Princess Diana was adored the world over for her kindness and humanitarian work, and today, even after 20 years since her death in a car accident in 1997, her legacy still lives on. After her marriage to Prince Charles, Diana received both unprecedented praise and criticism from the public because of her royal status as well as her tumultuous private life.

The level at which Diana was outspoken about mental health was not only a-typical of British royal society but also highly influenced and inspired the British public on a heartfelt level. Many royal fans still admire Diana today for her candid and honest nature, and her openness about her struggles left an enormous impact on the British Royal Family and British society.

The Princess of Wales was universally loved by not only the British public but by people the world over. Born on July 1, 1961, Diana was the fourth of five children. Unfortunately, her life was taken too soon as she passed away from a car crash at the young age of 36. Throughout her life and royal service, she used her influence to enact good, spending much of her time campaigning for humanitarian causes that improved the lives of others. She sat with people who were ill, helping to break the stigma of then-new diseases HIV and AIDS. These are the reasons she became known as the “People’s Princess,” — she was a shining beacon of light in the royal family.

While loved by most, Diana’s life was not perfect. From royal drama to family drama, Diana and her mother, Frances Shand Kydd, were known to have a rocky relationship.

In an interview with The Times in September 2020, Charles Spencer opened up about his difficult childhood and what it was like growing up with Diana. Charles shared:

“Diana and I had two older sisters who were away at school, so she and I were very much in it together and I did talk to her about it. Our father was a quiet and constant source of love, but our mother wasn’t cut out for maternity. Not her fault, she couldn’t do it. She was in love with someone else — infatuated, really. While she was packing her stuff to leave, she promised Diana (then aged five) she’d come back to see her. Diana used to wait on the doorstep for her, but she never came.”

The beginning of this relationship between mother and daughter would set the stage for a lifetime’s worth of mother-daughter drama. With Diana eventually stepping onto center stage, the relationship would continue to worsen over the years.

Diana’s butler, Paul Burrell, one of her closest allies during her time in the royal family—has come forward since Diana’s tragic death in 1997.

In an interview with Mirror Burrell said,

“She waved me over with her hand. I joined her on the floor cross-legged and stuck close beside her. I leant my ear as near to the phone as possible and listened to the conversation – albeit one-way.” He went on to add, “It was the slurring voice of Mrs. Frances Shand Kydd. What I heard was a torrent of abuse, swearing, and upsetting innuendo towards the Princess and towards the male company, she was keeping.”

After Diana and Charles divorced in 1996, eventually the Princess moved on. This was another hiccup in the mother-daughter relationship.

Burrell also told the Mirror that conversations between Diana and her mother were less than ideal, “It was a hate-filled personal attack on the men and their religious beliefs.”

While in court the butler was forced to open up and said “She said that she was messing around with ‘effing Muslim men’ and she was disgraceful and said some very nasty things.”

After this phone call, he said Diana vowed to never speak to her mom again. “How prophetic and sad those words were – because she didn’t. It is something her mother will have to live with for the rest of her life,” Burrell said.

Her mother eventually passed away in June of 2004. This wasn’t the only rocky relationship that Diana had with her family.

Her older sister, Sarah, and her weren’t on great terms either. Sarah dated Prince Charles first, there was some tension between the sisters after Diana started up a romance with the royal. At least that is how Diana felt her sister responded. Diana said that Sarah “resented it terribly because (she) accepted to go out with Prince Charles.”

However, the tension between the sisters did not last and Sarah became quite close with Diana during her time as a member of the royal family.

After Diana passed away, Sarah along with the entire world mourned the loss. “I think I felt shock, but I don’t think I felt anything else. Just love and shock,” she recalled. “She was religious in putting on her seatbelt. Why didn’t she put it on that night? I’ll never know.”

Do you think if Princess Diana wouldn’t of married Prince Charles her family relationships would have been different? If you are a fan of the royal family— send this to others who are too!