22 Photos That Show What Princess Diana Was Like Before Royal Life

Before she earned the status of fashion icon, the future bride topped her evening gown with a plain wool coat at Princess Margaret’s 50th birthday party. Of course she would soon own hundreds of designer dresses. 

Prince Charles proposed to the 19-year-old in February 1981. She picked her engagement ring — an 18-carat sapphire surrounded by 14 diamonds — out of the Gerrad jewelry catalog.

With a wedding set for July, Lady Diana Spencer kicked back in rubber boots and a casual sweater while at the Scottish royal residence Balmoral.

Crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of the future princess during a visit to Tetbury on May 22, 1981.

The media frequently followed Diana in the summer days leading up the wedding. Here she is in Windsor after the Ascot races on June 16, 1981.

The constant press attention wore down on Diana. At one polo match that July, “the persistence of the paparazzi” caused the 20-year-old to start crying, the Washington Post reported at the time. With her wedding only a few days away, her life in the spotlight had officially begun.