Born July 1, 1961 Lady Diana Spencer grew up near the British royal family's estate in Sandringham, England. Her father became the Eighth Earl Spencer in 1975 and had served as a personal attendant to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II. Diana was acquainted with the family since childhood; she was Prince Andrew's childhood playmate and Prince Charles had dated her older sister. She was 19 and working as a teacher's aide when her romantic relationship with Charles began. They married in 1981 before a television audience of 750 million people. Even after Charles and Diana divorced, Diana remained the "people's princess" because of her devoted charity work. When Diana died in 1997, more than a million people lined up along the funeral route to pay their respects.