3 Lessons We Can Learn from Princess Di

August 31 will mark the 19^th anniversary of the death of internationally beloved Princess Diana of Wales, known by many as Princess Di. Despite the years that have passed since her untimely death in 1997, and how dramatically our lives have changed in that relatively short period of time, there are several lessons that we can learn from the life of Princess Di.

1. Fame and fortune can change you

When two famous people try to maintain a romantic relationship, it’s easy for it to become a fight for the limelight or attention of the public eye. This was one of the immense pressures placed on the relationship between Diana and Prince Charles – instead of working as a team and mutually supporting one another, they brought out the worst in each other in the fight for the public spotlight.

2. Marriage as an institution has changed

In the Western world, anyway, the last vestiges of the royal tradition of making marriages based on politics appear to have died along with Lady Di. When her marriage with Charles fell apart and ended in divorce, it became clear that in our day and age, a marriage has a very low likelihood of working if there isn’t mutual love and respect in the relationship.

3. The weakness of the crown

The divorce of Di and Charles left many in the royal family bracing for the worst. You know what Shakespeare said about a woman scorned, and this particular woman suddenly held a great deal of influence in the media and elsewhere. Ex-wife of a future King of England, mother to an heir to the throne, rich, famous and popular with the media across the globe. We won’t get into any of the conspiracy theories surrounding her death in a car accident, but the time period between her divorce and death revealed just how vulnerable the British crown really is.