Inspiring Ways Princess Diana Changed The World (2024)

Delilah Gray

·3 min read

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No discussion of Princess Diana would be complete without talking about how she truly changed the world for the better during her all-too-short life. While people mention the tragedies in her life and her iconic fashion that inspires thousands to this day, almost everyone talks way she was truly the “People’s Princess” when it came to her humanitarian efforts.

In Diana: In Her Own Words, she was quoted saying, “I remember saying to myself, ‘Right, Diana. It’s not good. You’ve got to change it right round, with this publicity . . . . You’ve been chosen to this position, so you must adapt to it and stop fighting it.’ And I knew I could do it, if I chose a different angle.”

She said this after she decided she wanted to use her platform for good, and soon after, she did one of the most legendary acts in her time as a royal: shaking hands with a patient diagnosed with AIDS.

After that, she was on a mission: to change the world and show love to those who needed it most. She truly changed the world in so many ways, and today, we want to take a walk down memory lane.

Check out the most inspiring ways the late Princess of Wales changed the world for the better below:

A version of this article was originally published in Aug 2023.

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She Fought for the Worldwide Ban ofLandmines

Inspiring Ways Princess Diana Changed The World (1)

One of Princess Diana’s most iconic causes, and one of the most inspiring ways she changed the world was her ardent work on banning landmines. Throughout the last years of her life, she put the spotlight on Angola and its landmines, along with the people heavily affected by it, and today, people still focus on banning the landmines!

She Shook Hands With & Worked Raising Awareness for AIDSPatients

Princess Diana did a revolutionary act by shaking hands with someone who had AIDS, something unheard of when the crisis was at its peak. At the time, there was so much misinformation that people thought that if you even touched someone with AIDS, you’d get it. Diana decided to dedicate a lot of her time to raising both awareness and educational matters for the cause.

She Raised Awareness for Those Affected byLeprosy

Inspiring Ways Princess Diana Changed The World (3)

Not only was Princess Diana the Patron of The Leprosy Mission England and Wales, but during her trip to Angola, she raised awareness for leprosy like she did with the HIV/AIDS crisis. During her time there, she sat with the leprosy patients in the hospital, and touched their wounds to raise awareness.

She Talked Openly About MentalHealth

Inspiring Ways Princess Diana Changed The World (4)

While many know her iconic interview with the BBC, where she openly talked about her marriage troubles and mental health, but mental health was extremely important to her. She was a patron of multiple charities that focused on it, along with speaking at Turning Point’s conference in June of 1993 about women’s mental health, per Healthline.

Her Patronage for Centrepoint WasGame-Changing

Inspiring Ways Princess Diana Changed The World (5)

One of the biggest causes that was near and dear to Princess Diana was helping those affected by homelessness, and thus, she became a Patron of Centrepoint. In 1992, she became a patron of Centrepoint to help young people obtain a brighter future. The spotlight put on poverty and homelessness truly changed the world.

She Made Many Visits to HomelessCenters

Inspiring Ways Princess Diana Changed The World (6)

Going off of that, she would make frequent personal visits to homeless centers around the UK to bring further awareness and give the children company.

She Worked Tirelessly With CancerTrusts

Inspiring Ways Princess Diana Changed The World (7)

When Princess Diana became the president of the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation hospital in 1989, she opened the Wolfson Children’s Cancer Unit and even raised over £1 million for cancer research, per Historic Newspapers.

Inspiring Ways Princess Diana Changed The World (2024)

FAQs

Inspiring Ways Princess Diana Changed The World? ›

Not only was Princess Diana the Patron of The Leprosy Mission England and Wales, but during her trip to Angola, she raised awareness for leprosy like she did with the HIV/AIDS crisis. During her time there, she sat with the leprosy patients in the hospital, and touched their wounds to raise awareness.

What did the world learn from Princess Diana? ›

So when Princess Diana visited AIDS patients, sat on their hospital beds and shook their bare hands, her actions changed people's perceptions about how the disease could spread. It told the world that AIDS was not to be feared and people with the virus are in desperate need of understanding and care.

Why was Princess Diana an effective leader? ›

She was known for her empathy and compassion towards people from all walks of life, and her ability to use her position of privilege to advocate for those in need.

How is Princess Diana a tragic hero? ›

Through her struggles, Diana demonstrated the qualities of a tragic hero, a figure who rises to greatness but ultimately suffers a downfall. One of the key reasons Diana is considered a tragic hero is because of her rise to fame and fortune. Born in 1961, Diana was the fourth of five children of an aristocratic family.

What are some important events in Princess Diana's life? ›

10 key dates in Princess Diana's life
  • – July 1, 1961: Diana Frances Spencer is born in Sandringham in the east of England.
  • – July 29, 1981: Marries heir to the British throne Prince Charles.
  • – June 21, 1982: Gives birth to William, second-in-line to the throne.
  • – September 15, 1984: Her second son, Harry, is born.
Aug 18, 2017

How is Princess Diana inspirational? ›

Part of her charm was due to the fact that she genuinely cared for those around her; she was a committed philanthropist who gave herself wholeheartedly to the many causes she held close to her heart. Diana, Princess of Wales was also a trailblazer, unwilling to be held back by convention or tradition.

How did Princess Diana influence fashion? ›

Princess Diana was known for her unique sense of style as a royal. However, after her divorce from Prince Charles, Diana went through a style renaissance exploring more provocative silhouettes since she now had the autonomy to do so, which solidified her as a fashion icon.

How did Princess Diana change the world? ›

Not only was Princess Diana the Patron of The Leprosy Mission England and Wales, but during her trip to Angola, she raised awareness for leprosy like she did with the HIV/AIDS crisis. During her time there, she sat with the leprosy patients in the hospital, and touched their wounds to raise awareness.

Why was Princess Diana so influential? ›

Princess Diana is known for her breakthrough work with HIV awareness. Princess Diana's life was full of charity work. Still, her most important work may have been her championing of gay rights and the destigmatization of HIV/AIDs. Princess Diana opened the first HIV/AIDs unit in the UK at London's Middlesex Hospital.

What did Princess Diana do as a hero? ›

Throughout her life, Diana was a devoted mother to her sons, William and Harry, and a lifelong advocate for children, AIDS-related causes, and victims of landmines. Hailed as the “people's princess,” she is also credited with helping to modernize the monarchy.

What did Princess Diana do as an activist? ›

Princess Diana's humanitarian work played a significant role in raising awareness and addressing issues related to poverty. Through her charitable work and public advocacy, she actively engaged with organizations focused on alleviating poverty and providing support to vulnerable populations.

What does Diana suffer from? ›

The authors Tina Brown, Sally Bedell Smith, and Sarah Bradford support Diana's admission in the interview that she had suffered from depression, bulimia and had engaged numerous times in the act of self-harm; the show's transcript records Diana confirming many of her mental health problems.

Why was Princess Diana selfless? ›

Princess Diana was selfless because she was thought to have risked her life while showing love and compassion towards the ill. Her strong and selfless personality did not allow public discrimination about her actions discriminate Diana. Diana would love each person as though they had no disease.

What can we learn from Princess Diana? ›

“Family is the most important thing in the world.” “Carry out a random act of kindness with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.”

What were Diana's accomplishments? ›

Her architectural achievements, which were noted for their emphasis on sustainability, include designs for the Langston Hughes Library (1999), a converted barn in Clinton, Tennessee; the Museum of Chinese in America (2009) in New York City; and the Neilson Library (2021) at Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts.

What made Diana the People's princess? ›

Diana's unconditional determination, empathy, and humbleness garnered her lasting support globally and inevitably assigned her the title “the people's princess.” However, the actual term was coined by the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, and used by him to pay tribute to Diana following her ...

What did Princess Diana do to change the world? ›

Not only was Princess Diana the Patron of The Leprosy Mission England and Wales, but during her trip to Angola, she raised awareness for leprosy like she did with the HIV/AIDS crisis. During her time there, she sat with the leprosy patients in the hospital, and touched their wounds to raise awareness.

What were the goals of Princess Diana? ›

Diana was a pioneer in charity work focused on ending the use of landmines around the world. A few months after Diana's death, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, in part for the work that Diana did to end this inhumane use of these weapons.

Why didn't the royal family like Diana? ›

Tensions emerged between Diana and the royal family, including the queen, when their marriage hit romantic and then tabloid troubles. The relationship worsened as Diana suffered from bulimia.

Why was Diana the people's princess? ›

Diana's unconditional determination, empathy, and humbleness garnered her lasting support globally and inevitably assigned her the title “the people's princess.” However, the actual term was coined by the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, and used by him to pay tribute to Diana following her ...

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