Twenty-nine years ago today, Princess Diana and Prince Charles finalised their divorce, ending an 11-year marriage that had been marred by turmoil. As part of the settlement, Diana received a £17 million lump sum and £350,000 annually for her office, but she lost her HRH title, a change that left her devastated.
According to reports, a 14-year-old Prince William made a touching promise to his mother after seeing her distress. He told her: "Don't worry Mummy, I will give it back to you one day when I am King." Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell, said the conversation moved her to tears.
Diana was stripped of the style "Her Royal Highness" following the divorce, meaning she no longer required curtsies from staff and had to curtsy to her sons and other royals. She retained her apartments at Kensington Palace and shared custody of William and Harry.
Prince William never fulfilled his promise, as Diana died in a car crash in Paris just one year later, in August 1997. The divorce also highlighted tensions in Charles and Diana's marriage, with Charles reportedly asking Diana why she could not be more like Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.
