The life of a glamorous princess

Following is a chronology of the life and times of Princess Diana.

July 1, 1961: Born into an aristocratic family, third of four children of Lord and Lady Althorp.

1977: Met Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, at Althorp.

February 24, 1981: Engagement to Prince Charles announced.

July 29, 1981 - Prince Charles and Princess Diana married in a sumptuous ceremony at St Paul's Cathedral in London.

June 21, 1982: First child born, William Arthur Philip Louis, known as Wills. Princess Diana suffered post-natal depression.

September 15, 1984: Second child born, Henry Charles Albert David, known as Harry.

1985: First reports of difficulties in royal marriage.

1986: Prince Charles renewed his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, a woman he later referred to as "the love of his life". Princess Diana developed slimming disorder bulimia nervosa. The royal couple continued public duties, but in private, led separate lives.

June 1992: Diana - Her True Story, by tabloid reporter Andrew Morton, is published. Princess Diana cooperated, through friends, in the writing of the book which showed her trapped in a loveless marriage and attempting suicide to attract Prince Charles' attention.

Augist 25, 1992: Newspapers publish excerpts of a taped telephone conversation between Princess Diana and James Gilby, who called her "Squidgy" and told her repeatedly that he loved her.

December 9, 1992: Prime Minister John Major announced formal separation of the couple in parliament.

September 1994: Princess In Love by Anna Pasternak published, telling of an affair between Princess Diana and cavalry officer James Hewitt. Book condemned, but Princess Diana later confirmed she had had an affair with Mr Hewitt and said she adored him.

November 20, 1995: Princess of Wales gave a television interview in which she admitted adultery with Mr Hewitt and said she doubted Prince Charles' ability to handle the responsibility of being king.

December 20: Buckingham Palace confirmed Queen Elizabeth had written to Prince Charles and Princess Diana urging them to divorce.

February 28, 1996: Princess Diana agreed to a divorce.

July 12: Prince Charles and Princess Diana agreed divorce terms. Princess Diana was to get a reported £17 million settlement, but was stripped of the title "Her Royal Highness".

August 28: Prince Charles and Princess Diana granted a decree absolute ending their 15-year marriage.

August 7, 1997: First media reports that Diana had found a new love - Dodi Al Fayed.

Her death and aftermath

August 30, 1997, on Saturday afternoon: Diana and Harrods department store heir Dodi al Fayed arrive in Paris.

August 31: shortly after midnight local time they leave the Ritz Hotel, which is owned by Mr Al Fayed's father Mohamed. They head west in a black Mercedes along the right bank of the River Seine. Paparazzi follow in cars and on motorcycles.

2235-2240 GMT: The car's driver, Henri Paul, a security officer for the Ritz, loses control in a tunnel. The car strikes a pillar, bounces into a wall before coming to a stop, its chassis a tangle of metal. Mr Al Fayed and driver die almost instantly. The princess and a bodyguard are seriously injured.

2245 GMT: Emergency medical personnel arrive. Ambulance workers revive Princess Diana and rush her to hospital. Police detain photographers at crash scene.

0000 GMT: Princess Diana arrives at Salpetriere Hospital in eastern Paris, some four miles from the crash site. Her heart has stopped. Doctors cut open her chest to staunch bleeding, massage her heart.

0200 GMT: Princess Diana pronounced dead. 2100 GMT - Dodi Al Fayed buried at Woking in Surrey.

September 1 : French police statement says Diana's driver's blood alcohol level above legal limit

September 2: Justice sources say French state prosecutors will formally open a criminal inquiry on suspicion of manslaughter against the seven photographers held after the crash.

September 6: Millions pay tribute to Diana after Westminster Abbey funeral. Her body is taken to the Spencer family home at Althorp for burial.

September 9: French probe establishes Paul had taken anti-depressant drugs and was not licensed to drive the car.

September 3, 1999: French judges dismiss manslaughter charges against nine photographers and a motorcyclist over the crash. It rules chauffeur Paul was mainly to blame because he was drunk and under the influence of anti-depressants.

November 28, 2003: French court rules that three photographers who took pictures of Princess Diana and Mr al Fayed in their car on the night of the crash did not break privacy laws.

January 6, 2004: Britain opens inquest into Princess Diana's death, the first public hearings on British soil into the crash. Royal coroner Michael Burgess orders Britain's then top police officer John Stevens to investigate whether the death was the result of a sinister plot.

April 9, 2005: Prince Charles marries his long-term lover Camilla Parker Bowles at a registry office in Windsor.

July 22, 2006: Burgess quits his job in charge of Diana's inquest because of work pressure. Days later Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, one of Britain's most senior former judges, takes over the role.

December 14: - Mr Stevens says in his team's report that on the evidence available now, there was no conspiracy to murder any of the occupants of the car and it was a tragic accident.