Princess Diana's Legacy, 29 Years After Her Death

Princess Diana's wedding to Prince Charles was watched by 750 million people, but the fairy tale quickly gave way to turmoil inside the marriage.

Charles was 32 and Diana was 20 when they married on July 29, 1981. They had first met four years earlier, when Charles was seeing Diana's older sister Sarah. He became seriously interested in Diana in 1980 after watching her at a polo match. Their engagement was officially announced on Feb. 24, 1981, although Diana had accepted his proposal several weeks earlier.

Diana, the fourth child and third daughter of Frances Roche and John Spencer, came from an aristocratic family and appeared to fit the expectations surrounding the heir's bride. Charles faced pressure from his parents to settle down and from a British public eager for a fairy tale. Before meeting Diana, royal family experts say, he had more than 20 relationships between 1967 and 1980.

His earlier relationships included Lucia Santa Cruz, the daughter of Chile's ambassador in London. She shared Diana's blonde hair, aristocratic background and schooling in Switzerland. Charles's biographer Sally Bedell Smith described Santa Cruz as his first true love. According to Johnatan Dimbleby's authorized biography, Santa Cruz introduced Charles to Camilla Shand, later known as Camilla Parker Bowles and now Charles's wife.

Charles resumed his relationship with Camilla after marrying Diana. Diana referred to the situation in a landmark television interview, saying, “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.” The marriage became a disappointment, and Charles later told his official biographer that he realized during their honeymoon on the yacht Britannia that Diana suffered from bulimia. Diana died tragically on Aug. 31, 1997, after becoming known as the queen of people's hearts and a figure who changed the monarchy forever.

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There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.