Transcript My Hero and Me: Princess Diana

My Hero and Me:
Princess Diana
By: Lauren Teitel
A Quick Timeline
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BORN July 1, 1961, in Sandringham, England
1981 Marries Charles
1982 Prince William born
1984 Prince Harry born
1992 Diana and Charles announce their separation
1993 Diana reveals her plan to withdraw from public
life
• 1995 Diana discusses her marriage on TV
• 1996 The divorce is finalized
• DIED Aug. 31, 1997, after a car crash in Paris
A Real Heroine
• Some say that Princess
Diana lived a fairy tale.
But upon examining her
life events and obstacles,
one can see that Diana
was not only a real
heroine, but also, a real
person. Princess Diana
was a very human heroine
in a sense. She personifies
how a woman should
strive to be.
Diana, Princess of Wales receives a bouquet of flowers from
a young patient, during her visit to Northwick Park
Hospital, London, 1997
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Princess Diana was best known for
her charitable work. She dedicated a
lot of time to the homeless, the
disabled, people with HIV/AIDS, and
especially children. One of the
reasons that Princess Diana’s charity
work is so special is because she truly
believed in participating in helping,
not just giving money. The Princess
fought for so many different causes
that one can really tell how much she
cared for humanity in general and
how she sincerely wanted to end
suffering wherever it occurred.
Princess Diana even said, “I
understand people's suffering,
people's pain, more than you will
every know yourself…”
The Princess of Wales visited Angola in January
1997 to see the work of the Red Cross in helping
mine victims. Here she wears protective headgear on
a visit to a minefield
• The year before she died,
Princess Diana campaigned for
a ban on the manufacture and
use of landmines. The
Princess’s will to help these
landmine workers demonstrates
how directly connected she was
to the people. She cared about
them enough to make sure she
was involved enough to
personally protest what she
thought to be wrong. Time
magazine writes, “First she
became the patron saint of
victims, the sick, the
discriminated against, the
homeless”
“Everyone needs to be valued. Everyone has
the potential to give something back....”
Princess Diana
• Heroines are allowed to make
mistakes too. Diana’s
adulterous marriage brought her
down to the level of any other
ordinary person. The Princess
admitted to having her bouts
with depression, self-mutilation,
and bulimia. This allows the
public, especially women to
empathize with the way she was
feeling. Diana’s demonstration
of how to overcome an obstacle
and the way she turned a
helpless life into one of aiding
others shows why people look
up to her and idealize her.
“I will fight for my children on any level so they can reach their potential as human beings and in their
public duties....”
Princess Diana
• Because Diana is such a realistic
woman, she inspires other women to
live up to their potential. She cares for
all children, no matter what. She is
like a universal mother. Her love for
children was evident in her social
work and also in her own family life.
Diana placed much value on the
family unit. Princess Diana stresses
how much she values what families
think of her and how much she
appreciates families. Motherhood is
such a large part of who women are.
Thus, Princess Diana’s ability to be a
good mother makes her a good
heroine.
A Sense of Beauty
• Along with her motherly
qualities and charitable
inclinations, Diana retained
and perfected her feminine
charm and eloquence. Her
sense of style and charm made
her a role model. Princess
Diana further used her fashion
sense and femininity to once
again help the public. She
auctioned off her most famous
dresses to the public to help
raise money for charities she
worked for. This is a wonderful
demonstration of using one’s
femininity for the public good.
A Funeral Of A Heroine
• Diana’s funeral, a world wide
event, demonstrated exactly how
powerful and moving she was as a
heroine. She was followed by many
mourners that had been inspired by
her warmth, intelligence, grace, and
care for humanity. Her death had
such a wide impact on not just
England, but the world, that one
must admit what a motivational
heroine she was and will continue
to be. Her death in some ways
seems to inspire people even more
than her work while she was alive.
The Power of A Woman
• Princess Diana seems as if she used
her charm, beauty, eloquence, and
warmth for benevolent purposes. She
is the ideal female. She uses her
attributes that one can only attribute to
being a woman for good. She has
neither too little nor too much sex
appeal. She knows how to act
appropriately in public. Her coolness
and calmness in any situation inspire
other me to be pulled together in
public. Not that Diana believed in
putting on appearances that were not
true, but she always showed a face to
the world that was presentable and
real. Her grace and loveliness show
what women are really capable of.