Diana, Princess of Wales

Diana Spencer became Princess of Wales in 1981 and, almost immediately, something rarer: the most human face of public life in the twentieth century. She held the hands of AIDS patients when others would not enter the room, and walked through a live minefield to show the world what landmines do.

Adored across the globe, she used attention the way others use power — to point it at people who had none. Her honesty about her own struggles helped millions feel less alone in theirs.

Diana died in Paris on 31 August 1997, aged 36. An ocean of flowers grew outside Kensington Palace. Decades later, people still light candles for the princess who saw them.

A princess who chose compassion over protocol. Her warmth, humanity and courage changed how the world thinks about kindness in public life.