that HIV can’t be passed through day-to-day contact.”
Princess Diana died on Aug. 31, 1997, in a car crash in Paris, France. She was 36.
