r/RoyalConsorts

It’s hard to believe that Diana would have been 65 today. A day like this always brings up so many emotions, not just because of the incredible legacy she left behind, but because of the remarkable person she was.

Diana was never perfect, and she never pretended to be. In an institution that often expected its members to appear almost untouchable, she remained beautifully, unapologetically human. That humanity is what made millions of people around the world fall in love with her. She showed us that kindness, empathy, and vulnerability were not weaknesses, they were strengths.

She used her platform in ways that changed lives. Whether she was helping break the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS by simply holding a patient’s hand, walking through active minefields to support the campaign against landmines, comforting sick children in hospitals, embracing those society often overlooked, or speaking openly about her own struggles with bulimia, depression, and the immense pressures she faced, Diana was years ahead of her time. She made people feel seen, valued, and understood. Even today, her compassion continues to inspire generations.

Her life was filled with extraordinary highs, but also unimaginable heartbreak. She endured public scrutiny, loneliness, and personal pain that no one should have to experience under such an intense spotlight. Yet she never stopped caring for others. Time and time again, she chose compassion over bitterness.

Above all else, she loved William and Harry with every part of her heart. She wanted them to experience as much of the real world as possible and to grow up understanding the lives of ordinary people. No matter what has happened over the years or where life has taken them, they were two young boys who lost their mother far too soon. My heart always goes out to them on this day. Birthdays often carry a different kind of grief, one filled with thoughts of what could have been and the milestones that should have been celebrated together.

I also want to mention The Crown. I know it’s a series that sparks a wide range of opinions, and I completely understand why. But for me, it became the beginning of a much deeper journey. It introduced me to Diana, not simply as a global icon, but as a person. It inspired me to read biographies, watch documentaries, and learn about the real history beyond the dramatization. Emma Corrin beautifully captured Diana’s youthful innocence and vulnerability, while Elizabeth Debicki delivered what is, in my opinion, one of the most moving and authentic portrayals of Diana ever put on screen. Their performances helped introduce a new generation to her story, encouraging many of us to discover the remarkable woman behind the headlines.

Nearly three decades after her passing, Diana’s influence has never faded. Her kindness still echoes through the countless lives she touched, her humanitarian work continues to be remembered, and her legacy remains one of compassion, courage, and love. She wasn’t remembered because she was a princess, she was remembered because she made people feel like they mattered.

So today, on what would have been your 65th birthday, I simply want to say:

Happy 65th Birthday, Diana.

Thank you for showing the world that compassion can change lives. Thank you for your courage, your warmth, your empathy, and your willingness to be vulnerable when so many expected perfection. You will always be remembered, always be admired, and always be deeply missed.

“Anywhere I see suffering, that is where I want to be, doing what I can.”

Happy Birthday, People’s Princess. ❤️🪽

If you love Princess Diana and want to celebrate her, join PrincessDianaForever: \[https://www.reddit.com/r/PrincessDianaForever/s/GnzxIUj578\](https://www.reddit.com/r/PrincessDianaForever/s/GnzxIUj578)

It’s not known where exactly in Westminster Abbey Anne is buried, but the Richard III Society had this marker placed there to remember. Anne. As you can see, it’s a bit worn and probably needs some restoration.

My favourite consort! 🇵🇹

Even the chroniclers and historians who despise Edward II admit that he loved his children and wanted the best for them. This included his young daughters, Eleanor and Joan, whom he planned to make Spanish queens.

Edward was so often caught up in the morass that was Scotland and France, it's easy to forget that he was half-Spanish through his mother - the only other half Spanish English monarch other than Mary I.

Anyway, the best way a Medieval monarch could provide for his daughter was to make her a queen. However, when Edward fell, his little daughters went from being the daughters of a king to the sisters of a king and the daughters of a disgraced former king. While still royal, their status had changed in a world where status meant everything.

Edward betrothed Eleanor to Alfonso XI of Castile, but after his downfall, she was married off at fourteen to Count Reinald II of Gelderland. They had two sons, though it wasn't a particularly happy marriage and legends swirl of marital conflict. Also, the two sons engaged in a bitter feud/civil war and neither produced a son, so the kingdom eventually went to a different relative. After she was widowed, Eleanor apparently lived in poverty and was too proud to ask her brother, Edward III, for help. She predeceased her mother Isabella, dying at 36.

And to be completely fair, Alfonso of XI was a crap husband to his eventual wife, Maria, and that couple produced a son known as Pedro the Cruel. So Eleanor may not have been better much off, but there was still more wealth and prestige there than in Gelderland.

Edward II planned to marry his little daughter Joan of the Tower to Pedro of Aragon, who was not a crap husband and ruled over a splendid kingdom. Instead, Joan married David of Scotland, son of her father's enemy Robert the Bruce. The pair were married as children, but as they grew up, they developed an aversion to one another. He had a mistress that he flaunted, and she clearly preferred being in England to Scotland. Worse, his reign was such a spectacular failure that he makes her father look like a political and military genius.

They spent some time exiled with her French relatives, before her brother captured him and clapped him in the Tower. She eventually went to live with her mother, with whom she was very close. She never had any children with David and died shortly after her mother.

Isabella of France could not have wanted this for her daughters, and one wonders if she ever felt any guilt as she watched both their lives implode. It speaks to the theory that she never wanted to depose her husband but things just got out of hand, because she knew how things worked and what their father's deposition would mean for her girls.

Sources:

Kathryn Warner's blog.

Phillips, J. R. S. Edward II. Yale University Press, 2011. 

Image: Joan and David go to France, from Froissart.